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News Blog

What Does it Take to Ensure Maternal Health Around the World?

by Ally Lynch

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…

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For Mothers Like Adwoa, Opportunity Changes Everything

by Lydia Baldridge Meier

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,…

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Opportunity Staff Updates on Sustainable Energy Initiatives Around the World

by Harry Turner

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…

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Images of Microfinance… in San Diego?!?

by Jonathan Neddenriep

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…

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Chicago Premiere of No Woman, No Cry, Directorial Debut of Christy Turlington Burns

by Emily Riemer

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…

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Opportunity Malawi Sends Two Clients to Child & Youth Finance International (CYFI) Summit in the Netherlands

by Opportunity International

Last week, April 3-4, was the first Child and Youth Finance International (CYFI) summit in Amsterdam, entitled “Reshaping the Future of Finance.” Two young Opportunity Malawi clients were sent to the summit to represent Malawi as special guests, participating in youth panel discussions. One is Grey Katsilizeni, 23, from the rural Lilongwe area of Nambuma. He’s involved in buying and selling of crop produce. The other is Agnes Kwelete, a 17-year-old girl from Mulanje who attends Chisitu Community…

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April is the Month of Microfinance

by Opportunity International

April showers bring more than May flowers in the world of microfinance. Shawn Humphrey, an Economics professor from the University of Mary Washington, has started the Student Microfinance Movement, designating April as the Month of Microfinance, and with it comes a showering of educational events and fundraisers. The Month of Mifi raises awareness and support for both domestic and global microfinance, and unites and prepares students to become the next generation of microfinance practitioners. Throughout…

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Death of Malawi’s President and Swearing in of Former VP Joyce Banda, Malawi’s First Female President

by Cynthia Greenwood

Last week, on Thursday, April 5, Malawi’s President Bingu wa Mutharika died of cardiac arrest, and his vice president, Joyce Banda, was sworn in on Saturday as the new president of Malawi. President Mutharika’s funeral will take place on April 23, and the country is observing a 10-day period of mourning for the departed leader. Upon her inauguration, Banda became Malawi’s first female head of state and Africa’s second female head of state after Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.…

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My Lunch with Ghanaian Staff Member Vida

by Elizabeth Knox

Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to have lunch with Vida Marfo of Opportunity International. She is the Regional Head of Small/Medium Enterprise (SME) and a Manager for Property Folios at Opportunity Ghana. Vida was kind enough to do an interview with me so I could share what I learned from her with all of you! Elizabeth Knox: Tell me about a loan client who has shown great growth.Vida Marfo: We had one client named Mary Addo. Her husband passed away and her brother-in-law told her she could…

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Finding Renewal Through Faith and Opportunity this Easter

by Emily Riemer

Blessings to you and your family from the entire Opportunity International family. This Easter, as we commemorate Jesus’s crucifixion and celebrate His resurrection, I’m reminded that resurrection need not only mean the miracle that occurred 2,000 years ago, but that renewal can take place in a number of ways in our own lives. Nothing that I encounter as a marketing writer at Opportunity exemplifies this more than the extraordinary hope, courage and the power for change exhibited by our clients.…

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