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Carol Stream, Illinois 60132

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© 2025 Opportunity Internationala 501(c)3 nonprofit. EIN: 540907624.

News Blog

Ready to travel this summer? (No transportation required!)

by Allison Hastings

Whether you have a summer vacation planned or not, you can explore the world through the pages of a great book! Join the Opportunity Book Club as we travel between Accra, Lagos, London, and New York in Taiye Selasi’s celebrated novel, Ghana Must Go. The captivating story opens with the death of a renowned surgeon in suburban Accra—an event that calls his five children home to Ghana from their homes across the globe. As the narrative unfolds, Selasi weaves the children’s perspectives together…

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Conference Insights: Cracking the Nut 2023

by Joe Dutra

Inflation, the war in Ukraine, and climate-related disasters have placed incredible strain on the global food system. For the world’s smallholder farmers—who make up two-thirds of those experiencing extreme poverty—these international events wreak havoc on their day-to-day lives. Opportunity International representing at Cracking the Nut 2023 At Opportunity, we see the positive impacts of investing in the world’s smallholder farmers. By expanding opportunities through financial services,…

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Building Safe Futures for Refugees

by Allison Hastings

At the Nakivale Refugee Settlement in the Isingiro district of Uganda, 150,000 refugees are working and learning, building businesses, and going to school. They are raising their children and making temporary spaces feel like home. They are trying to create better futures for their families. Across the country, Uganda is home to 1.5 million refugees—the most of any African nation. Most are from neighboring South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, countries mired in conflict and struggling…

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Staff Spotlight: Jim Delaney

by Allison Hastings

Jim Delaney, far left, sporting his Opportunity International sweatband. If you see a man sporting an Opportunity International-branded sweatband running through Chicago’s western suburbs this summer, it might be Jim Delaney—Opportunity’s new Director of Peer-to-Peer Fundraising and captain of Team Opportunity. Delaney’s new role combines three of his favorite things: making an impact, tackling big challenges, and rallying new friends around a common goal. First up: the New York City Marathon…

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Governor Spotlight: Jeannie Burns Buckner

by Kelli Walker

Jeannie Burns Buckner, a member of Opportunity International’s Board of Governors, has lived all over the United States and Canada; she is a seasoned traveler; she studied sociology and anthropology. Thanks to the miles she’s clocked and her innate drive and curiosity, she has made connections—and commitments—across the globe that will impact generations to come. Friends of Jeannie’s first introduced her to Opportunity International. She was drawn to Opportunity’s model of identifying…

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View from the Field: Updates from Our Latest Webinars

by Joe Dutra

Ending extreme poverty in our lifetime requires a global response, with support from governments, institutions, and individuals alike. Thanks to support from people like you, we have already been able to further our mission of financial inclusion to millions across the globe. In the spirit of our collaborative efforts, Opportunity International recently hosted two insightful webinars spotlighting urgent global issues: tackling gender disparities in education, and promoting regenerative agricultural…

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Honor World Refugee Day with the Opportunity Book Club

by Allison Kooser

June 20 is World Refugee Day—an annual reminder to pause and reflect on the enormous challenges that refugees around the world face and the incredible resilience they demonstrate in the face of uncertainty and upheaval. This month, in honor of this important day, the Opportunity Book Club is reading a collection that illuminates the wide range of refugee experiences. Pick up a copy of We Are Displaced: My Journey and Stories from Refugee Girls Around the World by Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala…

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Check out a genre-defying memoir this month

by Allison Kooser

This month, we’re checking all of our genre boxes with a lyrical memoir that blends one family’s stories with Columbia’s turbulent political history. It’s a nonfiction reflection that reads like a fiction novel—so we think every reader will find something to enjoy! Join us as we dive into Ingrid Rojas Contreras’ The Man Who Could Move Clouds! Raised in Colombia in the 80s and 90s by a fortune-telling mother, Rojas Contreras (who also wrote our 2019 Book Club selection, Fruit of the Drunken…

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Lessons Learned from Jimmy Carter

by Atul Tandon

  As a leader, neighbor, father, citizen, humanitarian, and friend, I am always looking for inspiring people who have run the race well before me—people whose stories and experiences can serve as encouragement or education as I continue my own work. And for years, I’ve been inspired by the legacy of President Jimmy Carter. Carter is one of my personal heroes. An uncommon man, he has lived a life dedicated to the common good—and has taught me so much about leading from a place of deep faith,…

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Creating Sustainable Communities through Climate Resilience

by Kelli Walker

In March 2023, Cyclone Freddy hit southern Malawi, creating floods and landslides that tragically caused over 1,000 deaths—including one of our clients—and displaced over 500,000 people.  An Opportunity client in the aftermath of the cyclone. It was one of the strongest storms ever recorded in the southern hemisphere. At about the same time, California declared a state of emergency after a brutal winter storm knocked out power and trapped some residents inside their homes. California has faced…

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