News Blog
Day 6: The Gift of Abundant Sameness
As we prepare for Christmas, we are counting down our 12 Days of Opportunity - celebrating the many gifts we have received while working with our clients and staff around the world. The developing world is so different, and yet I am taken aback by the many things that resonate as “the same.” As I traveled through Nicaragua last spring to see first-hand how small investments in people—financial, time, guidance and more—can change lives dramatically, I learned something I did not expect. I…
Read More.jpg)
Day 7: Hospitality Woven
As we prepare for Christmas, we are counting down our 12 Days of Opportunity - celebrating the many gifts we have received while working with our clients and staff around the world. I stumbled my way to Dionel’s front door, inching down the side of a steep hill, steadying my feet as I walked. His home sits precariously on a mountainside, at risk because of geology, but even more because of geography. He lives in Colombia in an area known as the violence corridor. The history of Colombia is one…
Read More
Day 8: A Ride in a Time Machine
As we prepare for Christmas, we are counting down our 12 Days of Opportunity - celebrating the many gifts we have received while working with our clients and staff around the world. For many of us Christmas is a season of joy and a time for friends and family, accompanied with the giving and receiving of gifts. Celebrations of the birth of our Lord and Savior are often marked by great bounty—tables laden with sumptuous food and rich desserts, Christmas trees and stockings overflowing with delightfully…
Read More
Day 9: Fulfillment Through Work
As we prepare for Christmas, we are counting down our 12 Days of Opportunity - celebrating the many gifts we have received while working with our clients and staff around the world. Not many people get to thoroughly enjoy their work whilst positively impacting lives and putting smiles on the faces of entrepreneurs living in poverty. I have worked for almost 16 years at Sinapi Aba Savings and Loans (SASL), one of Opportunity’s microfinance partners. My passion is to see and feel the positive…
Read More
Day 10: The Gift of a Very Important Lesson
As we prepare for Christmas, we are counting down our 12 Days of Opportunity - celebrating the many gifts we have received while working with our clients and staff around the world. My gifts from those I meet on my travels generally come in the form of lessons. One of the memorable lessons I was gifted was on justice, learned in a tiny village in Zimbabwe that does not appear on most maps. There I met Esther, the woman who has inspired me these many years, although our paths only crossed briefly. As…
Read More
Day 11: The Gift of Joyful Patience
As we prepare for Christmas, we are counting down our 12 Days of Opportunity - celebrating the many gifts we have received while working with our clients and staff around the world. The holiday season can be trying for those of us in the U.S. who are used to getting everything NOW. We want next day delivery from Amazon Prime, short lines in stores, fast food and quick transport to our destinations. We are not very patient people. My husband Ted and I were lucky to be able to go on an Insight Trip…
Read More
Day 12: Robinah's Drum
As we prepare for Christmas, we are counting down our 12 Days of Opportunity - celebrating the many gifts we have received while working with our clients and staff around the world. Every time I look at the little wooden drum on my desk engraved with the word “Uganda,” I think about Opportunity International’s work to support improved education quality for children. Well, not exactly. When I look at the drum, I think about the first time I met Robinah. Before she saw me standing outside the…
Read More
A Thanksgiving Gift
Two days before Thanksgiving here in the United States, many of us are preparing to spend time with family. For those of you, like me, who do not live near your extended family, the holiday takes on particular importance as it presents a chance to spend time in gratitude with loved ones. I am fortunate that I have another family – I have worked at Opportunity International for more than a dozen years, and I consider not only my colleagues but all of our clients my family. I collect stories and…
Read More
Celebrating Poverty Eradication Day
When I travel to visit Opportunity International clients around the world, I am consistently inspired by their tenacity, courage and optimism in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges. I am reminded that while the nature of our work may technically be in financial services—providing loans, savings, insurance and training so that our clients can grow their businesses and provide for their families—our true purpose is to empower people to live their lives with dignity. Today, this goal…
Read More
Celebrating Ben - An Amazing Educator - on World Teachers' Day!
Today on World Teachers' Day, we are celebrating amazing teachers around the world. Teachers like Ben who have transformed communities and are bringing up the next generation of leaders. Teachers who are changing the world. Ben Navitcha founded and runs the Ben Nevis Private School near Blantyre, Malawi – a huge primary and secondary school compound that teaches 38 nursery school students, 286 primary school students and 571 secondary school students. His school is beautiful and vibrant and full…
Read More