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.
Opportunity International EduFinance, Teach A Man To Fish, and Fundación Paraguaya Partner to Expand School Enterprise Challenge in Tanzania
Opportunity International EduFinance, Teach A Man To Fish, and Fundación Paraguaya Partner to Expand School Enterprise Challenge in Tanzania March 10, 2017 // by Nathan Byrd Opportunity International EduFinance, Teach A Man to Fish (TAMTF) and Fundación Paraguaya have agreed to a partnership targeting expansion of the School Enterprise Challenge to in Tanzania. The partnership will bring business skills to schools, teachers and students, aiming to benefit at least 10,000 children with a strong…
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Beauty After the Storm
I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Opportunity’s Global CEO, Vicki Escarra, to learn about her recent trip to Malawi, Africa. Pen in hand I was prepared to hear about the typical field visit—news about the banks, meetings upon meetings and always a much anticipated tidbit about our dear clients. What I wasn’t prepared for rocked me to my very core. As a 13+ year employee of Opportunity who started working with Vicki on her very first day as CEO, I thought I knew a lot about her. I…
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End Poverty in All Its Forms Everywhere
In 2015, about 10% of the world’s population—736 million people—lived in extreme poverty. And this crisis has become more severe in the wake of COVID-19. The World Bank estimates that 150 million people will be pushed back into extreme poverty by the end of 2021—marking the first time our progress has reversed in decades.
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A Love Worth Celebrating
When Elton Guazambera was hospitalized last year, his life was filled with uncertainties. Would he recover? What would his long-term diagnosis be? But unlike most of his neighbors in Lilongwe, Malawi, Elton had one thing he didn’t need to worry about: whether he could afford his hospital bills. Elton knew that he could get the treatment he needed because his wife Hanna had spent the last decade carefully building a savings account with Opportunity International. For years, Elton and Hanna have…
Read MoreThe Legacy of Al and Marion Whittaker
Al and Marion Whittaker had no idea what an incredible path their lives would take. Al was a gifted, unassuming businessman who had a very successful career as an executive with Bristol-Myers and the Mennen Company. His wife Marion had a generous, compassionate heart and led an active life ministering to the needs of others. They were successful by society's standards, but God was calling them to do something more. After attending a Bible conference near their home in New Jersey, they both felt called…
Read MoreDay 1: The Gift of Education
Merry Christmas to you and your family! I'm honored to wrap up our special 12 Days of Christmas series by highlighting a gift I received from participating in the inaugural graduation ceremony at Emprendedora Technical High School, which was founded in 2012 in Granada, Nicaragua, a country where more than 48 percent of children never reach the sixth grade. Founded in 2012, the high school is part of Opportunity International’s Community Economic Development (CED) strategy to build on the local…
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Day 2: Tires and Handlebars
As a new parent, there’s so much I don’t know. Every day is filled with a choose-your-own-adventure series of decisions and frankly, most of the time I’m pretty sure I’m doing it wrong. Advice comes flying at me from all corners—some welcomed, some intimidating, and sometimes in the form of tires and handlebars. When I attended the first graduation of the Emprendedora Technical School in Nicaragua earlier this month, it was not the students I marveled at. Yes, of course they were amazing:…
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Day 3: The Gift of Story
I’ve spent more than a dozen years being a storyteller for Opportunity International. Stories go into proposals, reports, cards, letters, articles, videos, speeches. You might think that after a while, stories would start to blur and feel formulaic. But to me, receiving each client’s story is a precious gift that they impart to me – the privilege to bear witness to their journey. Whether they give their story directly to me during a visit, or whether I receive it second or third hand through…
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Day 4: The Gift of Resilience
Pick yourself up. Brush it off. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. We all have casual phrases for moving forward in adversity. But the fact is, sometimes life deals a tragic blow, and there isn’t a phrase in the world that begins to capture the path forward. In Kigali, Rwanda, I met Petronaire, an Opportunity client who has built a successful tailoring business. She introduced me to her colleagues who are also seamstresses. While sketching designs and taking measurements, they started…
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Day 5: The Yellow Latrine
One month ago while the rest of the world was in a meltdown over a certain election, I was thankful to be tucked away in a chaotic corner of India visiting some amazing female entrepreneurs who are changing the course of their families’ futures. There I was in a rural village outside of Varanasi, completely in awe of someone’s toilet. It wasn’t the toilet itself that struck me (I’ve seen and used a squat toilet before), it was the vibrant yellow colour it was painted. In our society, toilets…
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