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Carol Stream, Illinois 60132

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© 2026 Opportunity Internationala 501(c)3 nonprofit. EIN: 540907624.

News Blog

Evangelism is More Than Words

by Bob Lupton

The following post was written by Bob Lupton–a community developer, entrepreneur, and a member of the Board of Directors for Opportunity’s Nicaragua Community Economic Development Project–who brings together communities of resource with communities of need. He’s the founder of the nonprofit FCS Urban Ministries and in the past 40 years has developed housing, congregations, and a number of businesses for hundreds of families, initiating a wide range of human services in inner-city Atlanta.…

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To Nurture the Freedoms of People

by Genzo Yamamoto

The Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen has spoken of how true development in any society (in affluent as well as developing countries) needs to be thought of in terms of the progress made in the different kinds of freedoms experienced by individuals. This goes beyond freedom from tyranny to include the range of goods that bring about human flourishing and the expression and increase of human capacity in the Aristotelian sense. Sen argues that freedoms can build upon each other: political freedoms…

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Photo Blog: Happy Fourth of July

by Opportunity International

For Opportunity clients, freedom is… Education Feeding your children Trusting each other Always learning Planning for the future Access to healthcare Having a job  Improving your community  Having a home What does freedom mean to you? Leave us your comments below. Happy Independence Day!

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Do We Know Who These Smallholder Farmers Are? And Do We Care?

by Cynthia Greenwood

Francis Mamati. Leonida Wanyama. Rasoa Wasike. Zipporah Biketi. Roger Thurow, author of The Last Hunger Season: A Year in an African Farm Community on the Brink of Change, implores us to get to know these farmers–and to support their development–if we are to meet the challenge of doubling food production by 2050 to meet the demands of a growing population. Roger spoke last Thursday at a Chicago Council on Global Affairs event attended by several Opportunity staff members. Roger serves as the…

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What We’re Reading: Darcy Deane on How Great Women Lead in Teen Vogue and More

by Emily Riemer

Seventeen-year-old Darcy Deane and her mom, Bonnie St. John, wrote the book on inspiring female leaders. In How Great Women Lead: A Mother-Daughter Adventure into the Lives of Women Shaping the World, the co-authors profile some of the world’s most inspiring women–from Hillary Rodham Clinton; to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf; to Sharon Allen, the first female board chair at Deloitte LLP; to Opportunity Nicaragua’s regional manager, Noemi Vivas Ocaña–documenting their rises to the top and…

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Success Story: Banking on Africa Campaign

by Diane Ferguson

In 2008, Opportunity embarked on its most ambitious effort to date, a $123.6 million Banking on Africa campaign to expand financial services for impoverished families throughout sub-Saharan Africa. With the partnership of our committed supporters, we’re celebrating the successful completion of this campaign and we’re confident we’ll reach our Banking on Africa goal: to reach five million African clients by 2015, impacting families, communities, and an estimated 30 million people in total. Banking…

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What We’re Reading: Rio +20 and the Role of Women in Economic Development

by Emily Terrell

Last week, June 20-22, over 45,000 people–including world leaders, NGOs, and other policymakers–came together in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, also known as “Rio +20.” (So named because it has been 20 years since the seminal 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), known as “The Earth Summit,” was held in Rio.) Participants at Rio +20 came to discuss solutions for reducing poverty, increasing social equality, and…

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Meet Our Staff: 10 Questions with Lauren Hawley, New Board of Governors Manager

by Opportunity International

Lauren Hawley arrived at Opportunity three weeks ago, taking the role of the manager of the Board of Governors program. She’ll be working to grow the community and coordinate Governor activities, support Governor events, and strengthen this group of highly committed Opportunity supporters and champions. Get to know our newest team member, Lauren… 1. What did you do before you came here? I worked for a fundraising consulting agency named Douglas Shaw & Associates, formulating fundraising strategies…

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Opportunity Colombia Receives Operational Banking License, Bringing Microfinance to More Impoverished Colombians

by Opportunity International

On Friday, June 22, the Superintendency of Finance in Bogotá, Colombia, granted Opportunity International Colombia the final operational banking license it needs to be a deposit-taking and full service bank. Opportunity Colombia‘s CEO Enrique Ordonez and his staff began the process of applying for this license 18 months ago in January 2011, and through perseverance, financial support, and a lot of prayer, they have finally achieved this goal. Now the bank can take savings deposits and conduct…

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Win a Chance to See the World

by Opportunity International

Stand up to global poverty, expand your community and see the world. We’re launching a contest for members of Young Ambassadors for Opportunity (YAO) to travel with us. YAO members who recruit three friends with their member referral link (check your email inboxes!), will be entered in a drawing to win a spot on the February 2013 YAO Insight Trip to India. The See the World contest runs until Sunday, September 30, 2012, and if we don’t reach the goal of 400 YAO members by then, the drawing will…

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