Borrower Picture Being Taken for Kiva Profile
Exciting Kiva News to share! Four new microfinance partners have been announced and four Kiva Fellows are headed there to help get them up and running smoothly. Join me in saying hello to them and giving them a big congratulations!
New Kiva Partners:
FRAC in Mexico (KF Brent Zettel)
CCT in the Philippines (KF Merrick Brown)
ESPOIR in Ecuador (KF Cynthia McMurry)
LEAP in Liberia (KF Dave McMurtry)
Twitter. You’re amazing in so many ways. And yet, there are things about you I would change if I could. I’m not able to use you daily since I’m in rural Philippines and hence limited Internet-land for the next few months, which also means using an app like TweetDeck isn’t going to work. So I’ve come up with a five suggestions to make you a better, stronger Twitter in my eyes.
1) Send to Groups – Last year’s TechCrunch50 winner Yammer, essentially hammered you on this. As the corporate equivalent to Twitter, on Yammer you can create groups and subgroups and send messages to those separately. Yes in separate APIs like TweetDeck we can add people to a group, but we can’t essentially send a message to a group.
This would be helpful for a group of people headed to a conference and wanted to see links to sessions to attend or parties to know about. This could help with regional groups, so I want everyone in Los Angeles to see updates or news about Southern California, but only those people.
Sending can be one-way. they don’t have to be able to send back to the whole group, they don’t even have to know they’re in a group, just allow the user to target messages.
2) Turn On/Off Hashtags – Hashtags are great for finding information! But what about turning information off? Say for example #SXSW or #Coachella or a networking event or #BirthdayParty. There are lots of users we follow, but during certain parts of the day, month, year, maybe we don’t want their messages.
It clutters our Twitter-stream and we would love to ignore some VC-fueled networking event where someone is quoting on Twitter everything that happens and we want to exclude this from our feed. We can’t. If it’s really bad, I might unfollow someone completely, which is unfortunate because really I just want to ignore certain hashtags.
3) Make Unfollowing People Easier – Sure some people say that at the beginning of any website you want people to find each other but you don’t want to make it easy for people to undo that action. But Twitter is all grows up now. Take away the 10 barrier steps to unfollowing someone. It’s takes one click to follow, but an average of 3 to unfollow. A lot of noise has come onto Twitter and I want to narrow my focus. That’s not so difficult to understand, right?
4) Sort By Industry, Keywords, Geography – I would like to do this both in finding new people to follow but in the actual following window too. What if I could create streams based on location? What if I could expand or contract conversations that were interesting? I know, apps for Twitter can do much of this. But if Twitter needs to introduce ad revenue, why don’t they make their webpage friendly and more adaptive to changes. Maybe a column could stream ad revenue alone, that wouldn’t be so bad. If Twitter is how we get our news, it’s like a new form of the commercial. I’m just saying if I could go to Twitter.com and have my way controlling the layout of the page and how I see people and create columns and have fun with it, that would be a great way to keep me going. And make it easier to see as much content as possible at the same time.
5) Download Tweets! – Best for last. I’d LOVE to download my tweets from last month or all of 2008 since essentially it’s a living stream of my life. I want to go back and see what I was doing in January of last year, how can I do this? I think the appeal of Twitter is obviously what you’re doing now. But what if you want to remember what you were doing then?
Of course, if you’re new to this whole Twitter thing, then you’re just figuring out how to make it work. If that’s the case, I suggest picking up (or getting on your Kindle) the newly released Twitter for Dummies by @pistachio @geechee_girl and @gruen.
It’s the 101 guide of all the things you wished you knew. Cause with Twitter, the more you know, the easier it becomes to find the content you want, connect with people in the way you want to and then you’re hooked.
Back to changes at Camp Twitter. What would you change about Twitter if you could?
Well folks, there has been a slight SNAFU. It seems my perfectly good and new Apple laptop has a defunct hard drive, or as I’ve been calling it around the office (ASHI), a case of Influenza. Nothing that could have been done to avoid it, it’s just one of those things.
Time for the good news, bads news update:
Good News: It’s not my health. I’m fit as a fiddle, everything fine, the heat and humidity are bad but not atrocious and all in all, things are good. We heard in Kiva Fellows Training (gut-check) stories of past fellows breaking bones, being in accidents, a porch collapsing, malaria, pneumonia, theft…and fingers crossed this is the worse thing to happen to me.
Bad News: Since the Philippines doesn’t have an OFFICIAL Apple Store, they have Premium Resellers, the part has to be ordered from Signapore. Which takes 1-2 weeks. Yes, I’m totally serious.
Good News: No cost to me at all since it’s under warranty. I was in a bind because when this happened I was in Antique Province with no access to any kind of computer help. Eeks! But through the grace of God, I was flying on Saturday back to Manila to debrief with the President this week at headquarters and then head to another Province early in the week. I arrived in Manila Saturday, dropped off my things and rushed to a Reseller.
I went to the Apple site and got the names and addresses of the Apple Premium Reseller stores (there were 3) in Manila and picked one near me in a mall where the staff at my MFI said they knew it was a good store. I’m sure they were the same, but it made me feel better to be in a store that looked JUST LIKE the Apple Stores we know, and with a big tech center and service help desk. It took most of the afternoon to assess the problem and then to pull my information off the old one and back it up. Yes, I brought my own external hard-drive and have been backing up regularly. This was all good preparation for worst-case scenario.
(Interesting side-bar was the culture shock of wealth vs. poverty at the mall in Makati. I felt like a totaly fish out of water, another story for another time.)
Bad News: No photo editing or video editing while this break happens. Blogging I can do, most other things I can do too. Internet Cafe here I come! Again, I’m happy to be in an Asian country with lots of tech stuff around to be able to help me out.
Good News: I’m simple re-arranged my schedule the next week to include more Borrower visits and staff assessments. I was going to use this week to upload profiles and journals, and a few visits, instead I’m going to hit the ground hard starting Tuesday.
So there you have it. What will I do with my evenings? At night, this is more time to read. I’ve already finished 3 books since I got here, almost done with a 4th and also picked up 3 news ones at a used-bookstore on Sunday. I’ve been journaling a lot, I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on this year and thinking. Excluding the need for a computer for professional reasons, it’s good to reflect and not use the computer as a crutch from really taking stock of our lives and at night I am definitely prone to working on a million things but not sitting back and just thinking. Spending so much time in my own head can make me feel a bit batty, but hey, that’s part of the experience.
A huge thanks to everyone who gave suggestions on Twitter about how to fix my Mac when we thought it was jsut frozen or a error. I appreciate your support more than you know, I don’t think I could do half of these things without knowing you guys are there to help me out if I need it!
Virtually yours from an Internet Cafe in Quezon City,
Sloane
Wikipedia goes a step further to say: A daydream is a visionary fantasy experienced while awake, especially one of happy, pleasant thoughts, hopes or ambitions. There are so many different types of daydreaming that there is still no consensus definition amongst psychologists. While daydreams may include fantasies about future scenarios or plans, reminiscences about past experiences, or vivid dream-like images, they are often connected with some type of emotion. Daydreaming may take the form of a train of thought, leading the daydreamer away from being aware of his or her immediate surroundings, and concentrating more and more on these new directions of thought.
I often find myself in a deep state of daydreaming. Sometimes these daydreams take on a very realistic pretense, I can literally see myself standing somewhere or accomplishing something and it’s real. It’s standing right in front of me, this thing I’m imagining. Sometimes they take on a very artistic and almost animated state, like a scene from a movie where I’m standing still but all the pieces around me are moving.
Yesterday, on a tricycle riding the 45-minutes back to Colasi from Pandan, I sat in the passenger seat and looked out onto the ocean about 300 yards away, the waves moving so slowly against each other the water almost seemed to stand still, the rice fields came and went in various states of growth, some deep with mud, some being worked over by a man being pulled by an ox with an old-fashioned hand-plow. The villages we passed by quickly, the sound of children’s laughter and the bouncing of a basketball coming and going in simultaneous moments. Grass waving towards the ocean, the sun beating its hard afternoon sun down on our faces, occasionally having to squint even through my sunglasses and the trees and the clouds provided mere moments of respite from the strong rays.
In that moment, I looked down and instead of pavement, I saw dirt beneath our tires. Dirty, brown and uneven and we bounced along the road, the passenger car jumping and jolting at every bump. I reached out from the tricycle (they without doors anyway) and ran my hand along the ground scooping a handful. In my hands the dirt wasn’t brown anymore, instead each grain seemed to stand out more than the next in bright colors. Like small gemstones shining purples, blues, yellows and reds. Instead of the dirt being crude in my hands, it was like the very definition of what I know dirt to be disappeared from my head. I looked down and as if for the first time, it was something I could define for myself. It was smooth and soft, like freshly-washed cotton. It didn’t leave remnants on my fingertips as I brushed and swirled it softly into circles in my hand. It smelled like a fresh bouquet of flowers, the kind of wafting you get when first stepping into a blooming garden. It had weight to it, not a lot, but just enough not to let it fly out of my open palm as we drove along the Filipino countryside.
I lowered my fingers, pointing down to the Earth, and slowly the dirt started falling from my hand. As I looked over my shoulder, it fell in a straight line and shone against the rest of the ground still in its sparkles and bright colors. A trail falling right behind us. Even as my hand should have long run out of dirt, it continued to fall and trail along after us until as I stared behind me, it seemed a separate path was being created alongside the original road.
And a voice inside my head said, “Just because you have always thought a thing was one way, who is to say it cannot be another? You must define for yourself the path you take and that will forever change the trail you leave behind you. Strive to make that trail shine brighter than all the others. Make it your own so that if you were to look behind you, you could always recognize it from all the many others.”
In a moment, one to end it just as quickly as the one to which it had began, I was thrown back into reality. My daydream over. As I looked out to the ocean, the waves still crested one another, the sun was still eclipsing us at turns where the trees gave us shade, and the men were still laboring hard in the fields. The only real difference, that I could tell, was that the road beneath us had been pavement all along, and I looked all around, but the brightly colored trail of dirt, each grain symbolizing a piece of the story, was nowhere to be found.
Kiva is all about transparency, so I thought, let me keep up their mission and share with you the 101, the day-to-day, the nuts and bolts (if you will) of what my workplan is here in the Philippines while I’m working at Ahon sa Hirap, Inc. (ASHI). Some of these pieces might change, but it’s pretty set in stone.
I also want to add that this workplan was individualized and given to all Kiva Fellows during training in San Francisco. Training was intense, hence the workplan in intense too. A lot of language everyone might now know – that’s ok, I know it so you don’t have to! One of the best things about Kiva is from the outside, from a Lender’s perspective, it’s EASY. 1-2-3 LEND. The internals of Kiva are a lot of moving pieces, a lot of people, a lot of processes to keep it this way.
Borrower Verifications:
Actual: Verify a section of borrowers (usually in batches of 10), on the match of their loan amount (in local currency), loan term and the picture and ID match of the borrower to KIva. If the borrower is unavailable during any visit, it will be critical to return.
Translation: Do these people really exist? Is their fraudulent activity or even negligence going on with the MFI partner? It’s crucial auditing of Borrowers is done and the Kiva Fellow, being the only one in the field, has the best birds-eye-view of the MFI and its practices.
Borrower Profile Template and Training
Actual: Evaluate current Borrower Profiles to identify trouble areas; Refine the template used to gather business profiles, as needed; Pay close attention to the Kiva Policy Center. Post Profiles (approx 40).
Translation: You know on Kiva the Borrower Profiles? The ones that make you go “Oh yes, I want to donate here!” Well those are not all the same. Some MFIs are stronger than others, so what can I do to help streamline the process for the picture used, the language, the explanations. There is an entire back-end system to entering all Profiles, but even with a template, MFIs need training on how to use it.
Journal Template and Training
Actual: Evaluate current Borrower Journals to identify trouble areas; Refine the template used to gather business profiles, as needed; Pay close attention to the Kiva Policy Center. Post Profiles (approx 40).
Translation: Lenders receive a journal on a Borrower during the repayment cycle. This is meant to allow the Lenders to see the progress being made on the business of the Borrower. Some MFIs have hardly posted journals, some are doing it but the language is poor, others just need help with creating a template. Journals are time-consuming but an important part of the Lending Cycle and an engagement tool for Lenders so it’s a crucial task to get streamlined.
Journal Posting
Actual: Creation and posting of journal updates, up to goals defined in success metrics.
Translation: MFIs are being asked to provide journals for at least 50% of their Borrowers. The Kiva Fellow can help with the backlog (if there is one) and get the MFI on track.
Operational Cost Analysis
Actual: Evaluate the operational cost of doing Kiva by determining time it takes for profiles, journals, misc. costs.
Translation: Working off of the implementation manual. Does input equal output. I can tell already that with poor internet connections for my MFI, it can be VERY time consuming to post to Kiva’s website. How can I help make this easier/more efficient/streamlined? I really enjoy process so I’m looking forward to helping ASHI with this.
(more…)
To Rise Up From Poverty
Let’s start for a moment, shall we, from the basics. I’ve been writing about my Kiva Fellowship in the Philippines, the fundraising it took to get me here, the arrival – and so I know I’ve mentioned Ahon sa Hirap, Inc. (ASHI) before – but since arriving I understand the organization a lot more than simply what I had read in the “About Us” section. Here we go.
First off, ASHI funds 100% loans to women. Being a country rampant with poverty, almost always a business is not one person alone, it involves family, husbands, parents, children and is multi-generational. So that being said, many times, the WOMAN takes the loan, provides the capital, but her husband might be sharing in the business responsibilities.
A few examples:
What this means is the woman is ultimately responsible for paying back the loan. She is responsible to ASHI, but needs her family to grow and sustain the business.
Next. For the lending. Ok, so ASHI has 4 regions they operate in the Philippines. The headquarters office is in Quezon City (just outside Manila). The other regions are named for the province they’re in: Rizal, Antique (not like we know antique, but like ANT-eek-eh), South Metro Manila and Laguna. Only one region has a regional office – and that’s Rizal. Otherwise each province has branches to cover different areas. I’ve spent the most time in Antique so let me explain from there.
Antique has 6 branches: Northwest, Northeast, Central, South, Southwest, and Southeast. Each branch has a branch manager, accounts officer and a few development officers. Each development officer is responsible for a set number of Centers within the branch. Each branch might have between 60 and 85 Centers. A Center is comprised of Groups (between 1-6). A Group is made up of 5 women – no more, and usually no less. Think of a Center as EACH VILLAGE. Each Village has its own Center – partially because the women walk to the meeting each week and wouldn’t be able to travel far distances, but also to keep solidarity amongst them.
My First Center Meeting in Antique Southwest Branch
Part of my responsibilities for Kiva while I’m here in the Philippines is to contribute to the Kiva Fellows blog. Considering I have been reading it religiously for 6 months, I’m still mildly in shock to see my words and my name included there.
Even though these most recent steps in my life feel natural and meant to be, I still wake up every day and pinch myself to be having this experience and be on the journey I am on – this most recent chapter including Kiva, ASHI and the Philippines.
Check out my first blog post on the Kiva blog about my first week here in the Philippines. Leave a comment and let me know what you think!
I’m trying to decide what should go HERE and what should go THERE. It’s a work in progress – but I’m going to continue to cross-pollinate (and promote) in both places so you don’t miss anything.
Hey gang! So here I am blogging away, sharing all this good stuff and I know I have new readers to the site (thanks to a jump I’ve seen in my Google Analytics) and I’ve never done a “here are ways to keep track of me” post. So I thought I would bring a few small points to bring to your attention:
Do you subscribe to The Causemoplitan? There are two ways!
Leave comments!
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Last don’t forget to connect with me across the social web. There are links to all the places I can be found online in the right-hand toolbar as well so connect away.
That’s it for now! Thanks cause-soldiers, carry on,
Sloane
Why hello there!
I’ve arrived! The flight was L-O-N-G, but fairly painless. Left Pittsburgh at 12:30pm Monday and arrived in Manila at 10:30pm Tuesday night. There is now a 12-hour time difference between the East Coast and me. Northwest Airlines was on time and straightforward with the exception that in booking the flight it said Detroit-Manila but when I got to the airport, nope! You stop in Nagoya, Japan for two hours and have to switch flights. Where was that part in the booking?
I arrived and was met by Rexon, the Ahon sa Hirap, Inc. (ASHI) Kiva Coordinator and who I soon found out would be with me most days I’m here. This role is newly created by ASHI and a great and crucial step in moving them from the pilot to active phase, so I’m really excited to spend more time with him and hear about the partnership between ASHI and Kiva.
Since it was late, past 11:00pm, he took me right to a hotel they had secured for me for the evening and on the first full-day (Wednesday) we traveled to the Rizal province to a branch office there. To get there we took a taxi to a jeepney to a tricycle (which is like a motorbike with seats). We stayed for a bit and then went by jeepney-tricycle-by foot to meet the President of ASHI, Mila Bunker, or as she is called here, “Ma’am Mila.” She was at an annual conference that brings together all the Microfinance Instiution Presidents in the Philippines. Topics of their sessions range from due diligence to climate change (fascinating). Mila squeezed me in for the lunch hour and we reviewed my work plan, deliverables, their expectations and mine (all of which I’ll share in another blog post).
I asked and received a great oral history of ASHI and of Mila’s involvement. She is very well respected in the region and it’s easy to see why, she’s smart and engaging and really passionate about the Grameen Bank style of microfinance. ASHI are just as excited as I am to move the partnership forward and a huge part of this process is being a Kiva representative. So I’m Kiva to them and to Kiva I’m all things-ASHI, and it’s important to convey messages from both sides but also to really follow-through with goals and expectations. Action-driven results my favorite! In reviewing my schedule we did break down which cities/villages I would be staying in when and Mila and I made plans to meet again in two weeks time.
Rexon and I then traveled back to the Rizal branch office and set out with two members of the staff to meet three borrowers (see next post with pictures). More of this transportation to that transportation, this to that, but at the end of each unpaved road, there stood a borrower. A certified recipient of a loan from ASHI and part of the microfinance wheel.
The branch planned a welcome dinner and to be honest it was a bit of a blur because I was so tired and jet-lagged and had been run around all day with no break. I was taken to another office that had a dorm room to stay in for the night and my head hit the pillow hard by 10:00pm. I should mention that I woke up – wide-awake – at 11:45(pm) and was so disoriented and felt like I had slept for so long that I was worried I slept through my alarm and jumped out of bed and through my clothes on only to walk into the hallway and see outside that it was pitch black and was indeed less that two hours after when I had first gone to sleep. The night continued with me waking up almost hourly, finally giving up around 7:00am when I stretched, did some yoga, and read for 30 minutes before breakfast.
And day 2 begins!
I certainly won’t be capturing every day quite this way, but I did just want to say I’m here and excited to be diving right in at a rapid pace.
Goodnight friends,
Sloane
I’m excited to announce that I’ve accepted a role as blogger for a new blog platform in the social media for social good space called Socialbrite. You might remember me mentioning JD Lasica and Socialbrite before when I shared with you a video interview he did with me at this year’s SXSW. JD made it a point to come to the Kiva Community Social to say hi when I was in San Francisco for Kiva Fellows training and our conversation led to Socialbrite. As a group blog, it brings together leaders in the field to write, talk, and discuss all-things-cause. I have really been wanting to participate in a group blog setting and the opportunity to join a team of people that I personally look up to including Beth Kanter, Amy Sample Ward, John Haydon and other amazing and inspiring leaders was a really terrific opportunity to share my thoughts on the cause-filled life with a wider audience.
My contributions, given that I’m in the Philippines for the next three months with often times limited access to internet, will be minimal. I’m truly honored to be included and can’t wait to share more news about Socialbrite as the summer progresses.
Check it out for yourself! And follow Socialbrite on Twitter at @socialbrite.
