Blog Archives

What We’re Reading: Opportunity Rwanda’s Daniel Ryumugabe & Chicago Supporters Gather to Discuss Left to Tell

On Monday, I joined 15 women for a meeting of the Chicago Women’s Book Discussion Group in the home of Kim Stephens, a member of Opportunity International‘s Board of Governors. The group, led by my Opportunity colleague, regional director Linda Vander Weele, has been meeting regularly for the past two years to discuss books that touch upon Read more…

Posted in Board of Governors, Events, Faith in Action, Women's Opportunity Network
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Half the World’s LDCs Can Emerge from Poverty, Says a New UN Report

On Tuesday, March 29, the United Nations issued a report, summarized at un.org under the title “Half of world’s poorest countries can escape poverty by 2020.” According to the report, which was produced by the Group of Eminent Persons appointed by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, half the world’s 48 least developed countries (LDCs) can “graduate” out of Read more…

Posted in Bank Building, Our Mission and Vision
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Female Empowerment at the International Women’s Day Festival in Chennai

The following post was written by Opportunity International supporter Eric Schade, traveling on our International Women’s Day Insight Trip to India this week. Here, he reflects on the International Women’s Day celebrations he saw in Chennai on day two into his travels. Female empowerment. That was the theme of today’s International Woman’s Day festival, loud and clear. With inspirational Read more…

Posted in Events, Insight Trips, Loans, Local Staffing, Our Leadership, Our Mission and Vision, Our Work, Rural Outreach, Trust Groups, Where We Work, Women's Opportunity Network
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ONE Blog: “In Davos, a keen understanding of Africa’s economic potential”

The following post was published on the ONE Blog on Wednesday, Jan. 26. To read the original post by ONE contributor Tom Wallace, click here. Some of the world’s most influential people from business, academia, culture and politics are currently descending on the Swiss mountain town of Davos for the 2011 World Economic Forum (WEF). Read more…

Posted in Events, What We're Reading, Where We Work
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Opportunity & Lt. Gen. Claudia Kennedy Call for Citizen Diplomacy and Economic Empowerment

In support of the U.S. Summit and Initiative for Global Citizen Diplomacy this week in Washington, D.C., Opportunity International today called for a renewed focus on citizen diplomacy and economic empowerment. Opportunity Board of Advisors member U.S. Army Lieutenant General (Ret.) Claudia Kennedy encourages individuals to recognize the power of diplomacy and development to improve Read more…

Posted in Events, Microfinance Conference, Our Leadership, Our Work, Women's Opportunity Network
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Book Release–UnPoverty: Rich Lessons from the Working Poor

People living in the most extreme poverty in the world do not just survive: they often enjoy rich family relationships, build vibrant communities and exude deep faith. Their ingenuity, persistence, generosity and self-reliance contain teachings for those of us who happen to have been born into relative economic stability. That is the inspiration and the theme of UnPoverty: Read more…

Posted in Events, Faith in Action, Loans, Our Leadership, Our Motivation, Our Work, What We're Reading
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Women of the Congo: Bringing Hope through Microfinance

“It is a war that men have provoked, but women have paid the highest price.” These are the words of a UN peacekeeper in Lisa Jackson’s award-winning documentary, The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo, a film about the violence and violation faced by women living in the war-torn eastern region of the Democratic Republic Read more…

Posted in Our Leadership, Our Mission and Vision, Our Motivation, Our Work, Women's Opportunity Network
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Opportunity LiveBlog: Banking on Africa

Over 75 percent of people in Africa lives on less than $2 per day. So when Opportunity looked at its expansion plan, Africa was the region that began to take priority. In 2008 Opportunity launched an ambitious campaign to make significant impact on the world’s poorest people in sub-Saharan Africa by 2015. Building upon its Read more…

Posted in Bank Building, Our Mission and Vision, Our Work
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Introducing #Mifimon 2010!

Interested in learning about microfinance? Follow our biweekly discussion group #mifimon (because Microfinance Mondays was too long for Twitter’s 140-character limit). Our aim is to host an exchange of ideas about issues relevant to the microfinance industry. You’re welcome to lend your voice, whether you’re a practitioner in the field or a newbie just learning Read more…

Posted in Events, Our Mission and Vision, Our Work
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Opportunity International at Urbana 2009

Hello from St. Louis! To create some context, on Sunday, the downtown area of St. Louis nearly doubled in size. And a couple of us from Opportunity International are spending this week with over 16,000 university and high school students from over 100 countries at Intervarsity’s conference- Urbana 2009. You can feel the energy when Read more…

Posted in Events, Faith in Action, Our Motivation, Our Work
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