Kiva conceived and concluded

Volunteering is a big part of what I want to do on my sabbatical.

I applied for the Kiva Fellows Program in October. Kiva is a US charity that works with microfinancing organizations around the world. As a Fellow, you are sent into a region where Kiva has microfinancing relationship. Your role is to support the microfinancing organization in its efforts with its entrepreneurs and with their relationship with Kiva.

My application was approved and I was asked to engage in several tasks; including setting up a blog space on Wordpress, developing a budget and providing a writing sample. As a Fellow, you are responsible for interviewing entrepreneurs and providing written updates on their process via the Kiva site. Plus you are expected to blog about your overall experience on the Fellows Blog. The posting on the blog were a major factor in my decision to apply for the program. The descriptions provided by the Fellows were compelling and gave great insights into the world of overseas volunteerism. I was convinced that this program was aligned with what I wanted my sabbatical to be about. Plus with the 10 week commitment required, I would be able to balance my time with volunteer programs and travel. If accepted into the program, I would start my travels in San Francisco in January for training and then move straight into my placement.

During the application process, I kept being reminded what it is like to work with non-profit organizations. With all the best intentions, most programs I have been involved with are not always run smoothly. For Kiva, they required me to have two phone interviews; one with a previous Fellow and one with the Fellow's Program Director. In both cases, the initial interviews were missed, with little or no explanation. Both times, I need to reach out and reconnect with the group to set up alternative times. I was (and still am) very understanding and forgiving for these missed steps in the process. However, I did wonder if these set backs were simply early lessons in how to work with the microfinancing organizations or with Kiva itself. Also, it seemed that the only time I was contacted by Kiva about the next step in the process was when I was proactive and sent a note inquiring about my application status.

I had requested that my placement be in Africa or Southeast Asia. As it turns out, Africa is the most competitive region, and by the time my final interview took place, there were no longer any African placements. I was offered Cambodia, Somoa or Azerbaijan. I had difficulty with offer, because I had put so much hope and expectation into getting a placement in Africa. I was not prepared to spend that much time in Somoa. Although it is suppose to be a beautiful island, not being able to travel easily to other places during my program, was not going to work for me. I wasn't even sure where Azerbaijan was when it was first suggested to me. I seriously had to look it up on a map. And for those of you who know me well, that is unusual. Given its location and my lack of understanding of the place, I thought it would be a big stretch for me to spend almost 3 months of my sabbatical in a place I hadn't even considered to travel to. Finally, Cambodia was a tough review. I had said that I would consider going to a placement in Southeast Asia. In preparing for this overall trip, I had had many discussions with people who had taken similar trips. Most of them had spent some time in Southeast Asia. Almost all of them recommended Cambodia as a place to visit, but wouldn't suggest staying there for any prolonged period of time. I have heard of several horror stories of people getting very very ill in Cambodia. I didn't want the beginning of my year long trip to be marred by a serious illness.

Having gone through the whole process, in the end, I had to turn it down. And the final interaction with Kiva was again a sign that I wasn't meant to participate at this time. I sent the Director a note explaining that I wasn't going to be able to joining the three placements they had offered, but that I wished them great success and hoped that in the future any application I might want to enter would be accepted without issue. I also congratulated them on having so many qualified applicants in place already. The response I got back from them within 20 mins was as follows: "Your application has been terminated.".

Despite not getting the program I had hoped for, I am still glad to have gone through the process. It really helped me define the importance of the sabbatical and reinforced that although things don't always go according to plan, they do all happen for a reason.

I may not be working with Kiva, but I am still participating in a couple of volunteer programs in Africa. Check out the programs I am joining.