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Carol Stream, Illinois 60132

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

News Blog

Passport to Opportunity: Uganda

by Erin Doherty

“An opportunity can change a life forever. I’ve seen it happen countless times with my own eyes. Now I want you to see it too.”–Alice Lajwa, host of the Virtual Insight Trip to Uganda On September 25, Opportunity International embarked on our second annual virtual Insight Trip—this time to Uganda. Our tour guide, Alice Lajwa, who works directly with those we serve, took us on a journey to better understand the challenges our neighbors around the world face and how we can help create opportunities…

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Audacious Relationships: How leaning into one another is the path to doing great things

by Syd Ryan, Co-Founder & Chief Culture Officer of cabi

I will always remember the moment Atul Tandon stood on stage at our cabi conference and told us it was possible for extreme poverty to end within our lifetime. This felt impossible. As he continued, he painted a picture of united groups of people rallied around this goal, sharing benchmarks of decade by decade decreases in those dangerously below the poverty line. My skepticism faded quickly as hope rushed in like a flood. I love an audacious goal and this one felt deeply important and meaningful…

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Of Baseball, Faith, and Legacy: Jerry Zamzow

by Kelli Walker

Jerry Zamzow has been a Houston Astros season ticket holder since 1986. Not long after that, he met his mentor, friend, and fellow Opportunity supporter Dick Hoefs at St. Martins Lutheran Church in Houston. As any diehard baseball knows, faith and baseball--not to mention patience and humility--are inextricably linked. Mr. Hoefs, former Opportunity board chair and longtime donor prior to his passing, introduced Jerry to Opportunity’s work to end extreme poverty. Jerry exemplifies what it means…

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A novel fit for fall

by Allison Kooser

As the weather begins to cool and leaves litter the ground, all we want to do is pour a warm drink, grab a blanket, and curl up with a great book. And in the fall, we often find ourselves reaching for novels—fictional stories that remind us of what’s true. This month, the Opportunity Book Club is reading Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Purple Hibiscus tells the story of teenage siblings in Nigeria—children who have a seemingly wonderful life but whose secrets are tearing them apart.…

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Graduation is just the beginning: Ultra-poverty in Malawi

by Allison Kooser

In the capital city of Lilongwe, Malawi, there is an airport. Flights arrive, day in and day out, from across Africa and around the world. You can leave your home in Chicago or Seattle or Dallas or Washington DC, and after 25, or 38, or 41 hours—there is no fast way to get there—you would arrive in Malawi, a small, landlocked country in southeast Africa. Upon leaving the airport, you start driving south and quickly realize that the “city” of Lilongwe is not a city as you might have imagined…

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An inside look at apartheid-era South Africa

by Allison Kooser

This month, the Opportunity Book Club is learning about a country’s complicated history through the eyes of two compelling narrators: Beauty, a Xhosa woman in the Bantu homeland of the Transkei, and Robin, a 10-year-old white girl living in Johannesburg.  Hum If You Don’t Know the Words by Bianca Marais takes place in apartheid-era South Africa, where tension and racial injustice devastate the lives of the book’s two narrators. Marais, who grew up in South Africa, crafts a powerful story of…

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Governor Spotlight: Linda Martens

by Isabel Perlin

Linda Martens has always been interested in international affairs, so it seems inevitable that she would find a way to devote her skills, network, and passion to a mission like Opportunity International. Her first introduction was by fellow donor Jan Long Harris at a dinner in 1992 where she immediately fell in love with Opportunity’s mission and the idea of a “hand up, not a handout.” After receiving her bachelor’s degree in Asian studies from The College of Wooster and her master’s degree…

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Your Opportunity: Tips on How to Host a Watch Party from an Event Planner

by Erin Doherty

Whether it’s cooking a favorite recipe for friends, recommending a great book, or sharing photos of your travels on social media—when we are passionate about something, we want to share it with others. The best way to do this is by inviting them to experience it, too. Hosting a Watch Party for our Virtual Insight Trip to Uganda is a great way to introduce friends and family to Opportunity’s mission. My team has curated a powerful one-hour journey through busy streets, serene coffee fields,…

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Opportunity EduFinance in Nigeria: Past, Present, and Future

by Catherine O’Shea, Maham Khuhro and Wiktoria Gucia

This blog was originally published on edufinance.org. Nigeria has more children currently out of school than anywhere else in the world, with an estimated 13.2 million not currently in any form of education. Transition rates from primary to secondary level reveal that less than half of children at this age - only 43% - have the opportunity to continue their education. With a national fertility rate of 5.3, the demand for education access in Nigeria will only continue to grow, increasing pressure…

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Opportunity in Nigeria's Schools

by Allison Kooser

At the beginning of 2022, Opportunity International CEO Atul Tandon and Head of Education Finance Andrew McCusker reminded us of one of the most severe long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic: “Education is one of the best tools we have to break the cycle of poverty,” they wrote. “But millions of children are at risk of never returning to the classroom. The challenge we face as a global community is figuring out how to get these children back in the classroom as soon as possible—and improving…

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