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What We’re Pinning: Words to Live By
What is it about a good quote that captures our attention and tugs at our heartstrings? Pinterest is full of quotes—some funny, some sad, and many are truly inspirational. So here’s a few of our favorite quotes we found on Pinterest this week. We hope they’ll inspire you too!
Tagged Children, Half the Sky, Invisible Children, Mother Teresa, photo blog, Pinterest, quotes, Sevenly, Social Media, what we're pinning, Women
Understanding the Needs of Farmers in Kyenjojo, Uganda
is more than just and and business—it’s a way forward for many families with few resources and little hope. Wherever we work, we strive to understand the local communities and to get to know the families who use our resources. This is my third in a six-part blog series that explores how we serve the Read more…
Tagged Africa, Agricultural finance, Agriculture, bank branch, cassava, Clients, coffee farmer, Community, crop yields, Drought, Farmer, Kyenjojo Blog Series, Kyenjojo branch, Loans, Microfinance, Opportunity International, Opportunity Uganda, Poverty, Savings, Smallholder farmer, Uganda
Taking a Bite Out of Poverty with Cookies for Change
The kitchen at Opportunity International’s U.S. headquarters was filled with the intoxicating aroma of freshly baked cookies; this was no ordinary day in the office. As the Cookie Monster sang recently, “You got cookie, so share it maybe,” and sharing was the theme of this cookie contest fundraiser organized by the summer interns. “Cookies for Read more…
Our Hearts Go Out to Those Affected by Floods in the Philippines
I was just in a market a few weeks ago when my husband, children and I went home to visit our families in the Philippines. We were admiring and appreciating the many beautiful handicrafts the Filipinos create so well. My daughters and I went from stall to stall and we could not decide which trinkets Read more…
Tagged APPEND, Asia, Clients, Community, Ending Poverty, floods, in the news, Insurance, Loans, Manila, Microfinance, Microinsurance, natural disasters, Opportunity International, Opportunity Philippines, Philippines, Poverty, property insurance
Meet Our Staff: Join the Online Conversation
My first real experience with microfinance was in a Rwandan hospital. It was a little over a year ago, and I was on a three-week educational trip to Rwanda. One of our first days there, my group and I were introduced to a Trust Group of about eight women, all of whom had been widowed, Read more…
Tagged Africa, Community, Ending Poverty, Facebook, Financial services, Global Poverty, Loans, Meet Our Staff, Microfinance, Online Community Specialist, Opportunity International, Pinterest, Poverty, Rwanda, Social Media, Trust Groups, Twitter, widows, Women
What We’re Pinning: Farming Around the World
A lot of our work focuses on smallholder farmers—helping them increase productivity, build food security, and giving them the financial tools they need to succeed. So this week on Pinterest, we wanted to share our favorite agriculture pins in honor of farmers around the world who work so hard to provide food for their communities. Read more…
Tagged Agricultural finance, Agriculture, chilis, Coffee, Colombia, farming, India, infographic, olives, Philippines, rice, South Africa, subsistence farming, what we're pinning, wheat
Getting to Know the Community
is more than just and and business—it’s a way forward for many families with few resources and little hope. strives to understand the local communities and to get to know the families who are improving their lives through our tools. This is my second post in a multi-part blog series about a new branch in Read more…
Tagged Africa, Bank Building, Clients, Community, Financial services, Kyenjojo Blog Series, Kyenjojo branch, Loans, Microfinance, Mubende, Opportunity Blog, Opportunity International, Opportunity Uganda, Poverty, subsistence farming, Training, Transformational Training, Uganda
Our Cover Star: Meet the Annual Report’s Annie Nyangomba of the DRC
Annie Nyangomba is a 38-year-old mother of two who lives in Kinshasa, DR Congo. The smiling face of this client graces the cover of our 2011 Annual Report as she holds out her finger to be read at the Kinshasa branch of ‘s newest operations, Opportunity DRC. With support from the UNCDF, it’s one of Read more…
Tagged 2011 Annual Report, Africa, Annie Nyangomba, annual report, biometric fingerprint technology, Clients, DR Congo, DRC Grand Opening, Financial services, Gilbert Lagaillarde, Kinshasa, Loans, Microfinance, Opportunity DRC, Opportunity International, Poverty, Training, what we're reading, Women
What We’re Reading: Dr. Paul Farmer in Mountains Beyond Mountains
Thomas Edison once said, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” I have this quote on my desk, handwritten on a blue Post-it note. Sometimes when I read it, I feel an inexplicable urge to straighten my posture and focus my attention more intently on my Read more…
“Hitting the Road” to Reach Rural Clients
Today, we are reaching the most marginalized families with a fleet of 23 mobile banking vans! invests in to deliver high-impact financial services to the most marginalized Africans living in rural areas. For many, this is their first experience with banking. With nearly all the capabilities of a bank branch, the armored vehicles enable clients Read more…
Tagged Abena Sarpong, Africa, ashanti, Beatrice Boaten, Clients, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Ghana, Global Poverty, Loan Officer, mobile banking vehicles, mobile banks, Mozambique, Opportunity Ghana, Opportunity International, Poverty, Savings, Uganda
