50 Weeks of Opportunity
Each week for the next 50 weeks, we will share a piece of Opportunity’s history—major or minor, sobering or inspiring, we have gotten where we are today by facing some of the world’s greatest challenges, with you by our side. Please join us in celebrating the many impactful moments that have built the foundation on which we will embark on our most audacious vision yet: ending extreme poverty.
Governor Spotlight: Julie Wade
Julie Wade is a connector—one of those rare human beings who not only sees the potential of connecting one opportunity with another, but takes action to bring ideas and people together, creating a multiplying power that leads to something meaningful, effective, and exciting.
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This is one memoir that will stick with you
In his powerful new memoir, Solito, Javier Zamora takes us along as he looks back on the life-altering 3,000-mile journey from El Salvador to the U.S. that he made at just nine years old.
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Staff Spotlight: Dr. William Derban
Dr. Derban is laser-focused on providing human-centered solutions that keep the people Opportunity International serves at the center of our work—solutions that can be scaled at an ultra-low cost and make lasting change in communities facing incredible obstacles.
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Today is a day of celebration
Three years ago, we began a bold journey to go where others can’t or won’t. To reach out to those who have been left out or left behind. To help families build sustainable livelihoods, send their children to school, and create opportunities for themselves and their neighbors.
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5 Books We Loved in 2022
There’s nothing quite like exploring the world through the pages of great novels, memoirs, and stories. Every month, the Opportunity International Book Club expands our minds, perspectives, and understanding as we dive into a new book—and we are so grateful to read alongside friends around the globe.
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Waymaker Wednesday: Blanca
I met the father of my children. When I started a life with him, he began abusing me. He would hit, kick, and beat me. He would always say, “You will need me. You cannot live without me because a woman cannot live alone.” All those ideas had taken over in my head. I used to say, “It’s true. A woman needs a partner.” Today I feel completely different. Women can survive on their own. As long as you keep your eye on the goal that you have decided to fight for, you will get there. I am the…
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Listening and Learning: Community Economic Development in Nicaragua
In the late 1980s, professors at Northwestern University proposed a new method of economic development. The premise was simple: What if we started with what a community had, instead of what it lacked? What if we leveraged a neighborhood’s existing skills, resources, institutions, partnerships, and people to advance the greater good?
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End the year with a memoir
This December, join us as we read The Country Under My Skin: A Memoir of Love and War by Gioconda Belli. Belli grew up as part of Nicaragua’s upper class, living the charmed life set before her. But in 1970, everything changed. She joined the Sandinistas—the political and military organization that overthrew the existing Nicaraguan government in 1979—and over the course of 20 years, worked her way up to what the book describes as the “highest, and often the most dangerous, levels.”
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Empowering the Next Generation
In my role as Head of the Financial Inclusion Initiative at Credit Suisse, I recently traveled to Uganda to see first-hand the impact of Opportunity International’s education work.
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Planting Seeds of Hope: Supporting Smallholder Farmers in Rwanda
In agricultural communities, every seed planted is a symbol of possibility. Amid so many unknowns, farmers work the land with hope. They look to the future—focused on what could be and learning into the potential of their plots. Like farmers around the world, Rwandans know that with hard work, focus, and the right conditions, tomorrow can be better than today.
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