News Blog
Join Global Citizen at the 2016 Youth Advocates Symposium
Since 2008, Global Citizen has spearheaded events to generate social action and worked with partners like Opportunity to end extreme poverty by 2030. Now, Global Citizen will host the first-ever Youth Advocates Symposium on September 22, 2016 in New York City, the same week as the Global Citizen Festival. The symposium will gather young activists from around the world with unique campaigning and advocacy backgrounds, allowing for an engaging exchange of experiences, strategies and practices geared…
Read MoreA "Smart" Approach to Protecting Families in Poverty
Jose Sanchez, like so many parents around the world, worries about his kids. Each day, he gets up early to operate his food cart in the local marketplace, earning as much as he can to provide his children with a better life. No family should be too poor to feel safe. Yet, when parents like Jose have less than $2 a day to live off of, each moment is filled with insecurities. For Jose, it was not knowing when he could feed his children next, or how he’d afford medical care if they got sick. And,…
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School Loans, Job Creation, and the Advancement of Low-Income Communities
The following post was originally posted on Edufinance.org. In a new third-party analysis of 94 Ugandan schools accessing Opportunity EduFinance loans, the resulting school growth created an average of 18.6 additional jobs within the community. How Schools Expand When a school builds new classrooms, dormitories and other infrastructure, the school requires more staff to manage these facilities including teachers, dorm monitors, security guards, and cooks among others. When a school purchases a school…
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Nicaragua Field Update
Opportunity works to provide sustainable economic opportunities in Nicaragua, but what does that mean for our clients exactly, many of whom are smallholder farmers? Agriculture is one of Nicaragua's largest industries and yet the practices and materials most farmers use are outdated and hinder their production. Yucca is the main crop grown by small farmers, but without access to technical support and profitable markets, most farmers sell yucca at local markets at low prices and struggle to earn a…
Read MoreTeach Your Kids to Give Well
I’ve learned many things from my parents. How to swim, book a plane ticket, bake a pie and ride a bike. How to read and write and update a resume. They taught me how to manage my personal finances, even when there wasn’t much to manage. And perhaps most importantly of all, they taught me how to give. These days, philanthropy is trendy and newsworthy and always on the cutting edge. New, effective initiatives like impact investing and holistic community development are not only changing the face…
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Opportunity Bank Serbia (OBS) Receives a Social Rating of “A” from MicroFinanza
Client Bogoljub Djurdevoic and Opportunity Bank Serbia Client Advisor Danka Mlinar. I'm pleased to share great news regarding Opportunity Bank Serbia. MicroFinanza Rating (MFR), the widely respected global microfinance rating agency, has given Opportunity Bank Serbia a social rating of "A," up from "A-" two years ago following the last assessment. The "A" rating confirms the bank has "good social performance management and client protection systems" and a "social mission likely to be achieved."…
Read MoreVote for Nathan Byrd to Speak at SXSW Eco
Opportunity International has nominated Nathan Byrd, our Head of Education Finance, to speak at South by Southwest Eco (SXSW Eco), a space for business leaders, investors, innovators and designers to drive economic, environmental and social change. We hope that you will help Nathan’s presentation, "Entrepreneurship in Education: Real Access for All," secure a spot on SXSW Eco’s final event roster. All you need to do is follow these 3 easy steps! Create an account on SXSW Panel Picker by using…
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Creating Sustainable Futures on the International Day of Families
Maya Angelou once said, “I sustain myself with the love of family.” If love of family sustains us, what sustains a family? Families everywhere have the same dreams for their children: to achieve a happy, healthy and successful future, and parents are the foundation to nurturing these dreams. They give their children intangibles like guidance, love and support to fulfill their goals, but oftentimes they struggle to give their children tangible things to sustain them like food, education and healthcare. Today…
Read MoreWhat A Gift!
I got an email last night alerting me that my husband had created a patch for me on Opportunity’s Mother’s Day Quilt. I’ve worked for Opportunity for 12 years, and have always loved the way Mother’s Day is particularly meaningful to the work we do to empower mothers and fathers to provide for their families. But in recent years, since I’ve become a mother myself, my inspiration has redoubled. Knowing how I’d move heaven and earth for my two kids, I can better understand why our clients…
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To you, superhero moms – thank you.
As a writer for Opportunity International (one of the best jobs on the planet), I have spent years writing variations of the phrase “Opportunity empowers women to create bright futures for their children.” I interviewed clients who spoke about their greatest hopes for the future; women who always, always, without fail, said that their number one goal was to give their children possibilities that they might not have had themselves. I told the story that mothers want their children to be able to…
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