Scott's Summer in Microfinance

Tentative Final Post

2009-06-29T15:38:00.004-04:00

I didn't expect to be writing a post from Miami yet, but here I am! Fearing airport closure and other unpredictable factors in Honduras, my parents called me yesterday (Sunday) at about noon and asked that I head to the airport and return to Miami. Feeling safe at my home in Tegucigalpa and generally not too worried about the situation, like any good teenager should, I resisted my parents. I tried to convince them that I would be fine and all of this would pass and things would return to normal. But my pleas couldn't be heard over those of the international press who showed burning tires and tanks in the capital (I didn't see a single soldier on the street on my way to the airport). So now here I sit in Starbucks in Miami while the world scrutinizes over Honduras and mainstream news sources finally begin to run full stories on the topic.

Here's a video of my thoughts of the political situation and my time in Honduras:

I remain optimistic that the controversy will settle down and I will be allowed to return but even if I don't get the opportunity to go back, I can't complain about my time there, except for the rushed good-byes to my new friends.

I feel like I really learned about microfinance and how it can really help people. I also saw the ugly side of any finance company when people refuse to pay. But I realized that the huge majority of people who receive mircoloans use them to better their lives.

Right now, during all of these problems, the poor in Honduras (about 70% of the population) will be the most affected. In times like these, more than ever, these people need to continue to have access to microloans through agencies like Prisma and through the help of people around the world through Kiva. I hope that this blog and my experiences have helped you gain a more in-depth experience of microfinance and I thank you for reading.

And unless things change and I am allowed to return, so long.

Business Internship?

2009-06-26T19:12:00.004-04:00

When I applied for this internship, I thought I would be learning about business, small entrepreneurs, and the microfinance industry. Little did I know it would turn out to be an education in Political Science! As I wrote those last two sentences, I actually ran upstairs to the terrace to look at the main street of the Miraflores neighborhood (where I live) because I heard lots of honking. Turns out "Mel's" (President Manuel Zelaya) supporters were driving down the street yelling and honking in favor of "Cuarta Urna" (translated "Fourth Voting Booth").

Tomorrow is the non-binding "vote" which asks citizens if they would like to see another item on the ballot in November's presidential election: the option to change the Constitution. I took video of what I saw.
On paper, this seems like a good thing...let's ask the people if they want to change their own Constitution. But most people will tell you that the president is trying to change the constitution to let himself serve again because the current constitution only allows for one 4-year term. The situation is strikingly similar to what his good friend, Hugo Chavez did a few years ago to allow himself to stay in power indefinitely.

That being said, the biggest controversy over the vote tomorrow that it is illegal. The legislature and the Supreme Court have said that the non-binding, referendum vote on whether to add a vote to change the Constitution to the ballot in November is against the law. I'm not totally clear on all of the constitutional issues, but I know that the Supreme Court ruled that the President cannot have the vote tomorrow. When the court stated that Zelaya could not have the vote, he ignored the ruling and asked the military to do their duty and distribute the ballots. When the armed forces chief refused to do something illegal, the President fired him. Then on Thursday, Mel himself led a few thousand people into armed forces headquarters where they removed the boxes of the ballots. Now Zelaya's supporters will set up and run the booths.

Yesterday, the military chief (Vasquez) was reinstated by the Supreme Court and there is speculation that there will be a coup tomorrow by the military. So far, the majority of the demonstrations have been by Zelaya's supporters and non-violent, which makes me feel safer. I haven't spoken to anyone who is going to vote tomorrow because they worry about violence and they use it as a form of protest its illegality. That means, assuming there is no coup, that the referendum will pass in a landslide and the president will use that to argue that the people want a constitutional change.

As for me, I've been inside most of the day and I don't plan on going out tomorrow. I'm not worried about my safety, but I am worried about the future of Honduras and their government, so we'll see what happens tomorrow.

Here's one article on what's happening: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/27/AR2009062701962.html

Now I'll move back to the business part of my time here. On Thursday, I had the task of doing some Kiva Journals or follow-ups. I met with 5 or 6 people to ask about their businesses and how they've used the loans they received from Kiva. If you'd like to read a few, go to the slideshow on the left and click on the picture, you should be taken to a page where you can see all of the pictures from my time here. The first few pictures have links in the captions to where you can read the follow-ups I've written. When you open the link, the follow-ups are at the near the bottom of the page and are labeled "Journal Entry." Here is a video of a portion of an interview with Maura:

Thursday they closed the office early due to the political situation and on Friday we worked all day. I uploaded the journals to Kiva's site and after work went to eat at Ruby Tuesday's (which is much cooler here than the U.S.). Today we didn't work because of the political situation and we will hear word early Monday morning if the offices will be open.

Talk about an education!

Loan Recipient Profiles + Video with subtitles

2009-06-24T20:18:00.005-04:00

Yesterday I had the opportunity to meet a few more people who have received a loan from Kiva/Prisma. The first people we visited were part of the group "New Hope." Gabriela, the group leader (who's just 20 years old!), sells tamales every day in front of the public hospital. Her mother helps her most days as she sells at least 50 tamales every day! In this picture you can see her mother and if you look closely inside the bin, some tamales wrapped in the traditional banana leaf.

Scott's Summer in Microfinance

Tentative Final Post

Business Internship?

Loan Recipient Profiles + Video with subtitles

Getting Down to Businesses

La Esperanza and Intibuca

Learning the Ropes

Whirlwind

Día del Medioambiente

Chinese Food??

Made it!

Antes de Salir (Before Leaving)