Loan Officers Share Pandemic Experiences in Ecuador
At VisionFund, our loan officers are at the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether working with new clients to negotiate loan terms, assisting existing clients to pivot to new business models, or even just providing a listening ear to some of our most vulnerable clients, loan officers are our Hidden Heroes in supporting our clients through this difficult time.
In Ecuador, 17 loan officers were asked to keep a diary of their experiences over April, May and June as the pandemic began to accelerate across the country. The diaries included reflections about loan officers’ experiences with clients, and how they were seeing the pandemic affect those they serve. Ecuador has been one of the hardest hit countries in Latin America and described as an early epicentre for infection, with more than 150,000 cases recorded since February 2020. More than 73% of surveyed clients were unable to continue their business operations in Ecuador, and without a reliable source of income, many experienced significant difficulties beyond simply being unable to repay their business loans.
Loan officers reported in their diaries that most of their clients had to use savings or find employment to make ends meet, rather than continue with their regular business operations. Some also reported that clients were disobeying curfews in order to make an income, some even travelling to other cities to find work, at significant risk of infection. Several loan officers mentioned clients having periods of significant food insecurity, relying on community support to be able to eat. “The story is the same for everyone,” said one loan officer. “The desperation of not being able to go out to work… makes the clients face any obstacle to be able to get at least the food for their children.”
Fear and heavy stress also played a large role in clients’ lives as loan officers checked on their welfare. The socioeconomic impacts of COVID-19 restrictions were the most commonly reported stresses, and included difficulties such as outstanding bills, including their loan repayments, as well as lost production and assets due to COVID-19. Many, although less, loan officers also reported significant fear of the COVID-19 virus itself amongst their clients, sometimes due to previous illness or the death of relatives. One loan officer wrote: “I am hoping that all this will end and praying to God to deliver us from all evil. It is normal to feel concerned about so many deaths, so many people who have no way to feed themselves and lack medicine and do not know if it causes much concern.”
One concern that clients highlighted to loan officers was the need for improved education access as quarantine restrictions continued to be enforced. Families identified that they were struggling to ensure their children’s education was not disrupted, as electricity, internet and computer access became harder to obtain as schools switched online. “All my clients are desperate and sad,” shared one loan officer. “Their children are dropping out of school as they have no access to the internet or WhatsApp and are engaged in agricultural activities or herding animals.”
Loan officers provided valuable information to VisionFund’s microfinance institution (MFI) in Ecuador, through phone calls they made to all clients on a recurring basis. The MFI heard the challenges that clients were experiencing, and provided a long deferment term for repayments across all categories of loan. Loan officers also suggested the creation of specific financial products to support client recovery, and made excellent suggestions around how VisionFund could work with World Vision Ecuador, including education and health solutions to support clients more holistically. VisionFund Ecuador is now providing a specific recovery loan to clients who request one, to assist in building their businesses back better as quarantine restrictions ease.
Overall, loan officers unanimously reported that they had seen God at work through our clients, with ‘strength’, ‘perseverance’ and ‘solidarity’ the top three values loan officers identified in their clients. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause difficulties for Ecuadorian livelihoods, VisionFund staff remain committed to ensuring that their clients remain secure and supported for as long as they are needed.
Loan officer Luis summed up his final diary entry: “We must understand that there are also many positive things that this problem called the coronavirus is teaching us: it has forced us to value the family, and to be more close to our creator, as faith is the last thing that can be lost. It is teaching us that we are all equal and vulnerable to this pandemic. What fills me with joy is to see the fields green again get up in the morning and breathe cleaner air, without a doubt I can say that the world is being reborn.”