Stories from the Field: A Kiva Fellowship in Liberia

April 1, 2010

By: Patricia Wada

By Dave McMurtry

Kiva Fellows 9th Class
Monrovia, Liberia

My first thought upon arrival in Monrovia, Liberia, in August 2009 for my Kiva Fellowship was, “Wow, such colors and amazing stories! I should make a movie for those who aren’t as lucky as I am to have this experience.”

So what you have here is just that: an attempt to bring everyone along with me on my amazing 3-month journey to understand, at the most basic-level, exactly how microfinance works and the social impact it has on both borrowers’ and lenders’ lives. The toughest part was keeping it short, ultimately eliminating over 7 hours of footage, to share my thoughts in just 9 minutes.

Of course, the best way to really experience this is to go be a Kiva Fellow, so don’t hesitate to follow the link at the end of the movie in order to be the change you want to see in the world!

Dave McMurtry was a member of the 9th class of Kiva Fellows. He was stationed in Monrovia, Liberia and worked with Local Enterprise Assistance Program (LEAP), a partner of World Hope International and World Relief. He worked to create and grow Kiva.org's microfinance presence in Liberia.

Dave's story was originally posted on "Kiva Stories from the Field" on March 11, 2010. Please click here to see the original post.