Floods, canoes and bridges – all in a day’s work

Although the field staff at Kasungu and Mchinji branches are now carrying out the piloting activity solo, I’m still on hand of course in case of questions or problems. For example, recently Olivine (the Kasungu branch manager) had travelled a large number of kms to interview some new clients in their homes, only to find the area was flooded and their homes totally inaccessible. The situation was rescued though, and Olivine was able to replace the original new clients with others that were less likely to involve the need for a canoe!

To make sure that everything’s going as it should, and also to see whether there are any major differences between clients being interviewed in the home and in groups, I’ve been doing field spot checks. It’s still very early days so no firm conclusions yet, but the checks have illustrated some other complications…such as what to do when we’re asking questions about a client’s home but she lives part of the time near her field to carry out farming activity and part of the time in town to do business. These are the sorts of bridges you can only cross once you start the piloting! (The answer to the question is, ask the questions about the place she considers to be her main home.)

A focused song and dance!

Although we’re speaking to women one-on-one in their homes about what they think about the training MicroLoan Foundation provides, we also wanted to get a feel of how a focus group discussion on the same topic would work. The discussion was facilitated by Martha Nkhoma, the operations manager, who got everyone feeling relaxed by starting off with a group song and dance! She then sat in amongst the women, and guided what turned out to be a very lively discussion. The women were clear about what they liked – understanding the importance of business diversification, knowing MicroLoan’s procedures for example – but were likewise vocal about what they thought needed improvement. This included more focus on ongoing training and more detailed understanding of how to plan their business and keep accurate financial records.

These sorts of discussions are great for letting conversation take their own course, giving clients the opportunity to voice all manner of issues and ensure they have a chance to ask any burning questions. Not having met Martha before, the women were also delighted to have the opportunity to have quality time discussing issues important to them with the operations manager.



Picture: the group warms up with a dance (Martha in the centre in black skirt)

Loan Officers get to grips with the PPI

The MicroLoan Foundation Loan Officers involved in the piloting activity have had their first taste of the PPI (Progress out of Poverty Index) live in the field on real clients! The day was rainy and all three Loan Officers, 19 clients and me crammed ourselves into the group chairlady’s small front room. It proved that the questionnaire isn’t as simple as it may seem (see ‘What is a chair?’!) as there were quite a few discrepancies between the Loan Officers’ answers. We are undeterred however – more training sessions and we’ll get everyone on the same page!


Photo: two of the Mchinji branch team focus on the PPI