Yankurije Eugame

This photo shows one of the clients I met on a field excursion this week standing proudly in her market stall with one of her daughters. Yankurije started her wood and charcoal business 5 years ago with a $35 loan from Urwego. Prior to the loan, she was dependant on her husband to find work or food for the family, which often meant they didn’t have any. She has successfully managed and expanded her business such that she now brings in approximately $40 per week which is enough to provide three meals a day for her family plus 5 other relatives, send her kids to school, improve/expand her house by adding concrete to the mud walls, buy the necessities and even a few “luxuries,” like fabric, clothes and shoes. She still banks with Urwego and maintains good credit on her current loan, which is $150 per quarter. (Note: most microfinance clients will keep taking loans from the bank, even after their business is completely sustainable. This is not a reflection on the success/failure of the business, but is the only means for business credit – no such thing as credit cards - and helps with cash flow management. Obviously, not the most sophisticated way to do it, but in the majority of cases it is the best option).

This is the village market where she operates:

More to come…

a day at the office

I’ve spent the working hours this week in the ivory tower of Urwego Opportunity Bank headquarters in downtown Kigali. I’m working on a few different projects: client research, a local partnership proposal, and reviewing some policy/procedure documents. Will the thrills ever cease? As you probably know, I'm a bit of a nerdling and must confess that I love being a sponge soaking up whatever I can about the culture and work of the microfinance/banking/development world. Next week, I'm looking forward to breaking out of the office and into the field to see the real work in action.

The bank provides lunch everyday for the employees and, as a sucker for free lunch, I’ve been sampling the local fare for my midday meal.

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rice, meat, a cabbage salad, potatoes (usually fried, mmmm) and bananas are pretty typical. The greenish pile on plate #2 is much better than it looks and essentially tastes like greens (if you're a yankee and don't know about greens, ask a Southerner, or if you live in Denver, eat atTom's, not the diner, the other Tom's).

This next one is a shot of me and Laurent, the Director of Research, slaving away in the office. He’s translating survey results from Kinyarwanda into English while I try to make statistical sense of the information. It doesn’t help that he is not the best English speaker and I almost classified a client business as a saloon instead of a salon. Oops.

(Will – recognize the p.o.s. computer I’m using? Jealous much? I got so mad at the delete key for sticking that I ripped it off. That definitely helped the functionality).

View from the window: don’t worry, if I get bored I can hop across the street and go on a Primate Safari. Hooray!


Street view of the bank headquarters (bank floor on the street level and offices in the floors above and in the basement).


This morning I went to the staff (40ish people?) devotional, which happens every Monday and Friday at 8 and is an interesting addition to the work day. Daniel, the “Transformational Officer” of the bank was our translator for the service which included some phenomenal singing, a message and prayer requests. I did my best to sing along in Kinyarwanda but I'm prety sure I butchered every single syllable. (Mama – don’t tell, but I’ll try to steal a hymn book for you; I know how you like stolen Jesus-rabilia).

on the other side

So, just in case you weren’t sure, I did in fact make it to Rwanda. I spent the weekend several hours north of Kigali, near Volcanoes National Park and was able to see the countryside, stay in Jack Hanna’s Rwandan bungalow and go on a monkey trek. (That's right, Jack Hanna, the nature guy from tv - unfortunately, he wasn't there). All in all, Rwanda is beautiful: gorgeous green mountains, dark brown earth, exotic trees/flowers. The city of Kigali is a combination of urban wealth and extreme poverty. The streets outside the city are cluttered with people and carts, men pushing bicycles loaded with bananas, wood scraps, or whatever else, women carrying ridiculous loads on their heads (I wish I could do that), children playing with make-shift soccer balls, people crowded around the local watering spots, etc. Of course, in the city center there are busy intersections, businessmen, and all the urban amenities which feel somewhat familiar and yet also foreign. Today, I actually went to work (for the first time in a month) – can you call it work if you aren’t technically employed or getting paid? Anyway, I’m just getting my feet wet, but looking forward to learning more about the bank and hopefully will be digging in to some client survey stuff soon.

And of course, some pics...

This is a pretty impressive wooden bicycle.

A monkey.

Lounging on Jack Hanna's porch.

the rumors are true: I am intentionally unemployed and am headed to Rwanda...tomorrow

If you are reading this, you probably are aware that I recently quit my job and am going to Rwanda for a few months. If you want the skinny, you can keep reading...if you're Amanda Kopp, or just want to look at pictres, you can wait until I post some.

THE STORY:
I have been casually interested in economic development, specifically microfinance, for a while and have toyed with the idea of grad school or a professional gig in that field for some time. A few months ago, it occured to me that it might be a good idea to experience what that actually looks like on the ground before diving into a long-term pursuit of something I only understand on a very limited academic level. It also occured to me that my life is easily rerouted and there was no reason why I couldn't just up and quit my job and give it a go. So, I am.
(For more info on the concept of microfinance, check out www.opportunity.org or better yet, read The End of Poverty).

THE OBJECTIVE:
My objective is pretty selfish in that I'm hoping to get a better idea of what to do with my life...grad school, job, life overseas, economist, breakfast waitress, tooth fairy, etc. It would be great if I could do a little good or provide some encouragement to those who are already doing good while I'm at it. I will be working directly with a microfinance bank in Kigali that is backed by Opportunity International (www.opportunity.org) and World Relief (www.worldrelief.org) and specifically will be working on a client survey of those receiving microloans. Currently, my plan is to be there until the end of June, at which point I'll come back to Denver and carry out one of the aforementioned "plans."

THE SOUL OF THE MATTER:
I've always leaned away from over-Christianizing things, but I can't deny that my interest in global poverty issues is, at its root, a Christian one. I want to serve the poor, I want to fight injustice, I want to be a proponent of "true religion" by caring for widows and orphans. I want to do these things, not to convert or globalize or even fix the problems of the world, but to allow the overflow of the grace I have received to spill on those who experience some type of bondage or oppression - economic, cultural, or personal. I certainly wouldn't call myself a missionary, but I could probably admit to being a spiritually motivated humanitarian.

contact: feel free to email me directly at mollie.richardson@gmail.com