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.
Last Weekend of Willow Creek’s 2012 Celebration of Hope
This weekend marks the end of the three-week Celebration of Hope for Her event at Willow Creek Church in Barrington, Ill. Opportunity was one of over 40 ministries and organizations–and the only microfinance organization–represented, with booths set up in the megachurch’s lobby after Sunday services. The booths inform worshippers about different global initiatives all related to the empowerment of women–such as income-generating projects, clean water programs, and health and well-being–and…
Read MoreMy Journey with Opportunity International Begins… Actress Malin Akerman Travels to Tanzania
On March 9, my husband Roberto and I stepped off the plane in Arusha (a place I hadn’t heard of until this year), and we knew we were in for an adventure. I couldn’t wait to get started. In 2010 I had spent time in Johannesburg while filming Bang Bang Club. I became good friends with my security guard, Stranger (yes, that was his name), who invited me to his birthday party. It was the most beautiful party I had ever been to, in the township Soweto. I met mothers, daughters, sons, fathers and…
Read MoreShare the National Day of Prayer with Us
Today is the National Day of Prayer, officially marked as a day to “mobilize prayer in America and to encourage personal repentance and righteousness in the culture,” and listed on nationaldayofprayer.org alongside the scripture, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” (Psalm 33:12) At Opportunity we’re celebrating the day by sharing our prayers–for our loved ones, our community, and people around the world–with all our supporters and we want you to join us. We’ll be sharing…
Read MoreGrandmas, Friends, Wives and Mothers: A Tribute to Important Women in Our Lives
Young Ambassadors (YAO) members and Opportunity International staff weigh in on the important women in their lives and what they mean to them: My Grandma is one of my soulmates. Her heart has always understood mine and I have always understood hers. Ever since I was a child we have been able to talk for hours about life, relationships, and most importantly our Heavenly Father. My Grandma has taught me what it looks like to live a Godly life, where all your trust and faith rests in God’s promises.…
Read MoreOpportunity Mozambique is “Empowering Girls, Building the Future”
I just received this story from Mozambique that I wanted to share with you. The lovely staff of Opportunity Mozambique once again demonstrated their commitment to empowering and celebrating women by taking part in International Women’s Day 2012 in early April. Based on this year’s theme “Empowering Girls, Building the Future,” masses of women joined together to pay tribute to Mozambique’s women and girls who contribute significantly to their families and communities. These everyday heroics…
Read MoreWhat Does it Take to Ensure Maternal Health Around the World?
If you were an expectant mother, how would you stay strong in the face of a lack of resources and access to proper care? That was the questions on my mind last Monday, April 16, when I attended a screening of Christy Turlington Burns’s documentary “No Woman, No Cry,” along with Opportunity International supporters and several of my colleagues. Burns’s film–part of the Every Mother Counts campaign, screened on Monday in partnership with Lifeway Foods, Inc. – highlights the complex barriers…
Read MoreFor Mothers Like Adwoa, Opportunity Changes Everything
Throughout the world, all mothers want to give their children everything, and they sacrifice in countless unseen ways to make it happen. As you each honor your own mom this Mother’s Day, allow us to share the story of a very inspirational woman, Adwoa Kwatemaa, one of nearly four million women who inspire Opportunity International to change everything for mothers around the globe. Adwoa lives in rural Kofurida, Ghana, and is a mother of six and a grandmother. When Adwoa was widowed 12 years ago,…
Read MoreOpportunity Staff Updates on Sustainable Energy Initiatives Around the World
Deborah Foy, Opportunity-UK’s International Programmes Director told me that 2012 is the United Nations’s “International Year of Sustainable Energy for All.” In the UN’s own words, “Energy is opportunity. It transforms lives. Economies. The planet.” Opportunity’s clients enjoy some of the world’s sunniest days–but they also experience the darkest nights. Lacking electricity, over a billion people around the world are forced to rely on kerosene lamps that emit no more light than…
Read MoreImages of Microfinance… in San Diego?!?
When you think about microfinance clients, what comes to mind? For most of us, we think of international microfinance, but some paradigms shifted several weeks ago as attendees of the San Diego Microfinance Summit spent their lunch hours shopping at 45 booths from local San Diego vendors and restaurants, all of which were funded by microfinance loans. They ranged from high-end chocolate artisans to jewelry makers to the latest popular hipster restaurant. Opportunity International attended the fourth-annual…
Read MoreChicago Premiere of No Woman, No Cry, Directorial Debut of Christy Turlington Burns
Yesterday afternoon, YAO members, members of the Board of Governors, several of my colleagues and I went to the Chicago premiere of Christy Turlington Burns‘s directorial debut, the powerful documentary “No Woman, No Cry.” It’s part of the Every Mother Counts campaign, which raises awareness and support for maternal health issues worldwide. In her film, Burns shares the stories of at-risk pregnant women in four parts of the world: a remote Maasai tribe in Tanzania; a slum in Bangladesh; a…
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