Blog Archives

My Journey with Opportunity International Begins… Actress Malin Akerman Travels to Tanzania

On March 9, my husband Roberto and I stepped off the plane in Arusha (a place I hadn’t heard of until this year), and we knew we were in for an adventure. I couldn’t wait to get started. In 2010 I had spent time in Johannesburg while filming Bang Bang Club. I became good friends with Read more…

Posted in Insight Trips, Loans, Microinsurance, Our Work, Where We Work
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Day 1: Family Week Insight Trip to See the Country, Meet the People of Colombia

This week,  supporters are traveling on the Family Week Insight Trip to Colombia. The following travel blog post was written by Katherine Gardner, teenage daughter of David and Margaret, reflecting on Day 1 of her family’s Colombian journey with Opportunity. Today was the first day of our Colombia Insight Trip. As we boarded our bus, gleaming Read more…

Posted in Faith in Action, Insight Trips, Loans, Our Mission and Vision, Our Work, Training, Trust Groups
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What We’re Watching: New Short Film by MicroEnsure on Cashless & Low-Cost Health Insurance in India

The following video was published in a blog post on microensure.com on June 14. MicroEnsure, a subsidiary of Opportunity International, is the world’s first microinsurance intermediary, and it serves people living in poverty with innovative products in crop, loan, health, life and property insurance, offering clients and their families a safety net when an unexpected Read more…

Posted in Microinsurance, Our Work, Where We Work
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Mark Lutz, Author of UnPoverty Visits Bethel University in Minnesota

The following guest post was written by Emily Vennerstrom, co-chair of the Minneapolis chapter of Young Ambassadors for Opportunity (YAO). On Wednesday, April 20,  Mark Lutz–author of UnPoverty: Rich Lessons from the Working Poor and Opportunity International’s SVP of Global Philanthropy–was in the Twin Cities to speak at my alma mater, Bethel University. I worked with Read more…

Posted in Events, Faith in Action, What We're Reading, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity
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The MasterCard Foundation on Opportunity Ghana’s Agricultural Microfinance Initiatives and Diversification for Smallholder Farmers

The following post was written by Reeta Roy, President & CEO of The MasterCard Foundation, and was published on The MasterCard Foundation blog on Wednesday, April 13, entitled “Financial Services and Diversification for Small-Holder Farmers.” Roy traveled to Ghana with Rewa Misra, Program Manager of Microfinance for The MasterCard Foundation, and Jannalee Anderson, National Director Read more…

Posted in Loans, Our Work, Rural Outreach, Savings, Strategic Partners, What We're Reading
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Finding Empowerment in a Trust Group at an Indian Leprosy Colony

The following guest post was written by Julie Hindmarsh. Julie is a clinical instructor at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing in Baltimore, Md. specializing in public health and global health care. She is a member of the Women’s Opportunity Network (WON) and serves on the board of Opportunity’s microinsurance subsidiary MicroEnsure. She sends this Read more…

Posted in Events, Trust Groups, Where We Work, Women's Opportunity Network
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What We’re Reading: ONE Blog–”1 percent: A matter of life and death”

The following post, “1 percent: A matter of life and death” by Malaka Gharib, was published on the ONE Blog on March 4, 2011. It encourages readers to take action to let the government know that they oppose budget cuts for people living in poverty around the world. The ONE Campaign needs around 4,000 more names Read more…

Posted in What We're Reading
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The Fear That Drove Me to Jump for Opportunity

This guest post was written by Catherine Duclos, YAO Coordinator for Opportunity International Canada. Catherine was one of 29 young professionals and Opportunity supporters who jumped from an airplane at 18,000 feet to raise awareness and funds to help eradicate poverty in Tanzania. Here, Catherine reflects on her incredible experience at the Jump for Opportunity Read more…

Posted in Events, OptINnow, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity
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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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Five Million People in Five Years: Bank-Building in Africa

Last Wednesday, Opportunity staff and supporters gathered for the quarterly conference call hosted by the Board of Governors. The topic was “Bank-Building in Africa” and Opportunity’s Banking on Africa campaign, a discussion led by two of our experts in the International Business Development department: Dennis Ripley, SVP of  programs, and Simona Haiduc, VP of program management. Young Ambassadors for Opportunity (YAO) Read more…

Posted in Bank Building, Board of Governors, Insight Trips, Loans, Local Staffing, Microinsurance, Our Leadership, Our Work, Rural Outreach, Savings, Strategic Partners, Technology, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity
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