Dear Kiva Lender,
You are receiving this message because you have a loan outstanding with ARD in Sierra Leone. As you’re likely aware, Sierra Leone has been greatly affected by the Ebola outbreak and this has impacted ARD’s operations. We would like to share an update with you about the current situation.
Tragically, 11 of ARD’s borrowers passed away after contracting Ebola. None of its staff is reported to have contracted the disease. If the borrower you lent to was one of the individuals who passed away, the unpaid portion of the loan will be defaulted in the future and you will receive an email at that time informing you if the reason for the default was a result of contracting Ebola. ARD continues to assist in combating further spread of Ebola by supplying borrowers with chlorine, gloves, soap and hand sanitizers. The organization also provided training sessions to staff on modes of transmission and prevention of Ebola.
ARD is still disbursing loans where appropriate in a limited manner in its five branch offices and is continuing to post these loans to Kiva’s website for fundraising, so you will continue to see loans from ARD over the coming months.
All of our Field Partners in Sierra Leone and Liberia have seen an increase in delinquency rates as a result of the crisis. Borrowers’ businesses are facing a very difficult operating environment because of government-instituted bans on travel to certain areas, blockades, checkpoints in many places, and the resulting panic and fear among people. Additionally, staff members are not able to consistently follow up on loans through onsite visits with borrowers.
In light of the crisis, Kiva continues to work with all Field Partners in Sierra Leone and Liberia to determine an appropriate and flexible repayment plan considering the realities of the current situation. We have given all Field Partners in the affected region a four-month grace period until the end of the year, which means we will not be receiving any repayments for any outstanding loans from these Field Partners during this time frame. We will review the situation in January 2015 to determine the most appropriate course of action at that time.
We’ve received many generous requests from lenders asking if they can forgive their portion of the loan. While forgiving loans in cases where the borrower is deeply affected is the appropropriate course of action, our Field Partners continue to operate in some areas that have been less affected by Ebola. In cases where the borrower is still willing and able to repay, forgiving loans could be detrimental to both the borrower’s ability to access credit in the future and to the Field Partners’ ability to continue regular operations. We trust our Field Partners to identify which borrowers are still able to repay their loans on time, which will need their loans restructured, and which will be completely unable to repay and should have their loans written off. We have encouraged our Field Partners to identify which borrowers are in need of such interventions.
If you’d like to support efforts to contain the crisis, you can learn more about the work of certain organizations working to combat the outbreak here. If you are interested in learning more about organizations working to improve overall economic opportunities in the region, we encourage you to read about the work of our five Field Partners in the region: ARD, SMT, BRAC Sierra Leone, BRAC Liberia, and Sjedi Green Energy.
We sincerely thank you for your support during this time, and we are continuing to send our thoughts and prayers to our Field Partners working in the region to improve the livelihoods of their borrowers.
