Kiva Field Update - News from Dominican Republic

Dear Cultural Connections,

Thank you for supporting an entrepreneur in Dominican Republic.

Thank you so much for supporting an entrepreneur from the Dominican
Republic or Haiti! As a Kiva Fellow, I have spent the last three months
working with Kiva’s Field Partner Esperanza International, visiting
borrowers and writing updates about their businesses.

As you may know, all borrowers’ profiles are posted on Kiva’s
website with the help of microfinance institutions (MFIs) such as
Esperanza. With several branch offices located in the rural areas of
these two countries, Esperanza reaches entrepreneurs in the most remote
and undeserved communities. This makes possible the connection between
Kiva lenders and borrowers in some of the neediest areas of the
Dominican Republic.

Most of the loans Esperanza International disburses are group loans,
inspired by the Grameen method, which consists of making a loan to a
group of people living in the same community, after providing them with
a short training program that includes basic business advice and
training about the Esperanza program. All the borrowers from the group
are bound to pay together, and the repayment meetings that are led in
the communities help strengthen the links between local entrepreneurs.
It is not uncommon for neighbors to attend these meetings and decide to
join the groups to start a new project, or strengthen an existing one
through a loan.

Esperanza is a strong supporter of the idea of mutual support and local
initiatives to lift whole communities out of poverty. For instance, the
institution recently started to run literacy programs in many of the
communities they work with. These programs are led by the most educated
among its borrowers. Esperanza has also been supporting local projects,
such as a school that was created by one of its long term borrowers,
named Milàn.

I had the unique chance to meet Milan and visit her school. She was just
back from a trip across the United States (her first time out of the
Dominican Republic) to tell her story. Milàn took out a loan from
Esperanza in 1998 that allowed her to increase the income from her
clothing business. Like many Esperanza borrowers, she was selling
clothes on the street. Milan felt that she wanted to do something for
the children of her neighborhood who didn’t have the opportunity to go
to school, so she started a little school inside her house, providing
children with basic literacy lessons, and a meal at lunch. Milan
continued her clothing business and from the income generated, she could
expand her school, until she reached 100 students (divided in two
classes of 50 students on morning and afternoon). As her project was
taking shape, she received further financial support from Esperanza and
other non-profit organizations. The school I visited is a 2 story
building, with eight classrooms, a library and computer room. Almost 500
students are attending the school, and follow an education program
acknowledged by the Dominican ministry of Education, provided by 17
teachers (working part-time). Meanwhile, Milan has been able to complete
her own education that she had left shortly before reaching high school.
She is now about to get an advanced education degree that will certify
her as a principal.

Recently, I was visiting a group of borrowers, who took their first loan
funded by Kiva lenders. Maria, and one of the women of the group had a
very similar story to Milan’s. Besides her clothing and home
accessories business, she runs a local school, in her house, where she
is the teacher of a class of 15 preschool children aged from 3 to 5. She
is a well respected woman in her community. Her neighbors call her “la
profesora” (the teacher). Although her activity as a teacher is not a
source of income, it definitely is a great motivation for her to succeed
in her business. Maria has recently added new products to her home
accessories such as aromatic candles that she hopes will increase her
sales during Christmas time.

Thanks to their commitment to reach the most isolated communities, and
the indispensable financial support they receive from Kiva lenders,
Esperanza may be fostering, through Maria, a new local project that will
bring great benefits to the community.

Let’s wish Maria and all of Esperanza’s borrowers great success in
their attempt to improve their life condition and access to education in
the Dominican Republic. For this reason I entreat all of you who have
lent to Esperanza International in the past to continue doing so, and
continue to support this worthy project!