View from my window at BancoFie

Just outside of my office at BancoFie is a poster that caught my eye on my first day of work as a Vittana Fellow. It says:“La Paz no es un obyecto encontrado por casualidad. Es el producto de la igualidad entre los hombres.” – -“Peace is not an object found by chance. It is the result of equality between men.”

I can’t help but read it nearly every time I come to work, as a reminder of what Vittana and BancoFie are all about and the reason I’m here in La Paz. Access to credit for young people is a small but vital step towards improving equality and peace around the world.  I have always thought access to quality education is among the most profound inequalities, as education is key to breaking the cycle of poverty, to meaningful wages, to improving quality of life and uplifting individuals and communities alike.  It cannot be an option only for the privileged, the wealthy or geographically advantaged – a quality education must be accessible for us all.  Thanks to the collaboration of Vittana with partners like BancoFie, more and more young people are grasping an opportunity to further their education and brighten their future! I’m proud to be partnering with an organization with such a focus on improving lives and offering hope to their fellow citizens.

Passing Plaza San Pedro on the way to work.

On my first day I made the 20 minute uphill trek to the BancoFie headquarters in San Pedro and although still out of breath from altitude sickness, I settled right in to a discussion on the current success of the student loan program and the desire to expand the program outside of the city. There was a specific interest in reaching more rural areas where there are even less opportunities for higher education. I got a strong sense of social responsibility from my colleagues at BancoFie and I was happy to hear that they were thinking “outside the box” – or in this case outside of the city centers.

I took a good look at the BancoFie manual and was instantly drawn to their slogans “Un banco para la mayoría” and “ Llegamos donde nos necesitan”  – “A bank for all” and “We go where we are needed”. I can relate to this as a social worker interested in addressing marginalized populations – those most ignored and left behind in society.  So I figure that is why I’m here: to reach those for whom Vittana and access to educational loans is most desperately needed, where others might not venture, where a true difference can be made. So here I am, taking a path less traveled, just like Vittana and BancoFie; “donde me necesitan”.

Outside of BancoFie Headquarters

A Little Bit of History:

BancoFie is a bank with a very interesting history that only proves further that big things start small.  Starting with five inspired and motivated women over twenty-five years ago, a small NGO was created in La Paz that eventually became the largest microfinance institution in Bolivia. What’s even better is that BancoFie has held steadfast to their mission and focus of dedicating their work to those who otherwise have no other avenue to access credit. Dedicated to reaching the most marginalized populations, slowly but surely they went “From one computer to the biggest microfinance bank in Bolivia”.

Settling In 

Lake Titicaca from Cobacabana

Of course my first week in Bolivia hasn’t been all work and no play. It has included some adjustment to the altitude and culture, some exploring at Lake Titicaca and taking in the hustle and bustle of La Paz.  Although navigating around the intense traffic is quite scary (even for a New Yorker!), I’ve managed to encounter great people, charming cafes, beautiful plazas and parks and even a yoga studio!

I am truly enjoying this extremely diverse city in many ways; a place where the temperature and climate changes both by the minute and by the zone of the city you happen to be in. A popular local saying is “Las cuatro estaciones en un solo día” — All of the seasons in one day.  In just my first week here, I believe it!  La Paz is definitely a place with much to discover and will keep you on your toes. Of course the view of snow capped mountains peeking through high rises above scattered homes climbing the hillside; well that isn’t too bad either. Check it out!

La Paz Skyline

“Rainy season” in the Philippines is no joke. For about seven months a year, the Philippines is riddled with perpetual downpours and frequent typhoons.

The flooded street outside my home in Cabanatuan

Since I have been in the Philippines there have been nearly twenty typhoons, most of them consisting of very heavy rains and mild flooding. My street is especially prone to floods – it is a commonplace for me to wade at least ankle deep to cross the street.  Thus, living in the Philippines makes you quite accustomed to the type of weather that would be newsworthy in the United States. Usually, impending typhoons are rarely even talked about in the Philippines.  It’s like this: “Hey did you hear another typhoon is coming through?” “(Apathetically) Oh yeah, I heard…” and then people go on with their lives as if nothing is different.

However, the last few days of September marked an exception to this rule. On September 27th, 2011, Typhoon Pedring (or Nesat by its international name) swept across the island of Luzon, devastating nearly 3 million people. Just three days later, before affected residents could recover, Typhoon Quiel (Nalgae, internationally), battered the same locations.

The ASKI "Help" van being loaded up with supplies

Due to intense flooding and winds, an estimated sixty people were killed by the typhoons and hundreds of thousands were displaced. In Cabanatuan, where I live, the streets were waist deep in water and we were without electricity or running water for nearly 40 hours. In the surrounding towns and provinces, many people remained trapped on the roof of their house for days. Typhoon Pedring, the larger of the two, caused an estimated $200 million in damage to agriculture and infrastructure (with agriculture bearing the majority of the cost), rendering it one of the costliest typhoons in Philippine history. (Click here for a breakdown of the damages inflicted by Typhoon Pedring and here for Typhoon Quiel.)

Over 12,000 ASKI clients were affected by the flood, in turn distressing ASKI’s outstanding loan portfolio to the tune of 192 million pesos (about $450,000). Largely dependent on agriculture, ASKI clients were some of the hardest hit.

Community members line up to receive their relief supplies

ASKI was quick to respond, by linking with donors to restructure loans or to provide provisional funds to accommodate affected clients. In addition, ASKI heightened its fundraising activities to aid in typhoon relief efforts. As part of these efforts, ASKI staff travelled around to affected areas (those whose flooding had subsided enough to get to) distributing staple food items and water. I was fortunate enough to tag along on one of these expeditions.Through a conversation with ASKI staff, I learned that these relief efforts were not exclusive and aimed to help entire communities – not just ASKI cients. On the drive to the community, we passed many people wading through waist deep water just outside their homes; a week after the storm, many people were still waiting for their neighborhoods to dry up. When we arrived at the community, nearly 450 people were lined up to receive emergency supplies from ASKI. We also had a nurse on hand to provide medical assistance where needed.

A little girl, hands filled with relief supplies, happily walks towards her mother

An ASKI employee pulled aside a woman who had just received her emergency package and asked her to say something about ASKI’s relief efforts. The woman could only get out “Thank you so so much” (in Tagalog) before her face became flooded with tears of gratitude.

This typhoon relief effort is just one of the many ways in which ASKI stands out above other microfinance institutions. In fact, ASKI was awarded the Most Outstanding Non-Government Organization (NGO) during the 6th Annual SIPAG Awards sponsored by the National Livelihood Development Corporation (NLDC)

I am proud to be a part of such a philanthropic organization!

The other day, I came across a what seemed like a strange clause in the policy for ASKI and Vittana’s pilot Loan for Educational Development Program (LEAP): Only third and fourth year students would qualify for a loan. I found myself wondering, what kind of impact are we making when the person has already made a commitment to go to college and already found a way to pay for it? Why loan them money to do what they already planned on doing?

After travelling to rural areas across Central Luzon and meeting with many potential borrowers, I found the answer. In providing loans to students through ASKI, Vittana is opening two doors simultaneously, one for the student and one for the parents. Let me explain. In contrast to many other countries around the world, higher education is not something that is only available to those fortunate enough to have wealthy parents, to receive a scholarship or to qualify for a loan. Even among the poorest households in the Philippines, higher education is a family effort, where many parents are determined to make sure their child goes to college and are willing to pay for it, regardless of their financial ability. Thus, it’s not a question of: “Will my son/daughter go to college?” Rather, it is a question of: “How much am I going to have to sacrifice to give my child the opportunity for a better life?” By offering loans to students who are already in school, Vittana is bringing their families out of a cycle of debt and poverty, providing opportunity for the student by keeping them in school long enough to graduate and providing opportunity to the parents by freeing up money for them to invest in their small businesses. Let me give you some examples.

Rice farmers hard at work in Central Luzon

Lourdes Andres is a rice farmer from a little province called Bongobon  in Central Luzon. Aside from rice, Lourdes earns a living by raising pigs and selling clothing and homemade rice cakes. Anna is Lourdes’ youngest daughter, who Lourdes boasts is a 3^rd year marketing student at the Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology. No one in Anna’s family has ever gone to college, and Lourdes wants nothing more than to see her daughter graduate college. Because rice harvesting only provides seasonal income and Lourdes’ other entrepreneurial activities only make enough money for living expenses, Lourdes is in a perpetual cycle of borrowing from her neighbors in order to afford her daughter’s school: She borrows money, then pays her neighbors back after the rice harvest and gives them cavans (or sacks) of rice as interest payments. The interest payments take away potential profits she could obtain from her rice harvests, resulting in a need to borrow from them yet again. In fact, for every 1,000 pesos (about $20) she borrows, the interest is one cavan of rice worth nearly 1,000 pesos, meaning that her borrowing interest rate is 100%. No wonder she has trouble scraping by!

Lourdes’ biggest worry is that she will not be able to afford to keep her daughter in school. Over homemade rice cakes kindly provided by Lourdes, we presented the new student loan product that is now available to Anna through Vittana and ASKI. We explained to her that we could lend Anna up to 20,000 pesos per semester at a low 4% interest rate (that definitely beats 100%!), and told her that this money comes from generous individual lenders far away in the United States. We then asked her if she and her daughter would be interested in applying. While I did not understand the words of Lourdes’ response (I was speaking through a translator), her moving display of tears and smiles said enough. Yes, she would love to apply for this loan.

Maria, excitedly telling me about her daughter

Many poor families in Central and Northern Luzon are rice farmers, and this business of using sacks of rice as interest payments is quite common. Maria Concepcion Magpali is a single mother with seven children. Twenty-two year old Cheryl is the youngest, and her father died from rabies when she was just 10 months old. Cheryl attended two years of vocational school for computer programming, funded by her mother. To pay for school, Maria, like Lourdes, borrowed from friends and neighbors and paid them back with an interest of one cavan of rice per 1,000 pesos borrowed. Maria struggled a lot during Cheryl’s education, and she knows that she cannot afford to do this again. She laments that Cheryl will not be able to continue her education if she does not receive a loan.

Because ASKI is in the beginning stages of implementing an educational loan program with the help of Vittana, part of my job is assisting in marketing and getting the word out about ASKI’s newest loan product. I spend lots of time in a tricycle crisscrossing fields of rice in the sweltering heat to attend ASKI community meetings held in little huts in rural areas.

ASKI Puangi Community Center

At the community meetings (each comprised of about 20 people), I introduce myself and Vittana and present the educational loan product to interested mothers. They are all very excited to meet me (At most centers I am the first foreigner to ever attend their community meetings) and many are interested in applying their son or daughter for an educational loan. Like Maria and Cheryl, countless families become overburdened by a cycle of debt, resulting in many students dropping out after their first or second year of college. Providing loans to 3^rd and 4^th year students relieves the financial burden of the students’ families, allowing them not only to invest more in their family businesses, but also allowing their children to continue college, obtain a degree, and substantially increase their income and create a better life for themselves and their families.

*Anna Lourdes was fully funded as of September 2011. Click here to view her profile.

We’re floored on a daily basis by students who have struggled against all odds to finish their education, lenders who time and again come back to change yet another person’s life, and Fellows who dedicate a portion of their own lives to bringing microloans to more students in developing countries. It’s the students, the lenders, our partners, and our Fellows that compel us to do what we do. But at the end of the day, it’s our supporters and donors that make it all possible.

So we are thrilled to announce that Vittana’s efforts received a big boost today! Google.org announced that it will support Vittana to build 24 additional student loan programs by 2013.  This support is perfectly timed at the end of an insane year of growth. We doubled our field partners from 10 to 20 microfinance institutions over the course of 2011 – that puts us in 12 different countries on 4 continents. Whew.  And after taking a little more than two years to reach our 1,000^th student, we’re on track to pass 2,000 students in December, less than six months later.

On stage at TEDx Brussels in November, Vittana CEO and co-founder Kushal Chakrabarti asked “What’s the one thing that can truly change the course of someone’s life? Education.” We’re thinking big. We’re out there to start a global market for education microfinance – one that will reach 1 million students by 2015. Because at the end of the day, we believe student microloans are the most scalable, sustainable, and impactful tool we have to fight global poverty.

So thank you to Google and to our many other donors and supporters for helping us change the conversation about global education.

My time spent eating balut and riding in overcrowded tricycle taxis is coming to a close. After five months of being in the field I will return back to the United States of America and begin the next phase of my life. I pray that all the work we have done created a sufficient foundation to expand the availability of low interest student loans in this part of the world. A big step has been taken by launching our pilot programs here in the Philippines especially here on the island of Mindanao where foreign investment is extremely rare. The next step is expansion to help more students finish college and get more people to invest in education in the developing world.

Balut is a street food enjoyed all over the Philippines. It is a delicious snack enjoyed anytime of the day.

By working as a fellow for Vittana I have been able to be on the ground in a developing country to see first hand the amazing possibilities of micro finance. I feel extremely lucky to be involved in such an amazing program and I want to share some of my reflections and experiences as a Vittana fellow.

Something that I’ve been able to see first hand is how Vittana is unique compared to many other international development organizations. Vittana is empowering people in the places that it works which is a very important feature of organizations that combat poverty.

Education in itself is empowering because it enables a person to have access to knowledge making possibilities endless. However, the local microfinance institutions (MFIs) are also empowered through our partnership. It has been a revelation to see the way that our partner here, Paglaum Multi-Purpose Cooperative, has fully integrated the student loan into it’s financial services. Everyone, from the field staff to the branch managers, has taken on the responsibility of making sure this product is successful and effective. Vittana is unique in its ability to assist our partner MFIs when necessary while also enabling them to succeed with little supervision.

Field staff from PMPC marketing our student loan to students at Misamis University

Versatility is another quality that enables Vittana to be successful. Vittana is able to reach many students in many different countries because of its ability to deal with constant change.  At the beginning of the pilot here we had a difficult time reaching the amount of students we had targeted.  Many of the requirements to receive the loan were too difficult for most students to meet.  So when Sanjaya, Vittana Partnerships Manager, arrived to check in on operations we sat down with all the stake holders of the student loan program from PMPC and brainstormed. We went through the product requirements line by line to find out what needed to be revised.

Almost immediately after the requirements were implemented a steady stream of students began applying for the loan. Many more inquired about the product for the future when they would also be eligible for the loan. By adapting to various circumstances like the educational climate in different places we have been able to make sure the product we offer is the most effective and affordable one on the market.

One of the things  I had hoped to do through this experience was see first hand the effects of microfinance. I wanted to know if microfinance really worked and, if so, how effective it could be in accomplishing the goal of lifting people out of poverty. Now, after meeting so many parents and students to hear their stories first hand it is very clear the effectiveness of small-scale lending.  These loans help parents put their children through college without compromising their ability to put food on the table or keep clothes on their backs. These loans enable students to reach their dreams and fulfill the goals that may have been nearly impossible before.

A generation ago in the Philippines most people didn’t attend college and sometimes didn’t finish high school. Today, college is a almost a necessity and most people realize it is one of the most effective ways to lift themselves and their families out of poverty. With the attitude that “knowledge is power” and access to Vittana’s student loans the future looks very bright for Filipinos! Be a part of this bright future by lending to one of our many amazing students here.

Branch Manager of Plaridel branch Gena with one of our students, Gina, and her baby sister

As I sit here on the day before Thanksgiving, what comes to mind is the over 250 students on Vittana right now who are poised to transform their lives by continuing their education. Whether it’s Omar Ahmad‘s desire to become a civil engineer in Jordan or Lidia Severina Aban‘s goal to drive economic development in Bolivia, each one of our students has a dream. And that dream will not only change their lives, but the futures of their children and their grandchildren.

As many of you know, the past two weeks have been a rollercoaster ride as we swelled to the top 3 of Chase Community Giving – a crowd-sourced philanthropy program that allows users to vote for local charities to help them win up to $250,000 in grants. On the last day of the competition, however, we were devastated to find out from Chase that over 8,000 of our votes were considered ineligible due to technicalities in voting that they are unable to disclose to us for proprietary reasons. We have been in ongoing communication with Chase to discover why these votes have been called into question since Vittana would never engage in auto voting, robo voting, or any other means to create fraudulent votes. We were thrilled to see that our international community turned out in full force to support us and are deeply saddened by the disappointing results of this competition.

What I’m most thankful for today though is our phenomenal Vittana community of supporters and lenders. Whether you voted for us in the Chase Community Giving challenge or have lent directly to our students, you have personally made a difference in someone’s life. And for that every one of you counts.

When I see my 93 year old grandmother tomorrow, who is still full of as much gumption and drive as I can imagine she was seventy years ago, I’m going to thank her. She was the one who set the direction for my family when she graduated from college and gave each and every one of her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren the chance for a better life. With your support, every one of Vittana’s students can turn to their grandchildren one day and ask, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

As a Vittana Fellow I find myself often comparing my educational experience  and my life in the United States to what I see on the ground here in the Philippines. Although the Philippines is a far cry from Washington State there are still many similarities between my life there and what I see here. While growing up there were just four of us…my mother, father, older brother and me. We have a small family but what we lack in size we make up for in love. I couldn’t imagine a more loving, caring and supportive place to grow up. Having such a strong support structure allowed me to accomplish many things in my life that would have been very difficult otherwise.

Graduating from college is a good example of this. I started college at a private school in Miami, Florida because I was given the opportunity to play college soccer there. After my sophomore year I transferred to play soccer at a more competitive program and receive a more challenging education. However, things didn’t work out the way I had hoped. I was not the star of the team or even a starter in my first year playing soccer there. Classes were much more difficult than I had anticipated and I couldn’t find any courses I was interested in.

Red square over looking Mt Rainier from the University of Washington campus in Seattle, WA.

Yet after a lot of soul searching and with the support of my family things got better. I gave my best effort both on the field and in the classroom. In my senior year I played a supporting role on the field, earning my minutes and helping the team on to playoffs. We lost in the second round to the defending national champions but at the end of the season I had no regrets about my effort or my contribution to the team.

In the classroom Political Science became my passion. I recaptured the joy of learning that I had been missing and successfully graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Washington.

I have learned that with a supportive family and access to education many things are possible. Here in the Philippines “family” is one of the most important pillars of society. If you read some of the student profiles on the website it’s really apparent how many students just want to earn enough money to help their families and improve the quality of life for them. Supportive families are the norm here. In fact big supportive families are the norm, however, access to education is not the norm. Education is expensive and sending children to college is extremely difficult.  

The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) in the Philippines reported on the dropout rate in 2008; of 100 students that start school in 1st grade only 14 will graduate from college. Only 14 out of 100!

This is where Vittana comes in. What we’ve done here in the Philippines is offer financial assistance that gives families an opportunity to send their children to school and to help them graduate. Isamae Duhaylongsud’s story is a good example of what we do all over the world.

Isamae shaking hands with Maricel, Account Superviser of PMPC, during her loan disbursement in the branch office in Calamba, Misamis Occidental.

Isamae is the youngest of five siblings and is now 26 years old. She is studying information technology at Mindanao University of Science and Technology and is the first one in her family to have the opportunity to graduate from college. With this loan she plans to become a computer designer.  She says that without an education she would most likely already have children and probably be without a job.

When Isamae graduated from high school she moved to Cebu to work and earn money to help her family. She worked in several different jobs–as a hotel worker and a chamber maid. However, things are very difficult for a hotel worker in Cebu. The pay was very small and her boss was difficult to work for, constantly scolding the employees, often for no reason at all. She realized that the only way to a better life was through education. So she decided to return home and enroll in school.

Isamae is very excited to be studying now, on her way to becoming a young professional so she doesn’t have to deal with awful bosses and poor wages.

After talking to Isamae I realized how similar we are. We both aspire to have a better life and wish to find success in our future. We both hope to take care of our families and make the most of our talents. The only real difference between us is opportunity, but even now she’s well on her way to expanding those as well…thanks to her loan.

Help remove the differences between us by donating to Isamae and students like her!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJEedBHYP3g[/youtube]

Hot, humid, busy, loud and exciting are good words to describe my experience stepping off the plane at the airport in the Philippines. My destination, you ask? A tiny, rural province called Misamis Occidental on the island of Mindanao, the second largest island of the Philippines.

Everywhere I looked, constant business activity was taking place and although I was a little loopy from traveling for two days it was very evident that this was an energetic and vigorous place. As I was driven to Plaridel, my final destination where I’d be living for the next 5 months, I noticed even on rural country roads and in small hamlets of houses that there were always people working away.

Filipino street food...delicious

Like many impoverished people of the world, Filipinos use every resource they have available to make a life for themselves. They use every scrap of food, plastic or metal to make this meal, patch that hole or cook that fish. Not only was it immediately apparent that Filipinos are resourceful, but also that they must be the happiest  and friendliest people on Earth. Every person that I meet, from the cab driver in Manila or the five Filipina ladies I live with in Plaridel, goes out of their way to accommodate and be as hospitable as possible. They are easy to laugh and joke with even in times of hardship or plight. This is a far cry from my hometown of Seattle where most people in the street hesitate to look you in the eye and are very reluctant to say hello to strangers.

After getting to know some of the people here I also noticed how dedicated, honest and sincere they are. People truly care about one another. Whether it is a beggar on the street, a co-worker or a family member Filipinos go out of their way to help one another. I constantly hear Filipinos referring to one another as brothers and sisters even though they are talking about people they do not even know.

A Filipino rice field. Like many places in Asia, rice is a staple and is consumed at nearly every single meal.

The microfinance institution that Vittana has partnered with here is the embodiment of that Filipino spirit. They are called Paglaum Multi-Purpose Cooperative or PMPC. Paglaum means “hope” in the local dialect.  PMPC provides services to the community with the goal of lifting people out of poverty. I will be spending my time in the Philippines working out of their offices and living with their employees (the five Filipinas I mentioned earlier).

PMPC started as the livelihood arm of Paglaum Community Development Foundation which is focused on “child development through a holistic approach.” The cooperative grew from 35 members and initial capital of 2,000 pesos ($500 dollars)  when it started in 1992. It now serves 30,000 members with capital of 100 million pesos ($2.5 million dollars).

The cooperative’s work with Kiva over the past few years is a good example of their dedication to service of the community. Through that partnership they have been able to provide low interest micro loans to assist entrepreneurs such as farmers, grocers and butchers to better their businesses and improve their standard of living.

A customer being helped by the always helpful staff at a Paglaum Multi-Purpose Cooperative office in Misamis Occidental.

Here at Vittana we hope to build off of that success and expand into education to empower students in this rural area. By bringing low interest student loans to this area of the Philippines we hope to make higher education attainable and assist people that need education most. Low interest student loans of this nature are quite rare in Misamis Occidental and in most places in the developing world. It is truly an honor to be able to offer a service that is in such high demand to this hard working, dedicated and under-served population.

I have no doubt that we have an amazing partner in Paglaum. While working with Kiva in less than 3 years PMPC has given loans to over 7000 entrepreneurs worth nearly 2 million dollars. Vittana’s goal to reach 1 million student loans by 2015 is definitely within reach if we continue to partner with folks as focused and ambitious as Paglaum.

Stay tuned until next time to see how things are going in the Philippines and click here to check out some of our students.

And the winner is....my first Filipino beauty pageant. The winner received $500 dollars cash prize and a year of free college tuition

Here is a short compilation of graduates telling how Vittana loans changed their lives.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M63TTSbeocg[/youtube]

For me, it was never really a question of whether or not I could go to college. Sure, money has always been tight in the Foster household and finding a way to pay for college for their four sons was never easy for my parents, but it wasn’t optional either. If we wanted to go to college, we would find a way. Whether through scholarships, student loans, or our own savings, I am fortunate I grew up in a country where a financial support system exists for young people wanting to go to college.

The problem isn’t necessarily the cost of classes, attending college can be surprisingly cheap in Nicaragua. The schools most Vittana students attend vary in cost from about $30 to $120 a month. However, working full-time to earn an average of $240 a month, like many of our students do, this makes up a significant cost. Yet the majority of our students have been able to scrape by and pay these costs, usually without any assistance from their families.

The real killer comes when it’s time to graduate. After 4 or 5 years of studying, getting good grades, and working hard to pay for it, university students in Nicaragua face one final wall that many are unable to scale. After all their studies are done, students typically have to pay about $1,000 USD to receive their diploma. This fee is called a Seminario de Titulacion and is universal in Nicaraguan schools.

Because of these daunting costs, most college students do not graduate. According to data from the National University Council in Nicaragua, less than one-third of students enrolled in university actually graduate.

Nora Karina Avilez is one of the students who beat the odds, although she used to fall into the majority of students who didn’t. She made it through the challenges of five years of college, defending a thesis in psychology, two practicums, walking to school while pregnant, and holding down a full-time job to pay for it. The challenge she couldn’t overcome on her own was paying her final graduation fees. After finishing all her coursework, she languished in a job outside her field of study for two years. This woman’s dreams and her ability to take care of her daughter were put on hold because of $200.

With a $200 loan Nora Karina Avilez was able to pay her final graduation costs, receive her degree and find a better job.

For Nora and other students in Nicaragua, there aren’t many options for financing their education. They could borrow money from a bank but the chances of being approved for a loan are very low. Even if approved, interest rates are typically about 40-50%, turning a formidable cost into an unimaginable cost. In contrast, our partner’s rates are 10% a year.

With a low interest-rate loan, Nora was finally able to pay for her degree in psychology in the summer of 2010. Degree in hand, within three months she was able to get a job with Latin Top Jobs as an assistant in human resources. She has lots of friends who are in the same position she was — they went all the way through school but couldn’t afford the final graduation costs. And she’s not the only one of our students that has friends like that.

Nora explained that those without their diplomas are mostly working in low-paying or temporary jobs outside their field of study, like she was. She explained the crux of the problem — employers don’t care what knowledge you have in your head, she said. They want to see the piece of paper in your hand. Without a loan, she would have remained in that same situation for years.

“Education has guaranteed a future,” she said, “not just for me, but also for my daughter.”

Help other Nicaraguan students like Nora scale this one final wall by lending here.

Watch this video to hear Nora’s story in her own words.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvw48hK2CbU[/youtube]