True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost. –Arthur Ashe

I can’t help but be deeply moved by these soldiers’ self-sacrifice. So on this day, I encourage you, whatever your cause–whether it’s an issue at home or abroad about which you’re passionate–strive to dedicate your whole self to it. For Opportunity, that cause is global poverty, ending disempowerment and disenfranchisement of people who lack opportunities to improve their own lives, and giving women the tools to provide for their families. It’s a large, even overwhelming cause at times, but together, we’re confident we can accomplish it. And when greater economic stability reigns, and the most vulnerable people have a voice and opportunities, peace is more likely to prevail. In the words of Lt. General Claudia Kennedy, the first female three-star general and a member of Opportunity’s Board of Advisors, “We are all on the same boat.” It’s up to us to “increase global stability and alleviate poverty. The payoff is not only prosperity, but peace.” So whether it’s global poverty or another cause bigger than yourself, give yourself over to it and it can have far-reaching effects. Have a happy Memorial Day holiday.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. –Margaret Mead

President Obama announces global partnership for food security at symposium (Source: Alex Wong/Getty Images North America)

Last Friday, agricultural finance took center stage at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs symposium, “Advancing Food and Nutrition Security,” in Washington, D.C. on the eve of the G8 Summit. President Obama announced a partnership among the G8 member nations, African countries and the private sector called the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition, which has a goal of lifting 50 million people out of poverty over the next 10 years. More than 45 private companies–including Monsanto, Dupont, Cargill and Vodafone–have pledged $3 billion. The initiative is largely aimed at equipping African farmers with the resources and tools they need to produce and sell more crops in Africa, where Opportunity International’s agricultural finance programs are already making a difference in five Sub-Saharan countries: Ghana, Mozambique, Malawi, Uganda and Rwanda.

Ambassador Tony Hall

Tony Hall, who serves on Opportunity’s Board of Advisors, is a former US ambassador to the World Food Programme, and now heads the Washington-based Alliance to End World Hunger, applauded the new initiative, saying, “Africa doesn’t produce any more food that it did 40 years ago. So we really need to do everything we can, including bringing in the private sector to help agricultural development in Africa – research, seeds, technology, fertilizers and other resources.” Opportunity was also represented at the symposium by Dennis Ripley, our Senior VP of International Business Development, and Charlene Caldwell, VP of Corporate Relations.

Bono in front row at Pres. Obama's address (Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)

In a 30-minute address to the symposium, Bono, a campaigner in the fight to end global hunger, said this about the new food security initiative: “It’s a new approach to managing these resources as partners, not patrons. Horizontally, not vertically. Not what we give to them but what we, all of us, can do to take plans that are country-owned, country-led and help them succeed.” At Opportunity, we provide affordable, convenient financial services to Africa’s farm families, working in conjunction with strong in-country partners throughout the entire value chain.

Secretary Clinton delivers closing keynote (Source: Alex Wong/Getty)

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton closed the symposium with the keynote address, declaring that agriculture has the best opportunity to solve poverty, especially in Africa. She said that we have the power to reduce hunger worldwide by 50 million if we focus on women farmers, who compose 50% of Africa’s agricultural workforce.

Watch this NBC interview (posted on ONE Blog) between Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete and Bono.

Here are just a few of the plenary and breakout session speakers on Friday and Saturday who will share their expertise and experiences in reducing global poverty—and inspire you to become part of something big:

• Steven Levy, author, “In The Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives”
• Bill Draper, author, “The Startup Game: Inside the Partnership Between Venture Capitalists and Entrepreneurs”
• Laura Pincus Hartman, professor of business ethics, DePaul University, and director of external partnerships, Zynga.org
• Ambassador Tony Hall, executive director, Alliance to End Hunger
• Dr. Julie Howard, U.S. government deputy coordinator for development, Feed the Future
• Reeta Roy, president and CEO, The MasterCard Foundation
• Daryl Collins, author, “Portfolios of the Poor”
• John Ortberg, pastor and author, “When the Game is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box”
• Jeffrey Spector, chief of staff for Melinda Gates, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

For a complete schedule of speakers, click here.

Watch our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter for reminders and updates on the sessions at #OIC2011. Plus, subscribe to the Opportunity Blog for our complete coverage of the conference breakout and plenary sessions Friday and Saturday.

Visit opportunity.org/live to watch the live stream.

As we reflect on Memorial Day, a day to remember those who have fought and died for our country, we honor all the men and women who have courageously fought on our behalf so that we can live in freedom.

Lieutenant General Claudia Kennedy

One such woman is Lieutenant General Claudia Kennedy, who was the first woman to achieve the rank of three-star general in the United States Army. Not only does she stand for the security of America, General Kennedy has a truly global perspective. She is an advocate for our work, serving on our Board of Advisors and speaking at our Fall 2010 Microfinance Conference, and she also serves on the Board of Directors for the American Security Project, a nonprofit dedicated to “fostering knowledge and understanding of a range of national security issues, promoting debate about the appropriate use of American power, and cultivating strategic responses to 21st century challenges.” This bipartisan organization has recently developed a new policy on foreign aid, stating that its main focus should be on “local communities and businesses… empowering local businessmen and women who can grow their own economies without major foreign input.”

In essence, this is the focus of Opportunity International’s mission as well, to empower those in developing countries to build up their own economies by providing them with access to microfinance services like savings, small business loans, insurance and training. The determination that our clients demonstrate in the face of poverty and adversity is much like the resilience of the American soldiers throughout our nation’s history.

As General Kennedy says, “We are all on the same boat.” And therefore, it is up to us to “increase global stability and alleviate poverty. The payoff is not only prosperity, but peace.” She shares that we must have a more preventative mindset towards our nation’s security, and in doing so, we will begin to consider development and diplomacy as important aspects of ensuring that Americans continue to have the opportunities that we do, and that those will be extended to people in nations all over the world.

This Memorial Day, we remember those who died honorably, fighting for a cause much greater than themselves. And we also remember those throughout the world who are courageously fighting a different kind of battle to ensure the economic security of their families and their communities.

General Kennedy Discusses Global Security, Hunger & Poverty at Fall 2010 Microfinance Conference:

Lt. General Claudia Kennedy Discusses Global Security, Hunger and Poverty from Opportunity International on Vimeo.

“If we can dramatically impact the economic power and influence of women, I believe we can increase global stability and alleviate poverty. The payoff is not only peace, but prosperity and real human security.”

An advocate for diplomacy and development, Kennedy asserts that leading economic nations can fight poverty and hunger and promote global stability by creating mechanisms to empower people in developing countries, “Today, power is diffused across many nations and our approach to global security needs to include more than defense. It’s critical that we include development as well as public and citizen diplomacy in our efforts to promote a safer and more just world.”

“As global citizens, we need to realize that power is not a scarce resource–when you become empowered, so do I.” Kennedy continues, “How powerful would it be if our collective focus was to create financial services for developing communities, eliminate hunger, create access to education and break the cycle of poverty in families at the subsistence level of life.”

Kennedy encourages people to consider the difference it makes when women in developing countries are given the chance to learn, develop a business and lead in their communities. “Because women have not held economic and political parity with men, it is women who hold the strongest potential to become leaders and change agents. If we can dramatically impact the economic power and influence of women, I believe we can increase global stability and alleviate poverty. The payoff is not only peace, but prosperity and real human security.”

Lt. Gen. Kennedy is the first woman to achieve the rank of three-star general in the United States Army. At the time of her retirement, General Kennedy was deputy chief of staff for intelligence. She currently serves as a commissioner for the White House Fellows Program, and in addition to serving on Opportunity’s Board of Advisors, she is also a member of the Board of Directors for the American Security Project.

Lt. Gen. Kennedy spoke about global security, hunger and poverty at our Fall 2010 Microfinance Conference this past October:

Lt. General Claudia Kennedy from Opportunity International on Vimeo.

The panelists at the breakout session, Investing in Half the Sky. From left to right: Diana Negroponte, Alice Gasatura, Julie Hindmarsh and Ruth-Anne Renaud.

The following post by YAO member and Opportunity supporter Sonja Egeland Kelly is one of the many blog posts we published from the 2010 Fall Microfinance Conference. Click here to read all our conference blog posts… 

Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn’s compelling book, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, reminds its readers that “women hold up half the sky.” The book discusses the movement to emancipate women from opporession and fight global poverty by unlocking women’s power as economic catalysts. Inspired by this theme, one of Opportunity’s breakout sessions at the Fall Microfinance Conference focused on two questions: Why women? Why now? 

Diana Negroponte, member of the Women’s Opportunity Network (WON) and the Board of Governors, moderated the session, which featured panelists Julie Hindmarsh, a member of WON and Opportunity’s Board of Directors; Ruth-Anne Renaud, VP of women’s philanthropy; and Alice Gasatura, director of credit support at Opportunity Rwanda. 

“They don’t have ownership of the property for their families. We have cities in Rwanda where men were killed during genocide,” says Gasatura. “And by God’s grace women survived, but were denied the right to property. It’s a challenge.” 

“The statistic that I find incredibly painful, having been raised in a family where education is valued,” lamented Renaud, “is that two-thirds of the world’s illiterate population is women.” 

Hindmarsh added, ”That is why investment in women is so important, because when you fund the loan of a mother, they will reinvest their income in the education of their children and better nutrition for the family. Better access to education and the ability to benefit from it provides hope for the future.”The panel was then opened up to questions. 

From the audience, A.T. Tshibaka, a member of the Board of Directors, asked that with all the emphasis on empowering women, what is men’s role and what can they do to help?  Gasatura explained, ”We encourage our women clients to go home and share what they learned in our transformational training with their husbands. This is a trickle-down effect that helps everyone learn to respect and honor women’s contributions to the community.”

Gasatura was also emphatic that young boys need to be trained in gender relations so that they grow up to be respectful men. Audience members raised their hands to concur with this point. As one added, “Motherhood is so important. A strong, empowered mother demonstrates to children that women can be decision-makers and leaders. And both fathers and mothers need to teach boys how to treat women correctly.” 

Negroponte asked Renaud what Opportunity was doing to encourage the empowerment of women in the developing world. Renaud responded by detailing two exciting programs which Opportunity champions: the LEAD Campaign and Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Women Emerging Leaders Program. 

A few details of those programs:  

The LEAD Campaign

• Opportunity has raised $10 million dollars to train local leaders, especially women, across Africa. A major initiative of WON, this program has identified and developed talented young professionals and prepared future leaders for senior management positions in the countries Opportunity serves.
• In 2007, this campaign was launched to develop the next generation of microfinance leaders.  The goal was to empower over 5,000 leaders to transform poverty in their communities. The LEAD campaign helped Opportunity to better recruit and train CEOs from within and outside of the organization who can inspire their staff to adhere to our mission and core values. Today, Opportunity employs 26 transformation officers in 12 countries who were recruited, trained and supported through the LEAD Campaign. Their key focus is to highlight the importance of a mission-focused institution and staff and client transformation through the work performed by their institutions.

Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Women Emerging Leaders Program

• Opportunity has joined the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women initiative which aims to prepare 10,000 women across Africa for jobs in the financial sector. Opportunity’s 10,000 Women Emerging Leaders Program is training hundreds of promising young African women for management careers in financial institutions serving Africans living in poverty.
• Under this program, selected female managers participate in a four-week professional development program to improve their skills and increase their impact. There are also training programs for talented women who have been hired as entry-level supervisors and loan officers. The program has begun in Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, Tanzania and Mozambique, with plans to expand into new countries in the coming years.

To do more to empower women, share Kristof and WuDunn’s book Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity Worldwide with family and friends, fund the loan of a female client on OptINnow, and visit opportunity.org/won to find out how you can take action on behalf of Opportunity International and the Women’s Opportunity Network (WON). 

By Sonja Egeland Kelly, YAO Member