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Spotlight on Agricultural Finance: An Interview with an Agriculture Finance Officer
“Most of the world’s poor are smallholder farmers and their families. By targeting them, we can dramatically reduce extreme poverty and food insecurity.” -UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, addressing the Malawian parliament on May 29, 2010. Through a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the MasterCard Foundation, Opportunity is now offering greater financial Read more…
Tagged accra, Africa, Agricultural finance, Agriculture, andrew koehler, Ban Ki-moon, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Clients, Community, Education, Ending Poverty, Farmer, Farmers, Financial Times, Ghana, Insurance, Loan Officer, Loans, Malawi, MasterCard Foundation, Microfinance, Microinsurance, Opportunity International, Poverty, Savings, Smallholder farmer, Technology, The MasterCard Foundation, Training, Uganda, United Nations
The World Food Prize Honors Grassroots Efforts in Hunger and Poverty Alleviation
Congratulations to the 2010 World Food Prize Laureates for their outstanding contribution to the elimination of world hunger. The World Food Prize honored David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World, and Jo Luck, CEO of Heifer International, for their critical efforts in mobilizing and empowering everyday citizens to end hunger in communities around the Read more…
Breaking the Cycle of Poverty: Education as a Solution
Guest blogger and Women’s Opportunity Network (WON) member Julie Hindmarsh sends us this report while on WON’s “Mothers, Daughters and Sisters” Insight Trip to Uganda. What a thrill to visit a school that has received loans from Opportunity Uganda! Maria Nassaka’s husband started the school in 2000 with only 50 children. When he died in Read more…
Tagged Banking on Education, Children, Daughters, Dominican Republic, Ending Poverty, Ghana, Girl, Half the Sky, Loans, Malawi, Mothers, Nicholas D. Kristof, Opportunity Uganda, Savings account, School, School fees, Sheryl WuDunn, Sisters, Teachers, Trust Group, Uganda, Women, Women's Opportunity Network, Women's Philanthropy, WON, WON Uganda Insight Trip 2010
Oak Park and River Forest Supporters Gather to Celebrate a Rich Giving History
Last week, a group of Opportunity supporters met together in Maryellen and Jim Betke’s home in Oak Park, Ill. Their common denominator? They are all champions of Opportunity’s microfinance work who live in Oak Park and River Forest, Ill. Over the past 12 months, 80 Opportunity supporters in the Oak Park-River Forest area have raised Read more…
Ambassador Melanne Verveer Discusses the Global Roles of Women
Welcome to the 21st-century reality: empowering women in the developing world alleviates poverty and grows economies. Gender equality equals smart economic progress. On Tuesday, May 4, Ambassador Melanne Verveer addressed the Chicago Council on Global Affairs about the importance of women’s roles in global economic growth. In the discussion entitled “Investing in Women, Enriching the World,” Read more…
Tagged Ambassador, Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Empowerment, Ending Poverty, Food security, Gender, Gender equality, Global Women's Issues, Half the Sky, Hillary Clinton, HIV/AIDS, International development, Melanne Verveer, Microfinance, Nutrition, Opportunity International, Poverty, President Obama, Ruth-Anne, State Department, Women, Women's Opportunity Network, Women's Philanthropy, WON
Global Agriculture and Food Security Program
We are excited about the news that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the United States, Canada and other countries have launched the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program to help the world’s poorest farmers grow more food and earn more to lift themselves out of hunger and poverty. As part of the worldwide effort Read more…
Tagged Africa, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Ending Hunger, Ending Poverty, Farmers, Financial services, Food security, Global Agriculture and Food Policy, Global Agriculture and Food Security Program, Microfinance Conference, Roger Thurow, The MasterCard Foundation, Training, Washington D.C.
How Online Giving Connects You With Our Work
I recently had the opportunity to attend the Non-Profit Technology Network’s annual Nonprofit Technology Conference and present on two panels: one on the changing face of donations online and what that means to charities today, and the other on how to approach big issues (and unfortunately, last I checked, poverty is still a big issue). It Read more…
Gaining Insight into Women Worldwide
An important component of celebrating International Women’s Day is being aware of and recognizing the difficulties and challenges women still face daily around the world. Opportunity International believes you can even take the common cliché “think globally, act locally” and apply it to this day. We plan on doing this for our in-office International Women’s Read more…
Tagged Business Loan, Clients, Education, Ending Poverty, Female entrepreneurs, Global Opportunity Quilt, Insight Trip, Insurance, International Women’s Day, Loan Officer, Savings, Training, Trust Groups, Uganda, Women's Opportunity Network, Women's Philanthropy, WON
Opportunity Partners with Two Dollar Challenge: Student Program Makes Poverty a Reality
Opportunity International is pleased to announce our partnership with Two Dollar Challenge (TDC), an organization based out of the University of Mary Washington (UMW) in Fredericksburg, Va. The program, where students live or eat on just $2 per day for one week, raises money for Opportunity Trust Groups in Kenya and Colombia through our peer-to-peer lending website, OptINnow. This initiative Read more…
Tagged College, Colombia, Education, Ending Hunger, Ending Poverty, Fundraising, Hunger, Indiana University, Kenya, ohio northern university, Opportunity International, OptINnow, Poverty, Schools, Students, TDC, Trust Groups, Two Dollar a Day Challenge, Two Dollar Challenge, University, University of Chicago, University of Mary Washington, westminster college, YAO, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity, Youth
