There's Something About Munara...

It is a delight to meet Munara. She is 60 years old, chatty and bubbly, ever ready to pose for photos and talk about her family and farm. Her personality seems to rub off on her family, both her sons, Tolon and Bakyt, also have warm personalities. They ask many questions about Kiva and the Internet.

Her husband, Abakir, is more quiet, but is still very eager to put on his best fur hat to match the beautiful scarf that his wife has put on for the photo below. They live in a small one-bedroom house in a village in Kyrgyzstan. The kitchen is built as a part of the living room. There’s a sense of warmth and cheerfulness in this simple home.

Munara works at her farm with her husband and sons. Kiva loan, which she obtained through Bai Tushum Bank, has allowed her to buy more livestock, grow wheat and produce hay to feed her livestock.

When I was at Munara’s farm, she was facing problems in getting sufficient water. Her husband was working on building pipes to draw underground water to ensure their farm and livestock have enough water.

Last year, there was a drought at her farm in summer, her family’s hard work was affected and they lost some income. She hoped the weather will improve so they could recover their losses.



Munara smiles when talking about her relationship with Bai Tushum Bank. She holds the hands of Gulmira (loan officer from Bai Tushum Bank) and says, “She is the best, very helpful. She gives me a lot of advice on the work at my farm.”

When asked how she’s doing with the repayments of her loan, Munara says with determination, “I am going to pay back my loans on time so I could get the five percent rebate from Bai Tushum Bank.”

She plans to take up another loan once she has completed the repayment of her current loan. She wants to use the next loan to buy a horse for her son, Bakyt, to make earnings from shepherding their neighbours’ cattle in the village. There’s something about Munara that makes me think her next loan will be fully funded again.



Munara’s story is an example of individuals that Bai Tushum Bank is reaching out to with their microfinance programs, focusing on the poor and marginalized communities. The bank also offers Green and Start-up loans with Kiva. Find more loans from Bai Tushum Bank here: http://www.kiva.org/partners/171.