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News Blog

What We’re Reading: Roger Thurow Encourages Rwandan Farmers to “Keep Up the Momentum”

by Emily Riemer

This week, Roger Thurow, Senior Fellow on Global Agriculture and Food Policy at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, posted a blog reporting on an unusual situation for farmers in Kirehe, Rwanda — an agricultural surplus. Thurow examines the situation, interviewing Agnes Kalibata, Rwanda’s minister of agriculture, and discusses the positive impact of USAID’s Feed the Future initiative as well as the need for continued momentum and perseverance by farmers in Rwanda in the face of a recent…

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Global Poverty: Melinda Gates Discusses What Can Be Done

by Opportunity International

In an interview with Melinda French Gates in the July/August issue of Smithsonian, the co-chair of the world’s largest philanthropic organization discusses what can be done and what is being done about global poverty and health. As part of the $22.7 billion the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has given to development, education and health programs, Melinda Gates identifies certain strategies that have immense impact on poverty, including investment in agriculture and access to financial services,…

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The Potential of Cell Phone Banking

by Opportunity International

Wondering if cell phone banking can reach the unreachable? CGAP Technology Blog has published the results of a discussion with Daryl Collins (co-author of Portfolios of the Poor) and Olga Morawczynski (of Grameen Foundation) from June’s Mobile Money Summit, an examination that highlights some of the keys to effective cell phone banking. Blog author Mark Pickens comments, “I worry some mobile money providers won’t see the volume of transactions they want to justify the investment, unless…

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Loans for Latrines: Innovations for Good Hygiene in Malawi

by Emily Riemer

If Opportunity International‘s mission is to empower people to improve their quality of life and their futures, then good hygiene is critical. Not only does this lead to less illness and improved overall health, but it also helps people live with greater dignity. With that in mind, Opportunity Malawi has entered into a partnership with the Hygiene Village Project (HVP), a local water and sanitation NGO based in the Blantyre District of southern Malawi. The partnership, already up and running at…

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Inspiring the next generation of global citizens

by Sonja Egeland Kelly

Microfinance is a compelling, sustainable, working solution to global poverty. When a woman receives financial services, she sets into motion monumental changes. Family income rises. Children are well fed. Neighbors become employees. Homes are improved. Tuition is within reach. Women, who comprise 85% of our clients, gain status. For Opportunity clients around the world, these transformations take place with loans as little as $80 and savings deposit balance requirements as little as $.05. However,…

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Top 5 Posts About Tanzania

by Emily Riemer

Journey to Tanzania by revisiting some of Opportunity‘s best blog posts from this spring… 1. Arusha Bank Branch Opening in Tanzania, by YAO multimedia reporter AJ Renold (5/19/10) 2. Happy Father’s Day from Opportunity (6/20/10) 3. The Important Role of Women in Tanzania, on International Women’s Day (3/8/10) 4. Why We’re Excited About the Tanzania Launch on OptINnow (5/18/10) 5. Meeting My First Opportunity Tanzania Microfinance Clients, by AJ Renold (5/17/10) Not content to just read…

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Walking with the Entrepreneurs in Jinja Market

by Julie Hindmarsh

Guest blogger and Women’s Opportunity Network (WON) member Julie Hindmarsh sends us this report from WON’s “Mothers, Daughters and Sisters” Insight Trip to Uganda. This post details the travelers’ visit to a Trust Group in Jinja on Thursday. As the first visitors to the Tusakimn (Unity) Trust Group in Jinja, Uganda, the Opportunity loan recipients were eager to meet us. They crowded under the tarp shielding us from the midday tropical sun in order to speak with the bazungu (white people). May,…

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A sincere thank you to the WON travelers and to the women of Uganda…

by Ruth-Anne Renaud

Thank you to the mothers, daughters and sisters of the Women’s Opportunity Network (WON) Insight Trip to Uganda. Your enthusiasm, energy and commitment was inspiring and made the trip a significant event full of education and enrichment to all involved. What a blessing to be able to meet the wonderful women of Uganda and to see how they live and with what spirit and energy they are working to improve their lives. Meredith Hefner (the 24-year-old daughter of fellow traveler Linda Hefner) articulated…

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The World Food Prize Honors Grassroots Efforts in Hunger and Poverty Alleviation

by Emily Riemer

Congratulations to the 2010 World Food Prize Laureates for their outstanding contribution to the elimination of world hunger. The World Food Prize honored David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World, and Jo Luck, CEO of Heifer International, for their critical efforts in mobilizing and empowering everyday citizens to end hunger in communities around the world. Beckmann is recognized for his significant impact in shaping international development programs to reflect the needs of people living…

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The Impact of Education: Visiting Uganda’s Kazo Summit School

by Julie Hindmarsh

Guest blogger and Women’s Opportunity Network (WON) member Julie Hindmarsh sends us this report while on WON’s “Mothers, Daughters and Sisters” Insight Trip to Uganda. On Tuesday, we devoted additional time to seeing Ugandan private schools funded by loans from Opportunity‘s Banking on Education initiative. We wanted not only to observe but also to participate. The welcome we received at Kazo Summit School exceeded our expectations… It sounded like a gigantic swarm of bees coming closer…

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