Blog Archives

It’s More Exciting than Landing a Movie with Tom Cruise

The following post was written by actress and Young Ambassador, Malin Akerman. A couple weeks ago in L.A., I had the pleasure of reuniting with two incredible women, Geralyn Sheehan, Program Director at Opportunity Nicaragua, and Debbie Levin, President of the Environmental Media Association (EMA). I met Debbie when I got involved with EMA’s School Read more…

Posted in Donors, Education, Events, Local Staffing, Online Giving, Our Work, Where We Work, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity
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First Day with Vicki Escarra, Our New CEO

Watch our video with Opportunity‘s new CEO Vicki Escarra. Get to know Vicki and welcome her in comments below or on Facebook.

Posted in Meet Our Staff, Our Leadership, Our Work, Videos
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Meet Our Staff: Join the Online Conversation

My first real experience with microfinance was in a Rwandan hospital. It was a little over a year ago, and I was on a three-week educational trip to Rwanda. One of our first days there, my group and I were introduced to a Trust Group of about eight women, all of whom had been widowed, Read more…

Posted in Meet Our Staff, Our Mission and Vision, Social Media, Trust Groups, Where We Work
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Share the National Day of Prayer with Us

Today is the National Day of Prayer, officially marked as a day to “mobilize prayer in America and to encourage personal repentance and righteousness in the culture,” and listed on nationaldayofprayer.org alongside the scripture, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” (Psalm 33:12) At we’re celebrating the day by sharing our prayers–for our loved Read more…

Posted in Events, Faith in Action
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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…

Posted in Events, Loans, Local Staffing, Our Work, Savings, Training, Where We Work
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Made in Rwanda… Follow Along with Opportunity Canada

Yesterday, 20 people from across Canada will be coming together in support of two organizations working in one country, Rwanda, to focus on issues of leadership and the development of human capital. A few participants for the first-ever Made in Rwanda Insight Trip and Leadership Summit are already on the ground and others have started blogging, Read more…

Posted in Events, Insight Trips, Our Work, What We're Reading, Where We Work
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Prayers for Peace in the DR Congo

We wanted to provide you with a brief update surrounding the situation that is unfolding on the ground in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in response to last week’s elections. International news agencies such as Voice of America, BBC, and United Press International (UPI) have reported that tensions surrounding the elections resulted in violence Read more…

Posted in Events, Our Leadership, Resources, What We're Reading, Where We Work
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Innovation to Aid the Horn of Africa: USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs

Last Thursday, USAID administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah spoke at The Chicago Council on Global Affairs lunchtime talk entitled “America’s role in Food Security and the Horn of Africa Famine.” Administrator Shah began with slides and stories from the amalgam of refugee camps that make up the Dadaab camps in Kenya. The camps, which were built for Read more…

Posted in Events, Resources, Rural Outreach, Technology
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Opportunity Participates in the 2011 Global Microcredit Summit

This week, one of the largest microfinance industry conferences in the world launches in Valladolid, Spain. The 15th annual Global Microcredit Summit runs Monday, Nov. 14-Thursday, Nov. 17 and features Her Majesty Queen Sofía of Spain, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, and more than 2,000 delegates from over 100 countries, including Opportunity International‘s Read more…

Posted in Events, Microinsurance, Our Work, Where We Work
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A Look Back at YAO’s Summer Fun 2011

Summer 2011 was a busy season for YAO chapters across the country. From a soccer tournament in San Francisco, to the Chicago Half Marathon, to networking at Chapter Happy Hours, Young Ambassadors organized fun summer events that got them inspired and energized to put their passion to end poverty into action. Here are highlights from Read more…

Posted in Events, Microfinance Conference, Where We Work, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity
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