Caregiver and community leader Monica Koranteng (center, in yellow), pictured here with her loan officer (right), Hannah and Janet

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,” selling her wares on the streets of Madina. Most days she wasn’t sure if she could sell enough to eat. Finding it nearly impossible to continue in her situation without losing the dignity she held on to so tightly, Monica was forced to seek financial aid. That’s when a friend told her about Opportunity Ghana’s Madina branch.

Three years later, Monica not only followed her dream to get off the streets but she has also expanded her business and invested her increased income to purchase her own container converted into a shop.

Today, Monica stands taller and smiles more often. She has traded her tattered garments for the clothes of strength and dignity. She is a member of the Far and Away Trust Group, where her role as mentor, friend and encourager has earned her the position of group leader. Previously a very reserved person, she is now socially empowered by the trials and success of her journey. Monica has risen to become a role model in her church and has found a way to give back–she reaches out her hands to her neighbors in poverty, and extends her arms to the needy by taking on the care of two young girls, Hannah and Janet, through the Compassion International Caregiver program.

She says, “During hard times, the support I receive from Opportunity enables me to remain in business; I can take care of my family. I hope to use future loans to expand my business so I can continue to support my community and provide a university education for Hannah and Janet.”

In this immediate aftermath, we would encourage you to consider supporting one of our partners with operations in Haiti or one of the many other great organizations who are providing services in the country.

A terrible tragedy like this demonstrates the vulnerability of those living in poverty, and reminds us of how much work remains to help strengthen poor communities around the world.

As President Obama recently said, “Few in the world have endured the hardships that you [Haiti] have known. Long before this tragedy, daily life itself was often a bitter struggle. And after suffering so much for so long, to face this new horror must cause some to look up and ask, have we somehow been forsaken?”

We join with the President and the international chorus of voices declaring, “You will not be forsaken; you will not be forgotten.”

Partners with operations in Haiti:

Compassion International
http://www.compassion.com/

World Relief
http://worldrelief.org/

Fonkoze
http://www.fonkoze.org/

 Other organizations supporting the relief and rebuilding effort:

World Vision
http://www.worldvision.org/

 Habitat for Humanity
http://www.habitat.org/