Blog Archives

Strong Women: The Heart of Community in Kampala, Uganda

By Cynthia Greenwood on March 7, 2010

I woke up today, on the eve of International Women’s Day, thinking about the remarkable women clients I met on a recent trip to Kampala to visit Opportunity Uganda’s operations. For me, these women give new meaning to the words “hardworking,” “committed,” “brave,” and “strong.” Opportunity Loan Officer Charity Namutebi works out of the Read more…

Posted in Loans, Local Staffing, Our Mission and Vision, Our Motivation, Our Work, Savings, Training, Trust Groups, Where We Work, Women's Opportunity Network
Tagged $2 a day, AIDS, Build businesses, Charity Namutebi, Client Stories, Community, International Women's Day, Loan Officer, Loans, Mariam Noah, Nuulu Nankya, Opportunity Uganda, Orphans, Ruth Nassimbwa, Savings, Schools, Trust Groups, Uganda, Women, Women's Opportunity Network, Women's Philanthropy, WON

International Women’s Day: Coming Together to Recognize and Celebrate

By Marisa Brown on March 3, 2010

International Women’s Day is about coming together to recognize and celebrate the social, economic and political achievements of women all around the world. On this global day of celebration, it’s important to focus on the individual stories of women who show resilience, strength and courage each and every day. Opportunity International works with these very Read more…

Posted in Our Mission and Vision, Our Work, Women's Opportunity Network
Tagged Children, Community, Community development, Education, Family, Female entrepreneurs, Global Opportunity Quilt, International Women's Day, LEAD Initiative, Orphans, Rosemary, Schools, Uganda, Women, Women Leaders, Women's Opportunity Network, Women's Philanthropy, WON

International Women’s Day: What it is/why we celebrate…and more

By Ruth-Anne Renaud on March 2, 2010

Have you heard of International Women’s Day? Do you know much about the history or significance of this day? Although the official date is Monday, March 8, we will be contributing posts this week on everything from the history of International Women’s Day to how it relates to the microfinance services that Opportunity International provides Read more…

Posted in Loans, OptINnow, Our Mission and Vision, Our Work, Training, Trust Groups, Women's Opportunity Network
Tagged Community, Empowerment, Family, Female entrepreneurs, Gender, Girls, Global Opportunity Quilt, India, International Women's Day, OptINnow, Sustainable development, Trust Groups, United Nations, Women, Women Leaders, Women's Opportunity Network, Women's Philanthropy, WON

Rabia Mwakasaka’s New Beginning

By Sonja Egeland Kelly on January 5, 2010

As we jump into 2010 with both feet, I am reminded of Rabia Mwakasaka’s story. Rabia is a widow with three children. Before she came to Opportunity Tanzania, she worked out of her home, but could not seem to make ends meet. She didn’t have the capital to buy large quantities of raw materials, so Read more…

Posted in Our Mission and Vision, Our Work
Tagged Children, Client Stories, Community, Holiday, Loans, New Year, Opportunity Tanzania, Spotlight, Tanzania

My Life Changing Experience: What I learned from a Woman Leader

By Guest Post on December 2, 2009

The following is a guest post by Darcy St. John. The events described below took place on November 23rd, 2009. Yesterday was life-changing. I could write a book about this one part of my visit to Nicaragua, so describing it in a few paragraphs is going to be a challenge. I’ll start at the beginning. The Read more…

Posted in Loans, Local Staffing, Our Mission and Vision, Our Motivation, Trust Groups, Women's Opportunity Network
Tagged Client Stories, Community, Education, How Strong Women Lead, Loan Officer, Loans, Mothers, Nicaragua, Opportunity International, Opportunity Nicaragua, Poverty, Ruth-Anne, Trust Group, Women, Women Leaders, Women's Philanthropy

#MifiMon: Women and Microfinance

By Guest Post on December 2, 2009

The following is a guest post by Sheethal Shobowale, Kiva Fellow at MFIs Asociación Arariwa in Cusco, Peru and Emprender in La Paz, Bolivia starting in January. Interested in learning about microfinance? Follow our biweekly Twitter discussion group #mifimon (because Microfinance Mondays was too long for Twitter’s 140-character limit). Our aim is to host an Read more…

Posted in Loans, Our Mission and Vision, Our Work, Training, Trust Groups, Women's Opportunity Network
Tagged #MifiMon, Accion, Clients, Community, Community development, Education, Entrepreneurs, Equal opportunity, Gender equality, Group lending, Healthcare, Kiva, Lending Laws, Loan Officers, Loans, MFI, Microfinance, Savings, Seven Bar Foundation, Social Performance Indicators Blog, The Next 4 Billion, Training, Trust Groups, Twitter, WAM, Women, Women Advancing Microfinance, Women's Opportunity Network, Women's Philanthropy, WON

Spotlight from the Field: Irene Tebukoza

By Sonja Egeland Kelly on November 19, 2009

From time to time, we get the pleasure of hosting our international staff here in the US. One such staff member is Irene Tebukoza, a loan officer supervisor in Uganda. While here in our head office, Irene offered stories of her work in Uganda, from accounts of her daily routine to inspirational stories about the Read more…

Posted in Loans, Local Staffing, Our Work, Where We Work
Tagged Client Stories, Clients, Community, Education, International Visitor, Irene Tebukoza, Loan Officer, Loans, Schools, Uganda

Help Create Opportunity for Women Worldwide

By Guest Post on November 13, 2009

The following is a guest post from Women’s Opportunity Network Member, Susan Gillette: I have just finished reading “Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide” by New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof and his wife, Sheryl WuDunn. It’s a difficult but inspiring read about the oppression of women in the developing world Read more…

Posted in Loans, Our Mission and Vision, Savings, What We're Reading, Women's Opportunity Network
Tagged Community, Education, Half the Sky, Nicholas D. Kristof, Women, Women's Opportunity Network, Women's Philanthropy, WON

Honoring Those Who Increase Opportunities for Women

By Cynthia Greenwood on November 10, 2009

On a sparkling Saturday evening in Washington D.C., the Women’s Opportunity Network of Opportunity International honored a pioneering program and a special staff member in the field who are making an impact on women’s lives in the developing world. The first International Women’s Leadership Award of the night went to Teddy Ajiku, who has held Read more…

Posted in Our Mission and Vision, Our Work, Women's Opportunity Network
Tagged 10000 women initiative, 10k Women, Branch Manager, Clients, Community, Education, Financial services, Goldman Sachs, Goldmas Sachs, International Women’s Leadership Award, Loan Officer, Opportunity Uganda, Women, Women's Opportunity Network, Women's Philanthropy, WON

This Quarter’s Book of Choice: Half the Sky

By Ruth-Anne Renaud on October 19, 2009

This quarter the Women’s Opportunity Network (WON) and Opportunity International’s staff book clubs are diving into Half the Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. A read that Melinda Gates calls “a brutal awakening and an unmistakable call to action”, Half the Sky captures one of our era’s most pervasive human rights violations: the Read more…

Posted in Our Leadership, Our Mission and Vision, Our Work, What We're Reading, Women's Opportunity Network
Tagged Africa, Asia, Children, China, Community, Global Poverty, Half the Sky, Human Rights, Julie Hindmarsh, Melinda Gates, Nicholas D. Kristof, Sheryl WuDunn, Women, Women's Opportunity Network, Women's Philanthropy, WON

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