The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World by Jacqueline Novogratz

student ticket, I had to fly back to Cote d'Ivoire for a day and then return to Kenya via Nigeria. Since I couldn't afford to pay the extra fee to bring my boxes on the flight, I left them at the Hilton.
    After landing safely in Nairobi, I was ready to go-again.
    When I showed up to work at the familiar office, Marcelina ran to hug me. "Jambo, Jacqueleeen," she called. "You have come back to Maz. We will do all sort of good things now."
    Seeing just one familiar, radiant face was enough to make me feel I'd come home. The organization's regional director helped me reach out to women's groups in East Africa, and in my first month back, in early 1987, 1 was asked to do my first piece of real work.

    A fledgling women's microfinance organization was hoping to turn a corner in its professional development. After lending to women in Nairobi in both the slums and the city center, the organization's director wanted to know the status of the loan portfolio and how it might strengthen operations. The executive director and I met in her office on the second floor of a nondescript building in Nairobi. She told me she felt proud of what the organization had accomplished and also worried that its systems needed strengthening. I suggested we begin by doing a baseline study of where the organization stood, a sort of diagnostic of both strengths and weaknesses so that it had a chance of real growth in the future. We agreed I'd start working on analyzing the loan portfolio the next day.
    I closed the door as I walked into the dingy hall outside the office and let out a little cheer. I had been asked to do something constructive and necessary. I was on my way.
    With a pencil, a calculator, and a big green ledger, I examined every loan the organization had ever made and scrutinized every number. Long into the nights, I worked to unravel which borrowers were making payments, which were behind, which loans should have been written off. The process could not have been more tedious, but I worked feverishly with a renewed sense of purpose.
    After hundreds of hours of work, I was finally finished. With a deep sense of accomplishment, I made the last entry. I had reorganized and restructured the microfinance bank's entire management information system by hand after piecing together fragments from different books and accounts. The books I received were in such deplorable condition that any half-decent accounting firm auditing it would have recommended shutting down the operation, but I was hoping to give the group a new start.
    After scheduling a meeting with the director, I walked into her office with an air of professionalism and optimism.
    I started with the positive: "Your organization is incredibly important to women in Kenya, already reaching hundreds in the slums. This is an exciting time for development and for women, and I'm proud to be working with you."
    She smiled. I took a deep breath.
    I told her that I'd balanced all of the financial records and completed an accounting of every loan. Then I presented her with a system in great order that would allow for stronger management over time.
    She was still smiling.

    "At the same time," I continued, "this diagnostic, if you will, revealed some problems to be addressed. Over 60 percent of the portfolio is in serious arrears. I'd suggest you write off 20 percent completely, put 20 percent on a watch list, and expend a lot of effort on the healthiest 20 percent of your problem loans. Of this group, the majority of borrowers are related to your board members in some way, so this is a problem you'll need to address, as well. The good news is that the organization is young and can do something now to stem the problems and turn operations around to become a great organization." I smiled weakly, trying to look positive and upbeat.
    Her smile morphed into a straight line. I felt my heart rate pick up and I continued, this time at a quicker pace. "Don't worry," I said. "I have a plan for sorting this out.