News Blog
Last Weekend of Willow Creek’s 2012 Celebration of Hope
This weekend marks the end of the three-week Celebration of Hope for Her event at Willow Creek Church in Barrington, Ill. Opportunity was one of over 40 ministries and organizations–and the only microfinance organization–represented, with booths set up in the megachurch’s lobby after Sunday services. The booths inform worshippers about different global initiatives all related to the empowerment of women–such as income-generating projects, clean water programs, and health and well-being–and…
Read MoreMy Journey with Opportunity International Begins… Actress Malin Akerman Travels to Tanzania
On March 9, my husband Roberto and I stepped off the plane in Arusha (a place I hadn’t heard of until this year), and we knew we were in for an adventure. I couldn’t wait to get started. In 2010 I had spent time in Johannesburg while filming Bang Bang Club. I became good friends with my security guard, Stranger (yes, that was his name), who invited me to his birthday party. It was the most beautiful party I had ever been to, in the township Soweto. I met mothers, daughters, sons, fathers and…
Read MoreShare the National Day of Prayer with Us
Today is the National Day of Prayer, officially marked as a day to “mobilize prayer in America and to encourage personal repentance and righteousness in the culture,” and listed on nationaldayofprayer.org alongside the scripture, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” (Psalm 33:12) At Opportunity we’re celebrating the day by sharing our prayers–for our loved ones, our community, and people around the world–with all our supporters and we want you to join us. We’ll be sharing…
Read MoreGrandmas, Friends, Wives and Mothers: A Tribute to Important Women in Our Lives
Young Ambassadors (YAO) members and Opportunity International staff weigh in on the important women in their lives and what they mean to them: My Grandma is one of my soulmates. Her heart has always understood mine and I have always understood hers. Ever since I was a child we have been able to talk for hours about life, relationships, and most importantly our Heavenly Father. My Grandma has taught me what it looks like to live a Godly life, where all your trust and faith rests in God’s promises.…
Read MoreOpportunity Mozambique is “Empowering Girls, Building the Future”
I just received this story from Mozambique that I wanted to share with you. The lovely staff of Opportunity Mozambique once again demonstrated their commitment to empowering and celebrating women by taking part in International Women’s Day 2012 in early April. Based on this year’s theme “Empowering Girls, Building the Future,” masses of women joined together to pay tribute to Mozambique’s women and girls who contribute significantly to their families and communities. These everyday heroics…
Read MoreWhat Does it Take to Ensure Maternal Health Around the World?
If you were an expectant mother, how would you stay strong in the face of a lack of resources and access to proper care? That was the questions on my mind last Monday, April 16, when I attended a screening of Christy Turlington Burns’s documentary “No Woman, No Cry,” along with Opportunity International supporters and several of my colleagues. Burns’s film–part of the Every Mother Counts campaign, screened on Monday in partnership with Lifeway Foods, Inc. – highlights the complex barriers…
Read MoreFor Mothers Like Adwoa, Opportunity Changes Everything
Throughout the world, all mothers want to give their children everything, and they sacrifice in countless unseen ways to make it happen. As you each honor your own mom this Mother’s Day, allow us to share the story of a very inspirational woman, Adwoa Kwatemaa, one of nearly four million women who inspire Opportunity International to change everything for mothers around the globe. Adwoa lives in rural Kofurida, Ghana, and is a mother of six and a grandmother. When Adwoa was widowed 12 years ago,…
Read MoreOpportunity Staff Updates on Sustainable Energy Initiatives Around the World
Deborah Foy, Opportunity-UK’s International Programmes Director told me that 2012 is the United Nations’s “International Year of Sustainable Energy for All.” In the UN’s own words, “Energy is opportunity. It transforms lives. Economies. The planet.” Opportunity’s clients enjoy some of the world’s sunniest days–but they also experience the darkest nights. Lacking electricity, over a billion people around the world are forced to rely on kerosene lamps that emit no more light than…
Read MoreImages of Microfinance… in San Diego?!?
When you think about microfinance clients, what comes to mind? For most of us, we think of international microfinance, but some paradigms shifted several weeks ago as attendees of the San Diego Microfinance Summit spent their lunch hours shopping at 45 booths from local San Diego vendors and restaurants, all of which were funded by microfinance loans. They ranged from high-end chocolate artisans to jewelry makers to the latest popular hipster restaurant. Opportunity International attended the fourth-annual…
Read MoreChicago Premiere of No Woman, No Cry, Directorial Debut of Christy Turlington Burns
Yesterday afternoon, YAO members, members of the Board of Governors, several of my colleagues and I went to the Chicago premiere of Christy Turlington Burns‘s directorial debut, the powerful documentary “No Woman, No Cry.” It’s part of the Every Mother Counts campaign, which raises awareness and support for maternal health issues worldwide. In her film, Burns shares the stories of at-risk pregnant women in four parts of the world: a remote Maasai tribe in Tanzania; a slum in Bangladesh; a…
Read MoreFilters
-
Categories
- All
- 12 Days of Opportunity
- 50for50
- Africa
- Agricultural finance
- Agriculture
- Announcements and News
- Board of Governors
- Book discussion
- Children
- Clients
- Colombia
- Community
- Education
- Education finance
- Ending Poverty
- Entrepreneurs
- Events
- Financial services
- Ghana
- Global Poverty
- Governors
- Insight Trip
- Insight Trips
- Kenya
- Leadership
- Loans
- MFI
- Malawi
- Microfinance
- Microinsurance
- OIC2011
- Opportunity International
- Opportunity International Microfinance Conference
- OptINnow
- Our Mission and Vision
- Our Work
- Poverty
- Rural Outreach
- Rwanda
- Savings
- Tanzania
- Technology
- Training
- Trust Groups
- Uganda
- Women
- Women's Opportunity Network
- YAO
- Young Ambassadors for Opportunity
- book club
-
Archives
- November 2026
- October 2026
- September 2026
- August 2026
- July 2026
- June 2026
- May 2026
- April 2026
- March 2026
- February 2026
- January 2026
- December 2025
- November 2025
- October 2025
- September 2025
- July 2025
- June 2025
- May 2025
- April 2025
- March 2025
- February 2025
- October 2024
- September 2024
- August 2024
- June 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009