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Subscribe via EmailMonthly Archives: December 2011
Thank You for Your Partnership in 2011
From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for your partnership in 2011. As we look back on the year, we know that it’s because of your ongoing support that Opportunity International is able to empower our clients and their families with life-changing opportunity. Of course, there’s still so much to do. This past Read more…
What We’re Reading: “Ten Biggest Positive Africa Stories of 2011,” The New Yorker
“…Yes, there is tragedy in Africa, and you will always find it there, and we must take those tragedies seriously, but there is also extraordinary opportunity. And if you see this continent as the continent of the future, it sort of reframes it. This is a continent that, by 2050, will be the largest and Read more…
Tagged Africa, Arab Spring, Bono, Cell phone banking, DR Congo, elections, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, famine, Ghana, Healthcare, Horn of Africa, Kenya, Liberia, life insurance, M-PESA, Microensure, Microinsurance, mobile phone banking, Nobel Peace Prize, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, The New Yorker, Tigo, what we're reading
We Wish You a Merry Christmas
On behalf of Opportunity International‘s global family, we wish you all the joy, peace, love and blessings of Christmas. More than ever, we’re grateful for your ongoing support of our work, which helps empower our clients and provides life-changing opportunity to their families. Below, please watch a special Christmas message featuring our clients from Malawi, Read more…
Tagged Advent, Christmas, Clients, Colombia, Community, Ending Poverty, Family, India, Malawi, Mexico, Opportunity International, peace, videos, Women
Christmas Blessings from Opportunity Colombia
The clients and staff of Opportunity Colombia have prepared a special Christmas message. The Opportunity family wishes you a joyous Christmas and a new year full of hope.
Tagged Advent, Christmas, Clients, Community, Ending Poverty, Hope, Loan Officer, MFI, Opportunity Colombia, Opportunity International, scripture, The Bible, videos
As I Consider Advent this Year
This advent season, my church’s sermon series is “He is our King.” It’s a refreshingly challenging one as it looks not so much to a meek baby in the manger, but the hope of a powerful God coming to meet humankind within drastic poverty and political oppression. On a recent Sunday, as I listened to Read more…
Tagged Advent, Africa, Christmas, christmas story, church, faith, Faith in Action, India, Jesus Christ, Opportunity International, pastor, Poverty
Solar Panel Loans Offer a Beacon of Light for Ugandan Families
In November, launched a solar energy loan to provide power to families currently living with no or unreliable electricity. Opportunity Uganda is now offering clients like Betty Aute (pictured right), a papyrus weaver and mother of two, a solar panel loan of about $300, which covers panels and installation and is repayable over two years, to Read more…
Tagged Africa, Clients, electricity, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Global Poverty, Loans, MFI, Microfinance, Opportunity International, Opportunity Uganda, solar panels, Technology, Uganda
Celebrating 40 Years of Microfinance with the “Holiday Fête” in Scottsdale, Arizona
On Tuesday evening, Dec. 6, 2011, the members of Opportunity International’s Arizona Board of Governors hosted the “Holiday Fête: Commemorating 40 Years of Client Impact and Transformation,” a 40th-anniversary celebration at the Gainey Ranch Golf Club in Scottsdale. “ is proud to celebrate our 40th year of working alongside our clients, staff and supporters to fight global poverty,” Read more…
Tagged 2011 YAO Insight Trip, 40th anniversary, Africa, Arizona, Banking on Women, Board of Directors, Board of Governors, Cindy Schwab-Salem, David Simms, fundraisers, Global Microfinance Operations, Jon Yasuda, Kadita “A.T.” Tshibaka, Kelly Flanagan, MFI, Microfinance, mobile banks, Opportunity International, Scottsdale, Tanzania, Tanzania Correspondent Contest, Trust Groups, Women, YAO, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity
Prayers for Peace in the DR Congo
We wanted to provide you with a brief update surrounding the situation that is unfolding on the ground in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in response to last week’s elections. International news agencies such as Voice of America, BBC, and United Press International (UPI) have reported that tensions surrounding the elections resulted in violence Read more…
