“A Key” “The Greatest Thing” “The First Priority” “Opens Your Mind” “Empowerment” “Life” These are just some of the answers that students at various schools across Kigali gave to the question, “What does education mean to you?” As I spoke with students about education, I started to reflect on my [...]
The beginning of my journey that has lead me to the “land of a thousand hills,” Rwanda, began two years ago. It began with many casual conversations with friends, family, and mentors about how I might fulfill a deep, perhaps overly idealistic desire to change the world. Maybe I’ve been [...]
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. [...]
I am stationed at an ideal place to measure the impact of Vittana loans on students and their families. AFODENIC in Nicaragua is one of Vittana’s most established partners, having worked together since 2009. More than 100 students have graduated college because of Vittana loans through AFODENIC. I’ll tell you [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
What comes to mind when you hear the name Jordan? While Americans might reminisce about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, those outside the U.S. will think of a small country in the Middle East near nestled between Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia and the West Bank. Steeped in thousands of [...]
A newly arrived Vittana Fellow looks forward to the next 9 months in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
The first thing I noticed when I flew into the El Alto International Airport (LPB) is that La Paz is really high up. At 13,325 feet, LPB is one of the highest airports in the world, and the direct flight from Miami (8 feet above sea level) gave me no [...]