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News Blog

A Trust Group in India: The Most Marginalized Women Can Be Reached

by Lydia Baldridge Meier

It is refreshing to me that there has been a lot of discussion recently about economic and social empowerment of people living in poverty. Between the report on the Millennium Development Goals progress and the Clinton Global Initiative in New York City in September, it seems the world’s most engaged global leaders are taking notice of the need to alleviate global poverty. The Pudhiya Padhai Trust Group in Chennai, India helped 19 women grow from outcasts to family providers. Today, there…

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What We’re Reading: The Poor Will Be Glad

by Eric Walcott

Every Wednesday, we highlight an article, book or a blog in our “What We’re Reading” series. We feature works that are noteworthy, inspiring, educational or relevant to the work we do at Opportunity. We welcome your comments in the comment field below–tell us what you’re reading, or respond to the piece we’ve highlighted. The following post by Eric Walcott, an Opportunity intern in our Resource Development department, reflects on Peter Greer and Phil Smith’s book The Poor Will Be…

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Why Women? Investing in Women Invests in Communities

by Opportunity International

Throughout the world, women represent an estimated 70% of those living on less than $2 a day. They suffer most from the chronic effects of poor nutrition, insufficient access to healthcare and limited educational opportunities. And they comprise the majority of victims of forced labor, gender violence, and legal and cultural inequities.  Yet, when women are empowered economically, they spend an estimated 90% of their income to support of their children, families and communities–leading to families…

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In the News: Mobile Phone Banking and Opportunity Malawi

by Opportunity International

The Financial Times has just published a story online and in print in their World Food supplement about the effects of mobile phone technology on smallholder farmers in Africa. The article, “Mobile technology: Phones prove useful tools for small farmers,” (written by Sarah Murray; published online Oct. 14, 2010, in print Oct. 15, 2010) featured insight from Opportunity Malawi CEO Aleksandr-Alain Kalanda along with other scholars and experts in microfinance and global development. Cell…

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Today is World Food Day–Saturday, Oct. 16

by Opportunity International

Saturday, Oct. 16th is World Food Day, a day designated by the U.N.’s World Food Programme to raise awareness and support in the fight against global hunger. From wfp.org: “World Food Day on October 16 reminds the world that around 1 in 7 people alive today are going hungry[...] [Though,] this year, the number of hungry people on Earth went down for the first time in five years, …there are still more than 925 million people, mainly children, who do not eat enough to be healthy.” At Opportunity’s 2010…

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New Video: Opportunity International Emerging Leaders Program

by Opportunity International

We have just posted a new, updated video about our work with the inspiring women in the Goldman Sachs Emerging Leader Program. Part of the 10,000 Women Initiative, the Emerging Leaders Program is changing the lives of young women working for Opportunity International in eight African countries (Uganda, Kenya, Mozambique, Malawi, Ghana, Tanzania, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo). These women receive training in banking and finance to help them establish or advance careers in microfinance…

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Blog Action Day: The Need for Clean Water

by Opportunity International

Today is Blog Action Day from change.org. The theme this year is the worldwide struggle for clean, safe drinking water. “Why Water?” asks change.org. “Water is a global issue, deserving a global conversation.” A few facts from charity: water, one of this year’s Blog Action Day partners: Right now, almost a billion people on the planet don’t have access to clean, safe drinking water. That’s one in eight of us. In Africa alone, people spend 40 billion hours every year just walking…

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Poverty Eradication Day is Sunday, Oct. 17

by Opportunity International

Honor the International Day to Eradicate Poverty (More information can be found at un.org) On October 17, 1987, more than 100,000 people gathered at the Trocadéro in Paris to show their outrage over global poverty, and declare it as a violation of human rights. Every year since then, supporters gather on Oct. 17 to show their commitment to the fight against extreme poverty. In 1992, the U.N. officially made Oct. 17 theInternational Day for the Eradication of Poverty and invited states, agencies,…

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Conference Breakout: Investing in Half the Sky

by Sonja Egeland Kelly

The following post by YAO member and Opportunity supporter Sonja Egeland Kelly is one of the many blog posts we published from the2010 Fall Microfinance Conference. Click here to read all our conference blog posts…  Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn’s compelling book, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, reminds its readers that “women hold up half the sky.” The book discusses the movement to emancipate women from opporession and fight global…

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What We’re Reading: Putting Savings in the Bank in the Era of Climate Change

by Annsley Scruton-Wilson

Every Wednesday, we highlight an article, book or a blog in our “What We’re Reading” series. We feature works that are noteworthy, inspiring, educational or relevant to the work we do at Opportunity. We welcome your comments in the comment field below–tell us what you’re reading, or respond to the piece we’ve highlighted. The following post by Opportunity’s program manager, Annsley Scruton-Wilson, uses a 2009 article in The Economist as the catalyst for an examination of the potential…

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