Graduating to a New Future

“Colombia is filled with people of hope, heart, and ingenuity regardless of where you live or where you were born…You have opened a path for the next generation and the generation ahead of you as well,” said Camilo Garcia, Opportunity International Vice President of Strategic Partnerships in Latin America, to a room full of graduates, their families, and community members present to support this incredible feat.

The Ultra-Poverty Graduation program offers a long-term solution for families living below the extreme poverty mark of two dollars a day—truly living in subsistence mode. Participants receive support to secure food, start one or two income-generating businesses, learn basic financial skills, be mentored and linked to their community linkages—all which paves a holistic, viable path out of poverty. The Graduation program fits well with Opportunity International’s core model of financial services, training, and support; we tailored it for those who are living at the lowest levels of poverty imaginable. Most candidates are vulnerable women with dependents or persons making about $3 per day with no access to financial services.

After years of success in Haiti and Malawi, in January 2023 Opportunity International launched the very first cohort of its kind in Cartagena, Colombia. After six months of planning, partnership- and community-building, and assessing 650 potential participants, we selected 250 families to participate, with an emphasis on women-led households.

A day to remember

On August 12, 2024, Opportunity celebrated these same families as official graduates. For many, it was the first time they had ever experienced a ceremony like this or graduation of any kind, and for all it was a heartfelt recognition of their perseverance, dedication, faith, and hard work.

Hundreds of meticulously organized seats filled a hall decorated with flowers, greenery, balloon sculptures, and lights in Opportunity’s vibrant colors of orange, pink, and blue. With deep purple graduation stoles standing out on the graduates’ mostly white dress clothes, the atmosphere buzzed with celebratory excitement about completing 18 months of rigorous work—and taking the next steps forward to self-sufficiency—for truly, graduation offers the dual opportunity to look back in celebration and look forward to applying the newly-gained knowledge and confidence to move forward with intention. Opportunity’s local Colombia staff beamed with pride as they watched each graduate receive their certificate of completion.

One hundred percent of participants began the program in strata one—the lowest income communities in the country—and most of those clients were actually strata zero, defined by living in informal settlements with challenging dwelling conditions. Over 80% of this first cohort fully completed the rigorous program which included job training, financial literacy, family wellbeing, and community/social connections. For at least the next 12 months, a staff facilitator will follow up with the graduates to support them as they continue to work in new industries or grow their own businesses.

The class of 2025 is about to embark on their journey

Thanks to the tireless efforts of our staff on the ground in Colombia—including nurturing local partnerships, gathering learnings from the first cohort, and continuing to identify potential families for future participation—and our generous supporters, we are excited to announce that we will launch a second group of 250 new people to participate in the program starting this fall.

Partnerships that last

Opportunity’s partnership with the City of Cartagena equipped the graduates with their training, and also extended beyond that to include another 800 people. Not only did these trainings enhance our program, but it also has make it possible to scale our impact. This collaboration is a beacon for the power of partnership between the public and nonprofit sector, laying a great foundation for future partnerships with governments at the local and national levels.

We are grateful for our community of supporters who enable us to provide opportunities to people living in the deepest poverty to work their way toward sustainable livelihoods for themselves, their families, their communities, and truly, for generations to come.