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Partnering with Nicaraguan Yucca Farmers to Increase Their Profits
A pungent, unfamiliar, almost rancid but still sweet, scent hit my nostrils: freshly ground yucca meets a growling grinder. Five men man the contraption: one filling the large funnel, one jamming a large stick into the funnel to feed the yucca chunks into the grinder, one scooping the pulp out of the bottom, one shoveling Read more…
Tagged Agricultural finance, Agriculture, Asset-Based Community Development, Cargill, Clients, Community, David Kone, Ending Poverty, Farmer, Financial services, Insight Trip, Latin America, Microfinance, Nicaragua, Opportunity International, Opportunity Nicaragua, starch, Technology, Training, YAO, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity, yucca
How Will You Celebrate Women on March 8th?
In just one week, on Thursday, March 8th, the world will celebrate International Women’s Day 2012. On this day, organizations and individuals will gather to celebrate the economic, political, and social achievements of women past, present, and future. Here at Opportunity, where 85% of our clients are women, we’re passionate about equipping the next generation of women Read more…
Tagged biometric fingerprint technology, Clients, Community, DR Congo, Education, Ending Poverty, Facebook, Financial services, Global Poverty, Half the Sky, International Women's Day, IWD2012, Loans, MFI, Microfinance, Mothers, Opportunity DRC, Opportunity International, Savings, School fee loans, Schools, Social Media, Students, Uganda, Women, Women's Philanthropy
Meet Client Monica: She is Clothed with Strength and Dignity
When I’m having a rough week, I take a quick break to remember Opportunity‘s clients, like Monica Koranteng, who is most definitely a Proverbs 31 woman. Meet Monica: she watches over the affairs of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness. Before being introduced to Opportunity Ghana, Monica worked as a “hawker,” Read more…
Connecting in Rural Areas with Enterprise Open Sky (EOS) Technology
In remote areas of Mozambique, Ghana and Rwanda, far from the nearest brick-and-mortar bank branch, many Opportunity International clients, regardless of where they live or work, can make transactions in real-time using Enterprise Open Sky (EOS). Built by Opportunity’s MIS Services, EOS is a set of computer programs that works seamlessly in conjunction with the core banking system, provided the Read more…
First Day of School in Nicaragua
The idea seemed almost too good to be true: a self-sustainable, private high school providing academic coursework in tandem with technical classes and apprenticeship within reach of people living in rural poverty. If it could be done, it would be completely in line with Opportunity Nicaragua’s Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) model. I was sold: hook, Read more…
Tagged Agriculture, Clients, Community, David Allman, David Kone, Education, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Geralyn Sheehan, Global Poverty, Granada, Latin America, Loans, MFI, Microfinance, Nicaragua, Opportunity International, Opportunity Nicaragua, Poverty, Schools, Students, Training, YAO, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity, Youth
A Trip Down Memory Lane with Some New-Old Photos
We have a lot of great photos at Opportunity International. With all of the amazing clients we get to meet and all of the places we get to work, great pictures aren’t hard to come by. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts to keep them neatly organized, some of those photos get buried underneath all of Read more…
Opportunity Canada: 3 Girls Go Plaid for People in the Developing World
We’re always looking for cool new ways that Opportunity supporters find to help us end poverty. So when we read this story on Opportunity Canada’s blog about three teens going plaid for Opportunity, we loved it! Check it out below or on opportunityinternational.ca. Three girls, one shirt, one pair of shoes, 100 days, 2,500 dollars, Read more…
Opportunity Promotes Entrepreneurship for the Next Generation in Nicaragua
Opportunity International is launching a Technical High School to teach youth entrepreneurship skills in the agriculture and tourism industries as part of its community development initiative in Nicaragua. Opportunity recently broke ground on its Entrepreneurial Technical High School in Diriomo, Nicaragua. The school will provide rural students with the education and training they need to Read more…
Tagged Clients, Community, Community development, Education, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Global Poverty, Latin America, Nicaragua, Opportunity International, Opportunity Nicaragua, Poverty, Rural Outreach, rural schools, Schools, Students, Training
What We’re Reading: Last Week’s Insight Trip to Colombia & Nicaragua
Opportunity International staff and contributors just returned this week from the first Insight Trip of 2012. Their travel adventure took them to Colombia and Nicaragua where they experienced microfinance firsthand and met our staff and clients. Four of our travelers published their personal accounts and reflections on a travel blog at adventuringincolombianicaragua.tumblr.com and we’ve loved reading each Read more…
Tagged Adventuring in Colombia & Nicaragua, Agricultural finance, Blog, Clients, Colombia, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Insight Trip, Latin America, Loans, local staff, Microfinance, Nicaragua, ojala, Opportunity Colombia, Opportunity International, Opportunity Nicaragua, Poverty, Savings, Training, Travel, Trust Groups, Tumblr
