I promise, I actually have been doing things related to microfinance here. My life in Mali is not just rock-climbing adventures and homestay family interactions. Let me explain…
MHOP is made up of a bunch of smaller projects, each thought up by a committee of 12 local activists that we call the Community Health Action Group (CHAG). The microfinance branch is one of them, and it was set up last summer by another American volunteer. My job now is to get a handle on how it’s been running and make adjustments as I/the committee see fit. The list of things I could be doing is INFINITELY long, but I’ve narrowed it down a bit and am trying to get through a good chunk of it this summer.
I spent the first few weeks putting together rough profiles of some of our borrowers. Members of MHOP’s microfinance committee (separate from the CHAG; they take loan applications and keep tabs on borrowers) took me with them to visit their 2-3 charges, and I informally interviewed about 7 of them. I asked about their business, how the loan had impacted it, what they would change about MHOP’s operations, etc. The information I got was good, but kind of sparse. I wish I had done something more formal…but I still can! And if I don’t get around to it this summer, I’ll put it on a to-do list for the next microfinance volunteer.
Here’s one profile:
MHOP is made up of a bunch of smaller projects, each thought up by a committee of 12 local activists that we call the Community Health Action Group (CHAG). The microfinance branch is one of them, and it was set up last summer by another American volunteer. My job now is to get a handle on how it’s been running and make adjustments as I/the committee see fit. The list of things I could be doing is INFINITELY long, but I’ve narrowed it down a bit and am trying to get through a good chunk of it this summer.
I spent the first few weeks putting together rough profiles of some of our borrowers. Members of MHOP’s microfinance committee (separate from the CHAG; they take loan applications and keep tabs on borrowers) took me with them to visit their 2-3 charges, and I informally interviewed about 7 of them. I asked about their business, how the loan had impacted it, what they would change about MHOP’s operations, etc. The information I got was good, but kind of sparse. I wish I had done something more formal…but I still can! And if I don’t get around to it this summer, I’ll put it on a to-do list for the next microfinance volunteer.
Here’s one profile:
Djeneba Poudubu sells firewood and cold water, and has done so for a long time. She buys the wood from little villages outside of Bamako. She took out a loan to build up her business funds. She claims that it has worked: “mainentant ca va; avant ca ne va pas.” Before, she gained 2,000 cfa from each trip to the country. Now she can get 4,000 cfa. She puts the 2,000 cfa extra in a little box, which she uses to pay her reimbursements. Djeneba wants to take out a bigger loan, with 5,000 cfa more.When I got here, the director Niang said he was waiting for word from last summer’s volunteer (Mike) before giving loans to the last 8 applicants whom the committee accepted. I asked Mike about this via email, and he said he thought he told Niang to give them out a long time ago. Unfortunately, Mike’s French is TERRIBLE so the point didn’t get across. So I passed word onto Niang, and the remainder of loans were given out a couple weeks ago (see photo below).
Since then we have re-vamped the application form and plan to begin taking them again for at least another 10 more loans. We want to advertise around Sikoroni with illustrated handouts to give people in the market, and with a sign in front of the office – making these is another project I’ll coordinate.
Finally, I’m gathering basic information about other microfinance centers in the area. I’ll get their interest rates, loan sizes, borrower composition, etc. Then I’ll put it into one simple Excel sheet. The idea is to have our center not only give out loans, but give out information about getting loans to women in the area. Hopefully I can start planning informal business courses/consulting, too. That might be another one for the to-do list, though.
Definitely more than enough to keep me busy on the microfinance front. If you’re curious about the other projects, there’s some info on MHOP’s web blog (http://malihealth.org/ht/d/Blogger/pid/211) and on the other volunteers’ blogs.
I have so many ideas for blog entries!! I have to tell you about the food, show you photos of my fam, describe the WEDDING I went to this weekend…it will have to wait.
KEEP VOTING!!! www.dosomething.org/awards!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment