Every month the FTW organization helps people in need through Kiva. We are happy to share their stories with you here.

mavuno harvest
Mavuno Harvest’s story

This loan is special because:
it increases small holder farmer’s income by drying fruit that otherwise would rot.

Mavuno Harvest is a U.S. based food company, started by a Peace Corps volunteer which works with smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa to increase their incomes by connecting them with the U.S. market. (Check out their video here ).
Rural communities in Sub-Saharan Africa are wholly dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. However, lack of access to markets, and inefficiencies in the supply chain lead to wasted food, and thus reduced incomes. It is estimated that smallholder farmers (like Niwandinda and Ankwatsa, 1st and 2nd pic) are only able to sell 30-40% of their fruit while the rest lays to rot.
Mavuno Harvest was founded by Phil (3rd pic left) to address this problem with a simple solution: drying fruit. Drying fruit allows farmers to create a new healthy and delicious product which consumers love. It also avoids waste and allows farmers to sell 100% of their harvests, creates jobs and keeps money in the communities that need it most. They can be found nation-wide in some of the best stores in the U.S. Their fruit is 100% organic, fair trade certified, all natural and non-GMO verified.
Mavuno Harvest is seeking a loan to increase purchases from smallholder African farmers, and keep up with growing demand in the U.S. This loan will be directly used to purchase more fruit from farmers – creating sustainable supply chains and increasing village level incomes.
columbia
A loan of $30,100 helps to deliver a leadership project with nearly 500 lower-income students in Colombia.

Co-School’s story

Co-School has recently signed a big contract with the the Ministry of Ed to work in Choco to develop students’ leadership skills and strengthen communities. Co-School will reach nearly 500 students over 5 months (pictured in the first photo is one of the CoSchool mentors) . Co-School needs Kiva lenders’ support to deliver the contract as they don’t have the cash upfront and the Ministry of Ed has really long payment cycles.

About Co-School : CoSchool’s mission is to help young people develop the character and leadership skills they need to reach their potential.

Here’s a video with one of their students highlighting CoSchool’s benefits: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N38hKxFF6Ts&feature=youtu.be

Impact: Through their leadership, summer school and teacher training programs in 2014, they have impacted the lives of 390 students, including 67% from low-income families, as well as 100 teachers.

Background Information: Colombia is coming out of 50 years of civil war, mistrust and fear, but the education system is not teaching young people the character skills to help them reach their potential. What’s more, the country finished bottom of 65 countries in a recent study (PISA 2012) in problem-solving and perseverance – exactly the skills young people need to become the changemakers of the future.

Risk: The main repayment risk is the Ministry of Education being late on payments to CoSchool and therefore CoSchool being late to pay Kiva lenders.

eteri

Eteri’s story

Eteri is 29 years old, and she lives with her nice family in the city of Vanadzor in the region of Lori. Eteri is married, and she has daughters who are twins.

Eteri has higher pedagogical education and works at the school as a teacher of Armenian and literature. She is young and full of energy, a pedagogue who works a lot and with great love towards her pupils. At her house, she also gives paid private courses of her subjects and helps many pupils with the preparations of their entrance exams.

This loan of 600,000 Armenian drams will help her buy a computer and also professional literature as she is only a beginner and needs to work a lot to develop her professional pedagogical skills more.

capucas

Isidro’s story

Isidro is a 45 year old farmer who specializes in the production of certified high quality coffee. He is married to Oneyda with whom he has four children. They work the coffee crops as a family and coffee is the principal source of family income. Isidro and Oneyda dream of providing their children more opportunities so that they can develop as people.
Isidro is passionate about the production of quality coffee. Certified high quality coffee provides the farmer with broader marketing opportunities and, even more importantly, with access to higher prices at sale.
Isidro wants to make some repairs to the solar dryer he uses to dry his coffee. To make the repairs he is requesting a loan for the purchase of necessary materials such as: nylon, screens, and nails.
The loan will help Isidro to maintain the quality of his coffee and to sell his crop at the best prices and in wider markets. In this way his family will have more opportunities.