Scrooge is visited by the ghost Marley in chains in the 1938 film version of “A Christmas Carol.”

Similar to Opportunity, Scrooge succeeded because people in poverty desperately need access to credit. But Scrooge was cold-hearted. He saw the poor as deserving of their dismal fate and considered them a threat to society. In his opinion, if more impoverished people were to die, the benefit would be to “decrease the surplus population.” As a moneylender, he took pleasure in exploiting people experiencing financial troubles.

Confronted by the ghost of Marley and his chains, Scrooge began to transform. Marley said, “I wear the chain I forged in life. I made it link by link, and yard by yard; how much longer will yours be?” When the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come showed Scrooge his grave, he became anxious that he would die alone, a despised man. Scrooge begged for another chance, proclaiming, “I am not the man I was. I will not be the man I have been.”

In one night, Scrooge made a transformation. Free from the darkness of a miserable life, he found himself in the light of a dawning Christmas day. Scrooge set out on a mission to fill the lives of others with a pure love that expects nothing in return. When he returned to his moneylending business the day after Christmas, he began to dedicate his career to caring for the less fortunate. Scrooge realized that he could make loans out of a genuine concern for others.

Donna Reed, Jimmy Stewart and Karolyn Grimes in “It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946)

In another Christmas classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” the Bailey Building and Loan was a vital source of financial services to the working-class and immigrant people of Bedford Falls. Many residents graduated from renters in Mr. Potter’s slums to homeowners through George Bailey’s stewardship. In a world in which George had never been born, the Building and Loan never existed, and without it, the town fell into disarray. The only source of financing available was the pawnshop in Pottersville. It is a fact that communities depend on access to credit and financial services to survive and thrive.

Just as George Bailey discovered that Bedford Falls would be a much bleaker place without his help, it’s difficult to imagine where the impoverished people of India, the Philippines or Ghana would be without Opportunity International. More people would be locked in a cycle of chronic, oppressive poverty, unable to access the capital they desperately need to start or expand their businesses, and achieve financial stability that will improve the lives of their families. But thankfully, with the hard work of our global family of staff and the support of our dedicated and generous donors, Opportunity empowers people to work their way out of chronic poverty, transforming their lives, their children’s futures and their communities.

Steve Nelson is vice president of Strategic Initiatives/Services in Opportunity’s Resource Development department.

1. City A.M.‘s Appeal for Opportunity, Backed by the Citi Foundation

In a recent City A.M. article, Citigroup’s global director of microfinance, Bob Annibale, explained why the Citi Foundation supports the City A.M. Christmas Appeal to raise funds for Opportunity International’s life-changing work in Africa.

Opportunity client Patience Dameh sells fabric out of one of the most vibrant stalls in the Kasseh Market in Ada, Ghana.

“I’m most focused on organizations that are impacting communities through provision of financial services and support for entrepreneurship,” Annibale said. “There are some fantastic examples, including Opportunity International – the level of sophistication of the technology it is using is first rate. Not only bringing electronic payments to people, but also using biometric technology to securely create a ‘financial identity’ for clients who may not have identity documents.”The appeal has raised $433,062 [£269,330] since its launch, and every donation will be matched by the British government.

How to Give:

Give online at www.cityam.com/appeal. Or donate by texting CITY13 and the amount (£5 or £10, the equivalent of $8 or $16) to 70070.

Then, use social media to tell the world why you donated. Tweet #cityamappeal. These comments may be printed in City A.M.

2. Invest in One Woman, Empower Many

1.5 billion people worldwide live in extreme poverty. Many are women entrepreneurs with a plan to help themselves, their families and their communities. Through Opportunity International’s One Woman Holiday Challenge, start an online fundraiser or make a donation to an existing fundraiser. Every $150=one woman empowered with a loan that helps her grow her business so that she can support her family, send her children to school and employ her neighbors. She will be able to work her way out of chronic poverty. When you give, you will be investing in better futures, one woman at a time.

Thanks to generous donors, every dollar donated will be matched 1 to 1 up to $450,000. Your donation of any size makes a difference. Donate now and you will DOUBLE YOUR IMPACT.

Learn more, make a donation and empower a woman to have a better life at opportunity.org/woman »

3. The Gift Card of Opportunity

This is more than a gift card, it’s the gift of Opportunity. This year, give your friends, family and co-workers an Opportunity Gift Card and you will be bringing hope and opportunity to families around the world. Your friends can use their gift cards to empower some of the millions of clients who use Opportunity International loans and financial services to grow their businesses, employ their neighbors, feed their children and strengthen their communities.

Make this the year that you give your list the gift of opportunity. Purchase Opportunity Gift Cards for $10 or more at opportunity.org/giftcard »

Opportunity Gift Cards starting at $10, available at opportunity.org/giftcard »

Meet Josephat Nivin of Kinyamakobe, Uganda

Like many farmers in Uganda, Josephat Nivin grows coffee, as well as maize, cassava, beans and livestock. This diversification is critical for his success, because crops like coffee take many months to yield fruit. Josephat’s first loan through Opportunity Uganda’s Mubende branch provided the required capital to purchase fertilizer, seeds and herbicides for his crop. Because his loan officer is knowledgeable about what will ensure the success of these crops, Josephat was well-equipped to purchase the proper amounts of each kind of input for his plot size.

Concepcion Valenzuela

Concepcion Valenzuela

Concepcion has transformed her life and is thankful for the chance to make things better for her family. Now in her seventh loan cycle, she has gone from creating ceramic artwork alone in a small shop to employing seven other people to make pieces that she exports to Australia and the United States. The business training Concepcion received from Opportunity helped her make this change, and she believes in passing on her knowledge to help others in her community by giving them advice and support. Her three children are all in school, and her eldest will soon graduate from college with a degree in psychology. Concepcion uses her business profits to take care of her children and her parents, to continue growing her business, and to save for the future. Her next goal is to purchase a storefront so that she no longer has to rent her workspace. We’re proud to come alongside her to help her achieve her goals.

Silvia Elena Candu Casauovu

Silvia Elena Candu Casauovu

Carving ornate designs on jicaro gourds and transforming them into practical household items is a traditional pastime in the Rivas area of Nicaragua. Silvia has been learning the art since she was a child, and has used her skill to join a cooperative of 13 women in the Buenos Aires community outside of Rivas, Nicaragua, who all make jicaro gourd crafts to sell. Opportunity supports the cooperative of women through business development advice, product design support, financing and access to new markets to improve the selling power of their co-op. Through our distribution network, the women have gained access to international markets for their products and have achieved over $3,000 in new product sales in the last year alone. Silvia is enthusiastic about her work with Opportunity Nicaragua, saying, “Before Opportunity we were lost; we could make our products but not sell them. Now we are more organized, have regular buyers and have access to loans and training.”

Konstantin

Konstantin with his loan officer Linda John

With five children, Konstantin struggled to provide for his family once the factory he was working for closed. Konstantin became a carpenter, but without the funds to buy raw materials for larger orders, Konstantin’s business was just barely profitable. Konstantin received a first Opportunity loan of $253, which he used to purchase materials for larger projects. His business grew substantially, as did his savings account. Konstantin trained two of his older children to become successful carpenters, and together they now work to grow their business. Konstantin is grateful that the loans are helping him to be successful: “The loans from Opportunity have given me security and confidence.”

Nothing that I encounter as a marketing writer at Opportunity exemplifies this more than the extraordinary hope, courage and the power for change exhibited by our clients. Whether you meet them on an Insight Trip, encounter them in our annual reports, or hear their stories through our visiting staff members, their lives are marked by transformation. And for most, it’s not merely life-changing financial services, but also their faith in God that blesses them with the gift of hope for a brighter future for themselves and their families.

Meet Argelia Ramirez…

Argelia Ramirez (right) works in her grocery store outside of Arjona.

Argelia Ramirez is one of the millions who was displaced by violence in Colombia. Several years ago, an armed group came to her fincita (hut) and killed and injured several of her family members. She was forced to move away from her farm to a remote area outside the town of Arjona.

Argelia suffered immeasurably, but today she feels more safe. She uses her loan from Opportunity to grow her grocery store business where she sells food and fried bananas, enabling her to provide for her remaining six children. ”My goal is to move forward,” she says, “forward everyday, working as is necessary.” She has struggled, but with time and with her faith in God, Argelia is healing and her life is becoming better.

“Now I feel safe,” she says, “and I’m grateful to God for my new life.”

Argelia’s resurrection of spirit is just one of the client stories to consider this season. In honor of Easter, we wish you a blessed day full of hope and renewal.

Blog author Jamelyn hard at work, in the holiday spirit.

Every circle of family and friends celebrates Christmas with different traditions and customs. In mine, we all live near each other, and enjoy celebrating Christmas Eve with lots of extended family, lots of food, and singing Norwegian Christmas carols (which is a little tricky, forcing me to brush up on my Norwegian just once a year).

Christmas Day is presents around the tree with my parents and siblings, with big mugs of coffee. As we gather for round two of extended family time on Christmas Day, as a slightly smaller group of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, we eat copious amounts of food, share stories and tell jokes that fail to deliver a punch line. But throughout these couple of days we are laughing all the way. I think laughter is one of my family’s best traits.

As I have been with the Opportunity International family now for a year, I can’t help but think of the traditions my co-workers have with their family and friends, as well as our extended family all over the world of managers, loan officers and clients; each with their unique families and holiday traditions. What songs will we all ring out on Christmas day? What games will we play? How similar are our stories with miles between the tellers? What are the joys that we share this year, and what are the tears that made us a more real version of ourselves? While the languages and traditions are different, one thing is the same: it is a time to come together and share.

No matter where traditions, faith, and friends and family find you this season, take time to appreciate their significance in how they shape who we are and the communities we are a part of. I hope this season finds you sharing meaningful traditions with the ones you love.

Client Deepa is able make a better life for herself because of the economic security she has now.

In Ghana for example, Independence Day is March 6, 1957. Therefore, an entire generation of Ghanaians has lived pre-independence. Many Ghanaians can retell how their life has been directly affected due to independence.

In India, Independence Day is on August 15, 1947. Flag-hoisting and national anthem singing are key components of marking the occasion. Elementary school students tell the stories of revolutionary heroes and learn about the struggles which brought their country independence.

Malawi celebrates its independence on July 6, 1964. In 2009 on Independence Day, crowds traveled to Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre to listen to the president, Dr. Bingu Wa Mutharika, speak.

Like the United States, the people of these countries proudly celebrate the freedom that they’ve gained. This summer, as we celebrate our freedom, take a moment to think about those celebrating their own days of national pride throughout the year, despite the fact that many people cannot fully enjoy these hard-won freedoms because of rampant poverty and no access to the help they need to lift themselves out of it.

When you support Opportunity International, you’re providing financial opportunities to the people of these countries, offering them financial services that ensures their economic security and enables them to enjoy the freedoms that their peers and their forefathers fought for.

For example, Opportunity India client Deepa (pictured above) was a part of a marginalized gypsy community in Chennai. With no opportunities to advance economically, she would have found it very difficult to break out of the cycle of poverty. Instead, Deepa was able to obtain a loan from Opportunity to sell tiffin boxes and other plastic products, and she was able to grow her business, eventually expanding it to encompass more products.

This Independence Day, remember not only America’s heroes but consider supporting Opportunity, enabling women like Deepa around the world in marginalized groups enjoy the freedom they deserve.

This post was written by Tara Kumar, an intern in the Outreach & New Initiatives department at Opportunity International and an undergraduate student at the University of Chicago.

Godwin Ocolo with his wife in their electronics store in Koforidua, Ghana.

Meet Godwin Ocolo, a 30-year-old Opportunity International client from the city of Koforidua, Ghana. Godwin is married and the father of two children. To support his family and help pay for his children’s education, Godwin has a small shop where he sells and repairs electronics. In order to keep his shop stocked with the goods his clients want, he sought a loan from Opportunity Ghana in 2010. Godwin is full of ambition and wants to grow his business. He is using his loan to increase his inventory of supplies, and in the future, he’d like to save more of his profits so that he can expand the shop to include even more products.

To all of the fathers around the world like Godwin who work hard every day to create a better life for their families, we wish you a very Happy Father’s Day.

To directly fund the loan of Godwin Ocolo, visit his page on the Fund a Loan section of opportunity.org.

Client Vivian Adama (pictured with two of her students) started a creche and school 15 years ago in Ashaiman, Ghana so that local children could go to school while their mothers worked. Now Vivian educates and cares for more than 300 students, working hard to improve the lives of others in her community.

In that spirit, we wish you love, peace and kindness on this and every Valentine’s Day. Here are a few thought-provoking quotes that expand the meaning of love and hopefully inspire you to agape love today.

1. Life has taught us that love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking outward together in the same direction.
      -Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
2. To love another person is to see the face of God.
      -Victor Hugo, Les Misérables
3. Where there is love there is life.
      -Mahatma Gandhi

Looking for a way to share your charitable love with your sweetheart? Give them an online gift card at OptINnow and they can use it to help fund the loan of an Opportunity International client working her way out of poverty. Go to optinnow.org/giftcard to print or email your online gift card today.

Today we honor the loving legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Photo: mlkday.gov)

The core value of Dr. King’s ideal, the “Beloved Community,” was agape love, which he described as “understanding, redeeming goodwill for all.” It is an “overflowing love which is purely spontaneous, unmotivated, groundless and creative”… “the love of God operating in the human heart.”

Dr. King said that “agape does not begin by discriminating between worthy and unworthy people… It begins by loving others for their sakes” and “makes no distinction between a friend and enemy; it is directed toward both… Agape is love seeking to preserve and create community.”

This is highly compatible with what Opportunity International is doing–we are helping communities thrive, not through condescension or handouts but through compassion and by empowering the community to put its own resources to work for a better future.
We commemorate the timeless values he taught us through his example–the values of courage, truth, justice, compassion, dignity, humility and service that so radiantly defined Dr. King’s character and empowered his leadership. -Coretta Scott King

Thank you to every partner in the Opportunity family. Your deep agape love for those living in difficult financial circumstances is helping to build thriving communities.