News and Commentary

What Microfinance in Nicaragua and Bolivia Looks Like

This is the topic that Global Partnerships staffer Chris Megargee and Seattle video team Rustin Thompson and Ann Hedreen are investigating in a 10-day trip through Nicaragua and Bolivia to document microfinance programs of three of GP’s partner groups.

To read real-time posts from the road about the extraordinary borrowers Chris and the team are meeting, follow along on our Facebook fan page and on Twitter. People like:

• Elisa and Rosa, clients of Global Partnerships’ microfinance partner FDL, who receive technical assistance such as training in vaccinating their chickens (pictured at left) as part of their loan package.
• FDL client Rosario, whose daughter Betsy is in her first year of university, thanks to the success of Rosario’s business.
• A 70-something FDL client named Porfirio, who demonstrated how he carefully prunes his 320 fruit trees to keep them healthy and flourishing.
• A León, Nicaragua, loan recipient named Norma, 59 years old, who only started receiving regular cervical cancer screenings when she became a Pro Mujer in Nicaragua client.

This Facebook photo album that Chris posted yesterday is a good place to start. The team heads to Bolivia tomorrow and is filming there until next Monday.

© 2009 SeaMo: Connecting the Microfinance Community.