The Difference Community Knowledge Workers Make

Posted: January 11th, 2013 | Author: Leila Heijola | Filed under: Around the World | Tags: , | 1 Comment »

In late 2012, Comptel began working with Kiva.org, a group focused on lending funds for projects around the world. As we begin the New Year, we’ve already seen the positive impact Kiva has on communities in need.

For instance, 27-year-old Williams in Uganda is married with a child, and provides for his family by selling crops and livestock. A loan of $325 helped him purchase a mobile phone, solar charging set and weighing scale.

This loan is part of Grameen Foundation’s AppLab programme, where Community Knowledge Workers (CKW) are provided with this equipment to become knowledge centres for their communities. Williams looks forward to becoming a CKW, so that he may provide vital farming information to his community – helping them access information to improve crop yields, connect with various markets and, ultimately, generate more income.

Williams can also conduct mobile surveys to help local organisations better meet farmers’ needs. CKWs make monthly salaries based on the number of surveys they collect, enabling them to repay Grameen for the equipment. With the additional money that Williams will earn as a CKW, he will save to buy another cow, as he dreams of having a large dairy farm.

We invite you to take part in Comptel’s team and help us provide financial services to low-income individuals or to those who do not have access to typical banking services.



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