Ndeye Marie    Apr 22, 2012

Hello to all members of Zidisha. It has been a long time I didn’t make any sign. I thank Julia and all the lenders for all you do for me and my son. I cannot thank you enough.
Max is much better, just his medicines are expensive but I am still hoping to find a job or resume my business and meet our needs.
Thank you all.

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bonjour a tous les membres de zidisha cela fait un temps que j ai pas fait signe
je remercie Julia et tous les bailleurs pour tout ce que vous faites pour moi et mon fils je ne vous remercierai jamais assez
max va beaucoup mieux juste que les médicaments coutent chers mais je garde toujours espoir de trouver un emploi ou reprendre mon business et subvenir a nos besoins
merci a tous

Julia Kurnia    Mar 27, 2012

Here is a photo of Max, which I took while meeting with Madame Traore in Senegal last week. Max is 16 months old now.

Best,

Julia Kurnia
Director, Zidisha Inc.

• d    Mar 27, 2012

  Thanks for the photo! I'm glad to hear that he is doing better now.

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Julia Kurnia    Mar 18, 2012

Dear all,

I am in Dakar and was able to meet today with Madame Traore, one of our clients whose loan you funded. I am including my previous account of her story below for reference, and would like to offer an additional update.

After about half of her lenders forgave her loan, Madame Traore's remaining balance has been reduced to $587. Max is now 16 months old, and is being seen by a specialist in sickle-cell anemia on a regular basis. He is receiving prescription medications which cost a good deal, though Madame Traore has managed to afford them so far. She says he is in much better health, without the acute breathing problems he had experienced before he began treatment.

According to Madame Traore, your loan really did make a difference, though not in the way anyone intended. Just after the loan was disbursed, she experienced a premature amniotic rupture and used the funds to pay for an emergency Caesarean section: a life-saving intervention in a country where surgery is not covered by insurance and maternal and infant mortality is still very high.

Max seems to be a precocious child, walking at 10 months and with a fairly advanced vocabulary for a 16-month-old. We'll try to send you some photos of him soon.

Best,

Julia



On Thu, Feb 9, 2012 at 11:17 PM, Julia Kurnia wrote:

Dear Zidisha members,

I'd like to request a few moments to update you on the situation of Ndeye Marie Traore, a Zidisha client in Senegal whose loan you helped fund back in October 2010. The following information is based solely on Madame Traore's self-reported story, corroborated by the account of a Zidisha intern who visited her last year.

Madame Traore was expecting her first child at the time she applied for a Zidisha loan, which she intended to invest in her local fruit juice production business. However soon after she received her loan disbursement, she was rushed to the hospital with a premature amniotic rupture. She used the loan funds to pay for an emergency Caesarean section, which may well have saved her baby's life. The child, Max, survived but has suffered from serious breathing problems ever since, while Madame Traore herself was unable to work for a long time. She nevertheless managed to repay $228 of her $780 loan at 8.9% interest, before Max's breathing problems became acute and she began dedicating all of her resources to his medical care. Max was finally diagnosed with sickle-cell anemia, a condition that requires managed care throughout the patient's life at a cost that, while not impossible for Madame Traore to afford, will require a very substantial share of her income to ensure. At Zidisha, we are concerned that Madame Traore's attempts to repay her loan may come at the cost of essential medical care for Max.

As lenders to Madame Traore, I'd like to ask that you consider forgiving her debt. Should you decide to do so, you will be declining to receive further repayments from Madame Traore, and her outstanding balance (currently $654) will be reduced by the amount that had been remaining due to you under the original loan agreement.

Here is how to forgive your share of the loan:

1. Follow the link www.zidisha.org/index.php?p... to Madame Traore's loan profile page.

2. Log in to your lender account at the top of the page.

3. Expand the section labeled "Repayment Schedule" and follow the link "I would like to forgive my share of this loan."

The decision to forgive Madame Traore's loan is yours. Should you do so, I'm sure that it would lift a great burden from her mind and allow her to focus her resources on caring for her son with a clear conscience.

Should you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Kind regards,

Julia Kurnia

Director
Zidisha.org

Ndeye Marie    Jan 8, 2012

Greetings to all,

It has been some time since I shared my news, but my son is doing much better. I contacted the Senegal Sickle-Cell Anemia Support Association [which had been recommended by one of the Zidisha lenders] and they put me in touch with another doctor who explained my son's case to me thoroughly, and he has put my son under long-term managed care. Our situation is better now, and I thank you all.

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bonjour a tous cela fait un temps que j ai pas donner de mes nouvelles mais cela va beaucoup mieux avec mon fils j ai contacte l association des drepanosythoses du senegal et ils m ont mis en rapport avec un autre medecin qui m a explique pour le cas de mon fils et il a mis mon fils sous traitement cza se passe mieux maintenant je vous remercie tous

Ndeye Marie    Dec 7, 2011

Greetings to all,

It is true that I have not communicated much recently, but as I had mentioned previously, the doctor has given me the test results and the baby suffers from sickle-cell anemia, a very difficult case because many times life expectancy is not more than eighteen years, but the doctor told me that there is a treatment available in a hospital in Paris, but that would be extremely expensive. I am currently trying to contact charitable associations and organizations while waiting to be put in contact with the French doctor who is going to give me a document with a cost estimate. He assured me that some of the costs will be free of charge, but that I would need to cover the travel and lodging costs myself, and that will require a large budget. I am in shock at the moment and very worried about my son.

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bonjour a tous il est vrai que ces temps ci je communique peu mais comme je vous l avez dit le medecin a donne les resultats des analyses le bebe souffre de drepanocythose SS un cas tres difficile car la pluspart du temps la limite d age est de 18 ans mais il m a dit qu il est possible d un traitement dans un hopital a Paris mais cela coute excessivement chere actuellement je voulais contacter avec des associations et des bonnes volontés en attendant d entrer en contact avec le médecin français qui dois m envoyer leur formulaire pour connaitre les frais médicaux il m a assure que certains frais sont gratuits sans compter les frais de voyage et d hebergement ce qui constitue un gros budget actuellement je suis sous le choc et tres preoccupee par la situation de mon fils

Julia Kurnia    Nov 28, 2011

Dear all,

We disbursed the $120 raised to Madame Traore today, in the local currency amount of CFA 54,734. Madame Traore sent the following message upon receipt of the funds:

"I received this afternoon the funds from Mr. Diallo as planned. I thank you once again for this act. I have an appointment with the doctor tomorrow and I will let you know how things progress."

Best,

Julia Kurnia

Director, Zidisha Inc.

Julia Kurnia    Nov 23, 2011

Dear lenders,

We raised a total amount of $120 from two lenders for medical care for Madame Traore's baby. The equivalent amount in local currency, CFA 54,734, will be disbursed by check to Madame Traore from Zidisha's bank account in Senegal.

Thanks,

Julia Kurnia

Director, Zidisha Inc.

• Ndeye Marie    Nov 24, 2011

  Thank you so much for this wave of solidarity. This goes straight to my heart...

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  merci a vous Julia pour cet elan de solidarite cela me va droit au coeur

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Julia Kurnia    Nov 20, 2011

Dear all,

We are assisting one of the lenders to make a donation to Madame Traore to help cover the cost of her baby Max's medical care, and thought we would extend the opportunity to any others who would like to join in making a contribution.

Here's how:

1. Go to our Donate page (www.zidisha.org/index.php?p=38) and make your contribution via any one of the payment options there - E-Check, credit card or PayPal.

2. Send an email to [email protected] to let us know that your contribution is for Madame Traore.

3. We'll send a receipt for your donation, and the amount collected will be converted to Senegalese currency (at the same exchange rate used for all loan transactions at Zidisha.org) and disbursed to Madame Traore.

Anyone who would like to contribute something is requested to do so before this Wednesday, November 23.

Should you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me at [email protected].

Best,

Julia Kurnia

Director, Zidisha Inc.

Ndeye Marie    Nov 20, 2011

Greetings everyone,

It is true that it has been a very long time since I got in touch. As I explained to the Zidisha team, my son has been in poor health since his birth and his medical care costs a great deal, and my current financial situation does not allow me to procure the care that he needs. I kindly request you to understand my situation.

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BONJOUR A TOUS
IL EST VRAI QUE JE CONNECTE PLUS DEPUIS UN bon bout de temps comme j ai eu a l expliquer a l equipe de zidisha mon fils est malade depuis sa naissance et ses frais medicaux coutent excessivement chers et ma situation financiere actuelle ne me permet pas de le prendre en charge correctement je vous prie de bien vouloir comprendre ma situation

Julia Kurnia    Nov 4, 2011

Dear lenders,

I spoke with Madame Traore this morning. She had some sad news: her baby son, Max, is in the hospital with severe health problems and is going to undergo surgery next month.

You may recall that soon after receiving her loan disbursement last November, she underwent a Caesarean section and gave birth to Max, who was born in poor health. The costs of the surgery and medical treatment for Madame Traore's baby had to be paid out of pocket, as health insurance is almost nonexistent in Senegal. Thankfully, revenue from the Zidisha loan allowed Madame Traore to pay for what may well have been life-saving surgical intervention and neonatal care.

Having used all of her financial resources to obtain medical care for herself and the baby, Madame Traore was left with no working capital to support her business. On top of that, the severe power outages that have affected Dakar this past year have disrupted her business, as the refrigerator that she purchased with the loan depends on a steady supply of electricity. Madame Traore is nevertheless fully committed to repaying Zidisha lenders according to the extended repayment schedule that was accorded last month. She tells me that her brother is still trying to resolve a technical difficulty with his bank account, and that once resolved he will be transferring about $200 for loan repayments.

Madame Traore has already repaid $236 for her Zidisha loan. The amount remaining due on the loan has been reduced to $738 following the forgiveness of repayments by two lenders.

Should you have any inquiries or comments concerning this loan, please do not hesitate to contact me at [email protected].

Best,

Julia Kurnia
Director, Zidisha Inc.

Julia Kurnia    Oct 21, 2011

Dear lenders,

I spoke today with Madame Traore. You may recall that soon after receiving her loan disbursement last November, she underwent a Caesarean section and gave birth to a baby boy, who was born in poor health. The costs of the surgery and medical treatment for Madame Traore's baby had to be paid out of pocket, as health insurance is almost nonexistent in Senegal. Thankfully, revenue from the Zidisha loan allowed Madame Traore to pay for what may well have been life-saving surgical intervention and neonatal care.

Having used all of her financial resources to obtain medical care for herself and the baby, Madame Traore was left with no working capital to support her business. On top of that, the severe power outages that have affected Dakar this past year have disrupted her business, as the refrigerator that she purchased with the loan depends on a steady supply of electricity.

Madame Traore is nevertheless fully committed to repaying Zidisha lenders according to the extended repayment schedule that was accorded last month. Her brother attempted this week to transfer funds for her October and November installments to Zidisha's bank account, but the bank was experiencing technical difficulties and advised him to return and try again next week.

Should you have any questions or comments concerning this loan, please do not hesitate to post them here, or contact me at [email protected].

Best,

Julia Kurnia
Director, Zidisha Inc.

Ndeye Marie    Sep 27, 2011

Greetings to all members of Zidisha,

As you must have noticed, my repayments have not been regular, and I would like to offer an explanation.

One month after receiving the loan, I gave birth by Caesarean section to a little boy, who was born in poor health. Ever since then, my business activities have been undermined by the cost of the medicines he needed, which are extremely expensive for someone of my income level.

This, in sum, are the reasons I have fallen behind on my repayments. I kindly request that you accept this rescheduling of my repayments. Thank you very much.

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bonjour a tous les membres de zidisha; comme vous l avez constate mes remboursements n ont pas été réguliers je tiens en vous en donner les raisons; 1 mois après avoir revu le prêt j ai accouche par césarienne d un petit garçon qui est né malade depuis lors mon travail a pris un sacre coup a cause des ordonnances excessivement chers vu mon niveau social voila en quels mots les causes de mon retard je vous prie de bien vouloir accepter ce changement et je vous en remercie

Ndeye Marie    Sep 25, 2011

Greetings to all members of Zidisha,

As you must have noticed, my repayments have not been regular, and I would like to offer an explanation.

One month after receiving the loan, I gave birth by Caesarean section to a little boy, who was born in poor health. Ever since then, my business activities have been undermined by the cost of the medicines he needed, which are extremely expensive for someone of my income level.

This, in sum, are the reasons I have fallen behind on my repayments. I kindly request that you accept this rescheduling of my repayments. Thank you very much.

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bonjour a tous les membres de zidisha; comme vous l avez constate mes remboursements n ont pas été réguliers je tiens en vous en donner les raisons; 1 mois après avoir revu le prêt j ai accouche par césarienne d un petit garçon qui est né malade depuis lors mon travail a pris un sacre coup a cause des ordonnances excessivement chers vu mon niveau social voila en quels mots les causes de mon retard je vous prie de bien vouloir accepter ce changement et je vous en remercie

• d    Sep 25, 2011

  Hi Ndeye, best wishes for you and for the health of your son! Please let us know how Max is doing.
  
  Salut Ndèye, meilleurs voeux pour vous et pour la santé de votre fils! S'il vous plaît laissez-nous savoir comment Max fait. (google)

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Allen    Mar 26, 2011

Hello to all on Zidisha. As Senegal's Client Relations Manager I met with Ndeye on Thursday. As the internet was down I jotted down a message that she wanted me to relay to you all.

On behalf of Ndeye:

Hello to all my lenders,

I contracted a loan to grow my business which consists of transforming local products into to fruit drinks, which I sell throughout my neighborhood. With this loan I was able to by a refrigerator to stock the drinks in. I also bought a significant stock of "bissap" (hibiscus), pain de singe (literally monkey's bread-the fruit of the baobab tree),ginger, and sugar. Unfortunately the profits I had made couldn't go toward reimbursing my loan. I recently had a baby boy, Max, (photos attached) and underwent surgery.
As I am alone with him I had to take off for some time but have started working again on the 10th of March. I have started from zero but am committed to repaying my loan.

Ndeye Marie    Jan 20, 2011

Dear lenders,
I hope you are well. I was able to make my payment today and I want to thank you for your patience. There have been many power outages lately so it's been difficult to update my profile, but I will write more when I get a chance. Thank you for your support!

Ndeye Marie    Jan 3, 2011

Greetings to everyone, and to all lenders and Zidisha members in this new year I present my best wishes for health, peace and prosperity. May this year be better than the ones that have gone before.

I would also like to request that you grant me a small delay in my loan repayments; I would like to make my payments on the 18th of this month if you agree. That is the time when I expect to begin receiving customer payments again. These delays are because I was not able to work from mid-November all the way through the end of December.

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BONJOUR A TOUTES ET A TOUS EN CE NOUVEL AN JE PRESENTE MES VOEUX DE PROSPERITE DE SANTE DE PAIX A TOUS LES BAILLEURS ET A TOUS LES MEMBRES DE ZIDISHA QUE CETTE ANNEE SOIT MEILLEURE QUE LES ANNEES PASSEES
JE VOULAIS EN MEME TEMPS VOUS DEMEANDER DE M ACCORDER UN PEU DE TEMPS POUR FAIRE LES VERSEMENTS JE VOUDRAIS FAIRE LES VERSEMENTS LE 18 DE CE MOS SI VOUS ME LE PERMETTAIS C EST A PARTIR DE CE MOMOENT QUE JE RECEVRAIS DE L ARGENT
TOUS CES RETARDS SONT DU FAIT QUE JE SUIS RESTEE LE DERNIER QUINZAINE DU MOIS DE NOVEMBRE ET TOUT LE MOIS DE DECEMBRE SANS TRAVAILLER

Ndeye Marie    Dec 20, 2010

Greetings to all Zidisha lenders,

I would like to apologize for this delay in repayment. I have just given birth to a son, and I had to undergo an operation and stay at the hospital for some time. But I promise to make my repayment installment next week, and apologize once more to Zidisha and all the lenders.

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bonjour a tous les bailleurs de zidisha; je tenais a m excuser pour ce retard de paiement
j ai accouche d un garçon et j ai été opéré je suis restée a l hôpital un certain temps
mais je promets de faire le versement des la semaine prochaine je m excuse une fois de plus au près de zidisha et de tous les bailleurs

• Daniel    Dec 20, 2010

  Mme Traore -- congratulations! I wish you and your family all the best.

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smonroe    Nov 24, 2010

Chers bailleurs,
Comme Mme Traore a deja explique, je voulais juste m'excuser pour la manque de comprehension entre moi et Madame Traore en vers le calendrier de paiement. Comme promis, Mme Traore a verse le 15, mais a cause de la fête de la Tabascé et des problemes techniques avec le transfert, on vient juste de recevoir le montant hier. Je suis fier que Mme Traore espere payer le premier du mois prochain, et je vous remercie encore pour votre patience.
Merci, Steve
Je
voulais juste vous remercier pour votre patience et m'excuse

Ndeye Marie    Nov 6, 2010

Hello, it is with a lot of hassle that I finally got online because of all the power outtages these days. I want to explain that the lateness of my first payment is due to a misunderstanding between Steve and I over when the first payment was to be made, we've agreed that I will make the first payment at the 15th of this month. I offer all of my apologies.

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Bonjour cest avec beaucoup de peine ke je reussi a avoir la connection internet ces jours a cause des coupures je tenais a vous expliquer le retard de mon premier versement ki est du a un manque de comprehension entre steve et moi pour le delai accorde quand on recoit le pret a la date du premier versement mai a partir du 15 de ce mois je verserai le montant du mois je presente tous mes excuses

Ndeye Marie    Oct 18, 2010

I received my loan on the first of the month, and I immediately took a trip to buy inventory for my business. I'd like to thank all the lenders who invested in my enterprise, and I promise to update you all again soon on how my enterprise has advanced.

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Depuis le 1er de ce mois j ai recu monn pret de zidisha apres reception j ai eu a voyage pour acheter les produits necessaires pour mon bussiness je remercie tous ces bailleurs ki ont investi dans mon projet et vous promet de revenir tres bientot pour vous informer de l etat d avancement de mon projet