Every once in a while an idea comes along that makes so much sense, you wonder why no one thought of that before. It just seems so obvious.

That was my reaction when I first heard about Vittana — through a commercial on Hulu of all things. It was a little shocking to learn that student loans are such a rarity in most of the world. The next step seems obvious as well — of course it makes sense to apply the microfinance model to student loans.

The concept takes a little explaining sometimes to my friends and family. In the U.S. we have a negative reaction in our collective gut toward student loans thinking about all that interest, without realizing that those loans made our current lifestyles possible.

There's me in the garden at the house where I live, doing the ol' hold-out-your-arm self-portrait.

Outside of the US, people I talk to have a different reaction. First they’re surprised to learn that low-interest student loans exist in Latin America, then they tell me how much they’re needed. After that, they often ask how they or a family member can get one.

For example, before I left for Nicaragua, I had an online chat with a friend from Peru. When I told her about the Vittana concept, she got really excited. Her family has sacrificed to put their sons through school and now the oldest, David, is finishing medical school. He would like to do a specialty, but there’s no way the family can afford it. David is a smart guy, very friendly and totally capable. He speaks excellent English but often hides it.

People like him deserve all the opportunities they can get.

So many good intentions are focused on what underserved populations don’t have. Micro-finance focuses on what people and communities do have. What’s a commonality that all people on this earth share, regardless of income, education, or culture? They have plans and dreams. They have ingenuity and drive. However so many have shortages in capital and opportunity.

The value of human ingenuity was hammered home when I left a five-year career writing and taking photos for a community newspaper in Kentucky, in search of something with a more global outlook. My wife and I spent nine months in Peru volunteering at an orphanage where I worked every day alongside a Peruvian named Elias.

Elias — friend, inspiration and resident MacGyver at Hogar de Esperanza orphanage in Trujillo, Peru.

Working with him was truly eye-opening. We didn’t have many resources, but we did have PVC pipe and a flame from the gas kitchen stove that we used to fashion a tool to unclog the sewers. We didn’t have money to buy lanterns so the children could participate in a parade at school, but we did have a saw, a riverbank and a stand of wild reeds that we used to make lanterns for the kids. Elias doesn’t have much money, but he has ingenuity in spades, with a mischievous streak to match. And like parents throughout the world, he is scraping together all he can to give his three daughters the best education he can in hopes that they can have more opportunity in life.

People like him deserve all the opportunities they can get as well.

Students in Peru parading with lanterns fashioned from river reeds.

I returned home from Peru and last fall and began the International Development program at the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce at the University of Kentucky. Having a heart of compassion is important, but courses in economics, statistics and international relations are giving me the analytical framework I need to put my passion into positive action.

And now, during my summer break, I am in Managua, Nicaragua with Vittana partner AFODENIC. I’m learning all I can about the on-the-ground work of microfinance while playing a small part in helping Nicaragua’s leaders of tomorrow such as Julio and Carla achieve their dreams, create a more just country, and carve out a better life for their kids.

Because people like them deserve all the opportunities they can get.

At seven in the morning when I set out for FINCA Peru the streets are already overtaken. People dance around each other as they pass on the sidewalks, trying not to step into the street for fear of the taxis and tuk tuks. The tuk tuks which are a cross between a very small car and a motor bike own the streets of Ayacucho. On the mornings that I choose to take the route that leads me through the market, all my senses are alight. Every usable space is inhabited by vendors. The storefronts are packed with clothing, shoes, beds, ovens, refrigerators, produce, meats and so much more. On the sidewalks women sit in traditional Quechua dress their blanket splayed with fresh herbs, garlic, and other goods available for purchase. On the streets men have set up shop ready to make you a key or personally type a letter for you.

My morning walk is usually about 30 minutes. When I approach FINCA Peru its big green gate and coral colored walls provide me with the feeling that I am about to enter a fortress. When I enter I am greeted by a sunny court yard. Since its founding two decades ago, FINCA Peru has expanded; it now operates in Lima, Ayacucho, and the rural areas of Wari and Huancavelica. The Ayacucho office is full of activity. In a normal week each of the 300 community banking groups will meet to repay loans, approve new loans, and participate in classes to help the socias grow their businesses. The Ayacucho branch office is the epicenter of all this activity with over 6,000 active clients.

FINCA Peru does much more than just provide financial services, they have a mission to empower women and provide business education and support services for the families they serve.

Each of the community banking groups (a small cooperative of clients) meet together with their loan officer for an hour each week — half of this time is dedicated to education. A broad spectrum of topics are covered from savings and business growth to marketing. In Peru around 40% of Peruvians live on less than $2 a day, and a disproportionate percentage of those live in the rural areas. Access to capital as well as access to information about how to better use the money they make is crucial in the lives of those that FINCA Peru serves.

FINCA Peru’s devotion to the families of their clients is also reflected in its Aflatoun project. Aflatoun is a project designed for the children of its clients. It is a weekly community bank for kids ages 6 to 12. In Aflatoun the children choose a president, vice president, and a treasurer. Each week they deposit money into their personal savings accounts provided by FINCA, and learn lessons in planning for the future, and entrepreneurship. Now that FINCA Peru is also working with Vittana to develop a student loan product for young adults, I am excited to know that these children are being encourage right now to dream big with the knowledge that they’ll have the financial support to help bring their dreams to fruition.

I believe the current foundation of education built into FINCA Peru’s mission has created an environment perfect for expanding into student loans which will be offered to the clients of FINCA Peru and their families. Over the past month, I’ve focused on developing surveys and interviewing focus groups, to more clearly understand the needs of the students of Ayacucho.

To conduct surveys, a FINCA Peru employee and I would go to each community bank meeting. We would usually begin by explaining that FINCA Peru had partnered with Vittana to create a new loan for students. We provided examples of what these loans could be used for. I would notice around the room the women would start shaking their heads in approval. I could tell that this was something that many were excited about.

After our explanation of the Vittana student loan product, we’d conduct an informal Q & A session. Our discussions gave me a much clearer view of how this loan product might be used. One woman told me that her children were still too young for a Vittana loan (our student loans are structured to help people in the final stages of their education — college, technical school or certificate/training programs after high school that will allow young people to get good paying jobs). However, she proceeded to elbow her neighbor, who then shyly announced that she had finished her own studies, but had been unable to afford final exam expenses, therefore she had never gotten her diploma which would have allowed her a better paying job. This is one of the problems that Vittana student loans will solve.

One experience with a woman really touched me. As I went down the list of survey questions with the woman, she began telling me little bits and pieces about herself — how she had studied nursing when she was younger, but had been unable to finish. She was in her late thirties, and kept asking me if I thought she was to old to go back to school. I answered with a definitive “no,” I could see in her eyes a discarded dream being re-sparked.

The excitement of possibilities is amazing to observe and be a part of. Albert Einstein said it best: “All that is valuable in human society depends upon the opportunity for development accorded the individual.”

Photo of sand paintings during Semana Santa in Peru

A little about me: I grew up in Seattle, Washington in a very full house. In addition to my parents, two sisters, two brothers, and grandmother, there was always at least one student from another country living under our roof. Furthermore, my mother worked as a coordinator for a foreign exchange program, so from a young age, both my curiosity about our world and my insatiable travel bug were sparked. This has led me on many journeys around our globe. Had you gone looking for me in the last four months, you would have found me traveling on a chicken bus, working on my Spanish, and falling in love with Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Ecuador, and Colombia.

Currently, I am in the process of transferring to the University of Washington to complete my studies in International Business and Finance. This choice is directly related to my desire to actively be a part of changing the economic and social disparities that exist in our world today.

I strongly believe that the eradication of poverty is possible. While, this is a bold statement, I believe one must set their sights high. Henry David Thoreau said, “If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.” I feel that access to both capital and education are one step in building that foundation, and after one of my close friends introduced me to Vittana last year, I was instantly hooked. I continue to be very inspired by the ingenious use of micro-credit for higher education.

I began my involvement in Vittana as Lender and Ambassador, and as I now move into the position of Vittana Fellow in Ayacucho, Peru I look forward to bringing my critical thinking, problem solving, adaptability, and leadership skills to this new opportunity.

During the next four months, I hope to assist Vittana and FINCA Peru in building a strong student loan product that will provided many of the Peruvian women I have already interviewed the opportunity to pursue and receive their degree. Though I have only been working for three days, I have learned a lot about the differences in the educational structure between Peru and the United States. Many of the women I have met have completed the two to five years of study required for their degree, but to receive a diploma in Peru there is a large fee, preventing them from receiving their diploma and working in their chosen field. As a student, I cannot imagine how frustrating this situation would be.

At the end of my four month fellowship, I hope to return home to Seattle having gained a tangible understanding of the application and development of micro-finance. I also have a personal goal to be fluent, or at least be able to hold my own in conversation in Spanish by the time I leave!

I have never been very good at remembering jokes, but I thought I would end my introduction with the only one I can ever remember.

“What kind of shoes does the chicken wear across the road?” “ReBock Bock Bocks Bocks”

Our intrepid team of International Partnerships Managers is starting off 2011 by spending a cumulative 82 days in the field. They’ll be visiting 11 countries and meeting with more than 55 microfinance organizations, banks and universities in our quest to continue bringing student lending to the developing world. Together, they’ll have flown enough miles to have circumnavigated the earth… two and a half times. (Boy I bet their arms are tired.)

On these field visits, they’re doing Vittana’s real work. Our Partnerships team is out beating the pavement, finding new microfinance institution (MFI) partners who actually deliver student loans in the field. They’re also working with MFIs on creating the right loan products for young people, and making sure that everything is in place, all the i’s dotted and t’s crossed in order for us to start lending to more and more students each month.

Nick Cain and Sanjaya Punyasena will be reporting back periodically and this is their first trip report, which will take the form of a Q & A session.

Nick Cain and Sanjaya Punyasena get underway on a whirlwind world tour.

Q: How long are you traveling? And where are you going?

A: (Nick)

• Five weeks. Mexico, El Salvador, Peru, Bolivia (complete), Kenya and Rwanda (upcoming).

A: (Sanjaya)

• Six weeks. Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Mongolia and India

Q: How many partners/banks are you visiting?

A: (Nick)

• 3 current partners (EDAPROSPO, EducaPro, and a soon-to-launch partner in El Salvador); 16 additional MFIs.

A: (Sanjaya)

• So far I’ve had 14 meetings with potential partners, one existing partner, 10 meetings with organizations involved in microfinance and one school. Looking ahead I will have meetings with two existing partners, two to five potential partners and three to six other organizations

Q: Are most of these organizations non-profits, banks, government run etc?

A: (Nick)

• It’s a mix. A couple, like FINCA Peru and Manuela Ramos, are non-profits, others are regulated non-banking financial institutions that earn profit. Others are large microfinance banks (Equity Bank, for example, has 800,000 active borrowers). None of the MFIs I met with is government-run.

A: (Sanjaya)

• They are a mix of non-profit MFIs, cooperatives, banks, mostly privately owned but a couple state owned.

Q: Do any of the MFIs or organizations currently work with (lend to) young people?

A: (Nick)

• Besides our current partners, none of the MFIs I met with offer loans to young people right now. Some (such as FINCA Peru) have scholarship programs for children of their traditional microfinance clients; others offer youth savings (Equity Bank, ENLACE El Salvador); others offer loans to parents to help with secondary education, but none lend directly to youth for higher education.
• Generally, youth savings is a more common trend in microfinance than student loans. For more info on “youth-inclusive financial services,” check out: http://www.yfslink.org/

A: (Sanjaya)

• A few have started offering financial services to youth, but most do not.

Q: What are some of the barriers these organizations face when they think about starting student lending programs?

A: (Nick)

• The biggest barrier that MFIs see to starting student lending programs is the perceived risk of lending to young people, because most youth are not currently earning enough income to qualify for a loan.
• MFIs use a variety of lending methodologies, each of which is accompanied by a very specific underwriting or loan evaluation process. But no matter the methodology, one thing is more or less constant: to qualify for the loan, you must demonstrate you have income to pay it back. Most students don’t have enough income to prove their ability to pay, which means the MFI must evaluate the student’s co-signer/guarantor. Given that, the MFIs I speak with would much rather lend to the parents or co-signers.
• But Vittana believes very strongly that there is immense value in creating a track record of young people taking responsibility for their own loans, and in turn their own educations.
• Our track record to date goes a long way in helping new MFIs feel comfortable with the idea of lending to young people (and we have our lenders to thank for that!), but without Vittana’s presence to reassure them, I don’t think the MFIs would do it.
• MFI managers and finance directors are eager to learn from Vittana’s existing programs. New MFIs ask me to send them copies of product specs, training materials, and marketing materials from our current partners. They want to know how other MFIs have interacted with universities, how they follow up on students’ academic performance, etc. Starting a new product like this has lots of moving pieces, so it’s our job to make sure that we’re actively sharing best practices so that our partners can launch quickly and successfully.

A: (Sanjaya)

• I’ll keep my answer short and sweet because Nick has a great in-depth explanation above… In short, banks and MFIs do not have the capital to do this, nor the experience to develop a loan program targeted specifically at students. They’re particularly concerned about the risks involved with starting up a new part of their business.

Q: You’ve both been working in microfinance for quite a few years now… what’s an innovation that you’re seeing, other than student lending, that you’re excited about catching wild fire.

A: (Sanjaya)

• It’s great to see technology playing a bigger role in microfinance – many MFIs are working on getting new MIS systems in place so that they can track and manage their clients better, and in the end, serve them better.
• Technology is also helping MFIs roll out innovations like mobile banking systems.
• It’s also great to see that MFIs are starting to offer a wider variety of products besides the basic entrepreneurial loan. MFIs and financial institutions that work with the poor are realizing that their clients need and want something beyond the traditional micro-business loan. It’s great.

A: (Nick)

• I agree with Sanjaya that mobile is a big deal. I met an MFI on this trip whose loan officers do all of their client evaluations (data collection, taking pictures of the home and business) on BlackBerries. Very cool. I haven’t heard of anything in the States that is quite as innovative as that.
• I also think youth savings is an important innovation and something that I hope will grow (XacBank is an early innovator with this). It’s great because it’s relevant to MFIs that serve very low income clients, as well as those that reach a little higher on the income ladder.

Q: What has inspired you on this trip?

A: (Nick)

• I’m as much humbled as I am inspired by the degree to which Vittana’s work has caught the attention of the microfinance industry. Everyone I talk to is genuinely impressed and appreciative that we’re leading the way on student lending. MFI CEOs are looking to us for guidance, and the significance of that (that we have reached a point where our vision is going to start to reach thousands of students) is exciting and humbling.

A: (Sanjaya)

• I’m inspired by the excitement that everyone has for our program. It’s great to end a meeting with a potential partner asking how soon can we start, or with a microfinance organization asking how we can work together.
• Everyone knows that the demand for student loans is out there, so it’s nice to know that there’s a lot of momentum behind us and a lot of support for our work.
• Yesterday someone called Vittana is the “missing piece” in getting this work off the ground! That really made me smile.

It’s Friday again! Where does the week go?

This week, we funded 5 students. We’re adding more students to the site over the next few days, so we hope to fund even more through the end of August.

On Tuesday, we were inspired by a visit from President Obama literally right next door to our office! When we all arrived to work that morning,  we saw crowds gathering and there was a buzz of excitement going. Read Lindsey’s great blog post for more about this adventurous day for us.

We want to close out this week by sharing one of our absolute favorite photos…pictured below is Nardith, one of first students from Peru that our lenders were able to fund. She, and her little brother Stephen, have experienced the transformative change that microfinance can enable. (Stephen is one happy, mischievous little boy, and our favorite!!)

Over four years ago, after finishing high school, Nardith was attending college. However, she got pregnant and, between working full-time, going to school full-time, and taking care of her newborn son, it was just too much for this single mom to juggle. However, Nardith’s mother, Angela, had received a microloan from EDAPROSPO in the past, and used those funds to successfully start a taxi business. Angela transformed from a struggling single mom, to one with a strong source of income.

Nardith was inspired by this, and thought that perhaps EDAPROSPO could help her too…

Fast-forward four years. Nardith is currently going to school full time (4 hours of class in the morning, 3 hours of class at night) and working full time selling paintings at a tourist shop during the afternoon in between classes. Her grades are good and she likes her professors. She’s excited about school even though her studies are quite challenging.

She has also started to pay back her loan – and her family is just as excited, and pleased with her progress as Nardith is.

Remember, you can generate some good karma by lending to a student today!

Nardith and Stephen. We hope to fund Stephen's education down the road, as well!

“You’re an American student, you’ve already finished college and your government will help you pay for your degree to be a lawyer – so why do you care so much about helping girls in Peru go to college?”

This was the question 21-year-old Vittana student Rosa Maria Urbano posed at the end of our interview. Rosa is using her $700 Vittana loan to complete her college degree in biology at the University of Federico Villarreal in Lima, Peru so she can one day work as a geneticist. Already a scientist at heart, she is a pro at formulating sharp and sometimes skeptical questions. Rosa was the only Vittana student I interviewed bold enough to question my own motivations for working as a Vittana fellow.

Overwhelmed by her probing questions and scrambling to use my imperfect Spanish, I failed to share with Rosa the true inspiration for my commitment to Vittana’s mission – my own family’s history.

My great-grandmother, Bhagirathi Rao

more invisible words

Meet Bhagirathi, my Hindu great-grandmother (pictured left).

Bhagirathi had only finished a few years of schooling when she married Hanumanth at the age of 12.  Bhagirathi and Hanumanth lived in a modest home in the small town of Nagpur, in central India, where together they used Hanumanth’s meager civil service salary to support their six children. However, the health burdens of repeated pregnancies, the responsibility of caring for six children, the family’s strained economic conditions, and their location far from any college or university, all made it impossible for Bhagirathi to continue her education.

My great-grandmother, Diana Ezekiel

Invisible words

Now meet Diana Ezekiel, my Indian Jewish great-grandmother (pictured right).

Upon attaining her high school diploma, Diana met and married my great-grandfather Moses, a college botany professor. Moses and Diana lived in a low-income neighborhood of the bustling metropolis of Bombay where, like Bhagirathi and Hanumanth, they relied on a very modest income to care for their five young children.  But for Diana and Moses life was slightly easier – Moses’ salary was sufficient enough to allow Diana to attend college and pursue a degree in education.

break

So how did the future unfold for each of these families?

Soon after graduating, Diana founded her own school for poor Muslim and Jewish children in Bombay. Diana used her additional income from her job to send all five of her sons and daughters to college, where they became highly successful professionals. But Diana’s biggest contribution to her children—especially her daughters—was the example she set. Diana proved to them that higher education was in fact attainable and led to greater financial independence, self-confidence and the ability to make a real impact in their chosen field. She inculcated in our family the value of higher education.

Diana’s oldest daughter went on to become one of the first female Indian doctors to win a fellowship to study public health abroad, at the University of California-Berkeley. Her daughter—my mother—completed her Ph.D. in India and emigrated to the United States, where she until recently served as president of a large international development NGO in Washington, DC. Now, as I prepare to start my first year of law school at Stanford University, I am unable to ignore the fact that I have greatly benefited from the legacy left by Diana and the women before me.

As for Bhagirathi, life had other plans. For her and her family, each day was a constant struggle. Only two of her girls were able to finish high school, and all four daughters remained in poverty their entire lives.  Bhagirathi’s son—my grandfather—by virtue of the gender norms of the time, was the only child to attend college, later joining the Indian navy. Of Bhagirathi’s grandchildren, most suffered ill health and were unable to break the chronic cycle of intergenerational disadvantage and poverty. I have no doubt that had Bhagirathi been given the same opportunity to attend college as Diana, her future and that of her family would have been drastically different.

Looking back on my conversation with Rosa, I should have explained to her how the experience of my family serves as a testament to the transformative power of higher education. It is because of higher education that I, the great-granddaughter of two low-income women in India, can even dream of attaining a professional degree from an elite university in the U.S.  Access to affordable higher education allowed my family, and others like mine, the opportunity to achieve marked social and economic mobility within three generations.

Rosa, here with her mother, will be the first woman in her family to obtain a college degree

In my discussions with Rosa, she made clear that she is most grateful for her Vittana loan because it gives her an opportunity to fulfill her dream of making an important contribution in the field of genetics. But what she doesn’t yet realize is that the biggest impact of the Vittana loan—allowing her to be the first woman in her family to obtain a college degree—is that it will fundamentally alter the future of her children, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren. The most important consequence of attaining a higher education is that its benefits—greater access to employment, exposure to new technologies, enhanced social mobility—do not stop at the individual, but are passed on to subsequent generations. Higher education truly is the gift that keeps on giving.

To make a loan to a student like Rosa, click here!

In a recent entry here on the blog, Vittana Fellow Nayna Gupta told the story of Mercy Marilu, a young woman from Lima, Peru.  Mercy, who works as a primary school teacher, received a Vittana loan to help her finish a degree in early childhood education.  Mercy’s story was inspiring—after finishing high school and spending years contributing to the family income by working as a chicken vendor in the province of Huaycan, Mercy eventually earned a position at a primary school teaching low-income children.  Recently, she decided to go back to school to follow her long-held dream of finishing college.  Even better? Mercy, now 27, is a mother, and her new found opportunity to finish school has inspired an even bigger dream: sending her daughter to a four-year private college.  To get started, last week she opened a savings account in her daughter’s name.

Mercy isn’t alone.  Thanks to loans from Vittana, moms like Betsy (who recently graduated from university), Nardith, Edelmira, Gulnara, and others have gone back to school to achieve their educational goals, improve their professional qualifications, and provide a better future for their children.  With Mother’s Day just around the corner here in the United States, we wanted to take a moment to recognize their hard work and sacrifice.  Already juggling the hectic, often competing obligations of work and family, a deeply held belief in the power of education drives these women to choose an even more challenging path—to take time that might otherwise be spent catching up on sleep or stealing a few minutes of relaxation with their children or spouse, and instead spend it in a classroom, studying and completing assignments, or going to and from school.

Betsy Olivares, mother of two, with her family on graduation day.

Zayda Flores Bravo and Celsa Martinez, whose loans are currently fundraising on Vittana, are two more of these special women.  Celsa lives in Encarnación, Paraguay, where she’s worked as a primary school teacher for 15 years.  Celsa and her husband, who runs his own store, have three grown sons, all of whom have finished school and joined the workforce.

With her loan, Celsa will be able to enroll in the continuing education programs made available to teachers through the Paraguayan Ministry of Education and Culture.  As she says in her student profile, Celsa is passionate about being the best teacher she can be for her students, and these continuing education courses will help her stay up to date in her field.  She also hopes that by earning additional qualifications, she’ll be able to help her family by earning a higher salary.

Celsa Martinez in Encarnación, Paraguay

As a teacher and a mom, this time of year is doubly special for Celsa.  April 30^th was Teacher’s Day in Paraguay, and when Vittana spoke with Celsa last week, she said preparations were in full swing for a big party with her students.  As for Mother’s Day, which takes place on Saturday, May 15 in Paraguay, Celsa says that her boys always take good care of her by preparing a special meal.

Vittana is proud to support mothers like Celsa as they work to improve their lives through education.  This Sunday, when we call our own mothers (or if we’re lucky, give them a hug in person) to tell them we love them, we’ll also be thinking about the millions of mothers around the world whose shared commitment to education is what makes Vittana’s mission possible.  Mothers who help their kids with homework, scrape together money to pay for school uniforms, and, most importantly, encourage their sons and daughters to dream big.  To all of them, we say thank you!

Click here to make a loan to Celsa, Zayda, or one of the many other hardworking students on Vittana.  And when you do, be sure to tell your mom!

At age 15, Mercy Marilu, known by friends as a bookworm, planned to attend college and dreamed one day of teaching as a professor.  But at 18, she was forced to put her dreams on hold for something far less glamorous— selling roast chicken on a dusty street corner in Huaycan, a province on the eastern outskirts of Lima, Peru. Strapped for cash and struggling to support two other children, Mercy’s parents could no longer financially support their daughter and expected her to immediately contribute to the family income.

Two hours from Mercy’s home in San Juan de Lurigancho, a municipality in the Cono Norte area of Lima, lives Milagros Risco Jayo, another Peruvian woman familiar with putting dreams on hold.  Three years ago Milagros enrolled in a local university with the hope of completing her five-year university degree in business administration.  Two semesters into college, guilt ridden by watching her single mother support three children and run the family store alone, she dropped out and opted instead for a short certificate program in aerobics. Applying her natural entrepreneurial spirit, Milagros initiated a successful mini-aerobics course, offering friends and neighbors classes in her home kitchen for two soles per hour– a modest amount, but the needed extra to help her mother.  According to Milagros, continuing her college degree seemed too “selfish.”

Milagros and her mother in their family store in San Juan de Lurigancho.

Burdened with daily economic survival and essential short-term needs, women like Mercy and Milagros do not have the luxury of making a long-term investment in higher education, even if it offers a more secure and  economically sustainable  future. While the high cost of college is a burden for all Peruvian students, it is women who bear a disproportionate burden of the responsibility of attending to the immediate needs of their families. Even if low-income Peruvian women have money to cover the costs of tuition, societal norms pressure them to prioritize their families’ daily economic needs over their own educational goals.

Mercy points out that Peru’s pervasive culture of machismo and sexism creates an additional barrier for women who dare to dream big about their education. Pressure to marry and have children early makes it impossible for women to prioritize their own education. Convincing skeptical husbands and fathers who perceive higher education as a detraction from familial responsibilities is often a losing battle for young women.

Peruvian girls in a local secondary school. In Peru, only six percent of women finish their college degree.

It is for these reasons that less than six percent of women in Peru finish college. But now, Mercy, 27, and Milagros, 24, are giving higher education a second shot.  With their newly received Vittana loans, Mercy and Milagros have the freedom to invest in longer-term  goals without sacrificing their monthly contributions to their families.

Milagros, now enrolled in a three-year technical school for nursing, plans to trade in her spandex for a stethoscope. She is using her Vittana loan to pay for a complementary course in English in the hopes that she will be hired as a nurse at a downtown clinic working with foreigners. When she’s not in class, Milagros continues to help her mother with the family store and teaches an occasional aerobics class to cover the cost of books or transportation.

Mercy and her four-year old daughter. Mercy is using her Vittana loan to study early elementary education and earn income to contribute to a college savings account for her daughter.

Mercy, relieved to be away from the corner chicken stand, is using her Vittana loan to study elementary education.  Although Mercy won’t ever be a professor as she had once dreamed, she has a new dream— to make a private, five-year university a real possibility for her four-year old daughter. This time, Mercy has already put the dream into action— last week, she opened a savings account in her daughter’s name.

Give a hard-working Vittana woman a second chance by clicking here!

When I asked 18-year-old Vittana student Jeffery Nuñez for his secret recipe for rocoto relleno, my favorite signature Peruvian dish, he agreed but with one condition: first, I had to join him and his family for a home-cooked traditional lunch.

Happy to escape for an elongated lunch break, I accepted Jeffery’s invitation and traveled to his home in a small neighborhood in Vitarte, located in the outer eastern area of Lima.  After devouring a plate full of sweet potatoes, roasted chicken, spicy rice and a traditional purple corn-based drink known as chicha morada, (all expertly prepared by Jeffery and his mother) I desperately fought off my inevitable food coma so I could hear more about Jeffery’s plans for his future – but also, I must admit, to hold him to his promise to share some of his culinary expertise.

The Nuñez family eating lunch

My afternoon in the Nuñez home stands out as one of my favorite student visits not only because of the warm hospitality offered by Jeffery and his mother, but also because of Jeffery’s demonstrated commitment to his future and craft. Jeffery is using his Vittana loan to complete a vocational degree in culinary studies. At school, he learns about nutrition, the essential elements of Peruvian cuisine and restaurant management. In his free time, Jeffery puts his newly acquired skills to the test by hosting lunches for family and neighbors. Classes at the culinary institute and practice at home will prepare him for what he hopes will be his first real job upon graduation:  being hired as a sous chef in a hotel restaurant.

Boiling rocotos

Yet Jeffery has long-term ambitions as well. He dreams one day of opening and managing his own “critically-acclaimed seafood restaurant.”  While the Vittana loan may be the first step in his journey to chef superstardom, the loan serves an even more pragmatic and immediate purpose – it eases the substantial financial burden on Jeffery’s family. Despite serious health problems, Jeffery’s father drives a taxi from 6 am to 9 pm, six days a week.  Even with these long hours, he rarely has enough money to cover the family’s living and household expenses.  With a Vittana loan of only $650, Jeffery will complete his vocational program and have an earning potential of almost $700 per month – an income that will grant Jeffery both economic independence as well as the opportunity to help his family with monthly expenditures.

But the real magic of the Vittana loan is that while it helps one student like Jeffery receive a higher education, it often also indirectly helps other students in the same family. Jeffery’s older sister is in her third year of university where she studies elementary education. Even with a part-time job she still needs financial help from her father to pay expensive tuition. When Jeffery decided to enter the culinary institute, the family faced a difficult choice—pay for Jeffery’s program or help their daughter complete her university degree.  With the Vittana loan, the Nuñez family can invest in their daughter’s education without sacrificing Jeffery’s future.

Finished rocotos

Before I leave the Nuñez home, Jeffery delivers on his promise and gives me a ten-minute mini-course for my first attempt at rocoto relleno, a dish that hails from Arequipa, a city in southern Peru. The rocoto is a fiery, medium-sized red chili pepper whose uncanny resemblance to the common bell pepper has rendered many foreigners agonizingly speechless. Jeffry explains that the most critical part of cooking with the rocoto is the preparation.  Before stuffing the pepper, I must “clean” it by carefully scraping out the seeds and soaking it in sugar water for several hours.  If I don’t do this effectively, I risk shocking my dinner guests with an inedible and painful version of the dish.

In the end, Jeffry’s recipe served me well—although the dish wasn’t quite as good as if it had been from Jeffery’s kitchen, it came close enough. With a few extra glasses of water, my guests all enjoyed and eagerly devoured the delicious meal.

To make a loan to a Peruvian student like Jeffery, click here!

Despite having 308 other clients, Ayme Aguilar Alvarez can remember every last detail about Vittana student Beder Solano without having to reference his loan file.  Ayme, a loan officer for Vittana’s microfinance partner here in Peru, can recall Beder’s loan terms, as well as his specialization in school, extra-curricular activities, daily schedule and the names of all of his family members—just from memory.

Ayme’s close relationship with Beder and her other clients is representative of the work ethic and dedication that characterizes loan officers and branch managers at EDAPROSPO. Last week, Vittana reached a milestone—$100K  in loans made to students around the world.  This was certainly a day to celebrate those Vittana lenders who give students a chance to receive higher education, but it was also a day to celebrate people like Ayme—the loan officers and branch managers on the ground who know Vittana students and their families best.

Ayme spends most of her day outside of the Comas branch office disbursing new loans, making client visits, searching for new clients and training groups of borrowers who are using microfinance to improve their businesses and increase their earnings. But what sets Ayme’s efforts apart is the care she takes to foster strong relationships with her clients. When making house calls, for example, Ayme doesn’t just focus on business – she takes lunch, inquires about how children are doing in school, and indulges in the latest neighborhood gossip. Such personal touches convey to Ayme’s clients that she is invested not only in their monthly payments, but also in their long-term success.

Ayme makes it a point not to use the word “poor” to describe her Comas clients because she doesn’t think the word is a fair description for a group of people who are “strong, empowered and determined to provide more for their families and future.” The enthusiasm she encounters when disbursing and promoting Vittana loans is a perfect example of her clients’ focus on the future.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzmQAy1qKeE[/youtube]

While EDAPROSPO continues to work hard to promote this popular new student loan, ensuring that clients learn to use their credit responsibly is a priority too. As branch manager of the Comas office and a former credit analyst, Verónica Munive Huaylinos understands the risks that face low-income clients in Comas.  In Lima, as development, business and infrastructure shifts into the Cono Norte area of the city, the microfinance and credit market expands as well.  As a result, Verónica says, clients in Comas have more opportunities to receive loans from a variety of organizations and banks, putting them at risk of being over-indebted.

To protect their clients from this risk, EDAPROSPO enforces a two loan product limit, allowing families to receive only one large business loan and another smaller complementary product, such as a Vittana loan. Policies like this ensure that EDAPROSPO borrowers successfully meet all of their financial obligations.  But ultimately it is the strong relationships loan officers build with their clients that guarantee that Vittana loans are in the hands of students and families who are committed and responsible borrowers.

With Beder Solano’s first payment rapidly approaching, Ayme is certain that he will be ready to make it on time. Why? Almost every Sunday afternoon Ayme has the opportunity to check in on Beder’s progress – she’s a regular customer at his family’s cevicheria.

To get more information about Beder or help fund his loan, you can check out his Vittana profile here.