Evans Ssenabulya and his wife, Roy, have three daughters under the age of 10. As he watched his beautiful girls grow up, Evans noticed how many children in the community, mostly girls, were removed from school when their families could not cover the associated expenses. He longed for a brighter future for his own daughters and knew that education was a critical step toward them achieving their dreams. 

Motivated by his deep love for his family, Evans set out to create opportunities for his daughters – and for his entire community. In 2007, he built a small wooden structure on a rented plot a land and opened a school for 100 students in his neighborhood. Six years later, Evans purchased the land and had grown the Ridgeway School into a day and boarding program serving over 900 students.  

Evans loves his daughters. Evans believes in his daughters. Evans invests in his daughters. And Evans is not alone.

All around the world, Opportunity International works with parents who dream of brighter futures for their children. These dedicated entrepreneurs work tirelessly to provide their kids with opportunities that were out of reach for them – equipping them to break free from poverty once and for all.

One such success story is Amina Mendez, the daughter of an Opportunity client. She is also a college graduate and works today as a loan officer for Opportunity, serving and investing in entrepreneurs just like her mom in her home country of the Philippines. Her words reflect the hearts of parents around the globe:

“The loan [from Opportunity] helped my mom. It helped me. It is going to help generations of people after me. It helped the neighbors in her community. So it’s not just momentum, it’s an explosion of momentum – one life touching another.

[These loans} matter, not just to the families who are receiving the loans, but to their children, and the children after that who may never know the name of Opportunity International because they won’t be poor anymore and they won’t be needing that loan.”

This is the dream of so many parents – that through their hard work, their children won’t be poor anymore. That their love and support would be enough to create a future full of opportunity and success for their kids. These entrepreneurs are working hard, not for their own benefit, but for the benefit of their families. It is why a woman reinvests 90% of her income back into her family and why clients’ goals almost always include educating their children. 

This is why we at Opportunity invest in parents and families – so that they can celebrate and dream and succeed together.

Join us this month as we celebrate love – between parent and child, client and loan officer, donor and farmer and teacher and bank branch. This love motivates us to invest in our friends around the globe – and these investments create opportunities that transform communities for good.