“Opportunity International is honored to stand in prayer and fasting with our dear friend, Ambassador Tony Hall. He reminds us that we must begin this work by examining our own hearts, and that together we can bring an end to poverty.”
-Bill Morgenstern, CEO, Opportunity International

Today, Ambassador Tony Hall, who serves on our Board of Advisors and is a longtime friend and supporter of Opportunity International, began fasting to bring attention to the one billion people worldwide who are malnourished and the 25,000 people who die each day from hunger and hunger-related diseases, and as part of his campaign to focus national attention on the human impact some of the proposed cuts in Congress. Hall invites those concerned about worldwide hunger and food security, especially in light of recent rising food prices, to join in reflection, personal sacrifice and action on behalf of those most threatened.

In 1993, Congressman Tony Hall fasted for 22 days in response to budget cuts that would have had a devastating impact on poor people at home and around the world. Today, he is fasting again, this time encircled with the support of dozens of organizations like Sojourners, Bread for the World and Opportunity International. Click here to join Hall in fasting and prayer.

Read more about Opportunity’s agricultural finance and rural savings programs that are helping to increase food security and alleviate poverty in Africa.

Ambassador Tony Hall speaks about his commitment to eradicate hunger at Opportunity’s Fall 2010 Microfinance Conference:

Just a few highlights from 2010:

• Meeting the experts and learning a lot at Opportunity’s spring and fall microfinance conferences
• Exciting new opportunities and grants from corporate partners like the UPS Foundation, the Caterpillar Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and more
• Traveling on Insight Trips to see our work and meet our clients in countries like Uganda, Kenya, Colombia and more

As exciting as 2010 was, we can’t wait to make even more of an impact on global poverty in the New Year. We hope you’ll make 2011 the year you travel on an Insight Trip, subscribe to the blog (if you don’t already!), attend a  microfinance conference and get even more involved in our efforts to alleviate global poverty.

Have a safe and happy New Year!

Former ABC TV producer Teri Goudie is climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro today to raise money for women through Opportunity and non-profit JBFC. (Image courtesy of abclocal.go.com)

One week ago, Teri Goudie, a former TV producer for Chicago’s ABC 7, traveled to Tanzania to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, raising donations for Opportunity International and the Janada L. Batchelor Foundation for Children (JBFC). Goudie was inspired to accomplish this incredible feat after reading the book Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, by Sheryl WuDunn and Nicholas D. Kristof. She’s joined on her journey by two friends, Lisa Stafford and Patty Orler. The three women trained together all summer long, working hard and encouraging each other for the cause of poverty in the developing world–this fundraising effort is an incredible example of women helping women.

Before leaving for Tanzania, the three climbers gathered 100 women together in Goudie’s home to learn about the work of Opportunity and JBFC. Sharing details of Opportunity’s work were Lillian Covington, a Kenyan-born Opportunity staff member, and Dawn Feller, a board member and leader in the http://www.opportunity.org/womens-opportunity-network/Women’s Opportunity Network (WON)[/intlink]. These Opportunity representatives inspired supporters with details of our offerings of financial services to women working their way out of extreme poverty, empowering them to improve their lives and their families’ futures. They also learned about the work of JBFC, a non-profit that works in East Africa to provide orphaned and street girls with safe refuge, nutrition, education, healthcare and hope for their futures. Supporting the work of both organizations embodies the spirit and message behind http://www.opportunity.org/blog/sheryl-wudunn-to-speak-at-opportunitys-fall-microfinance-conference-in-washington-d-c/Half the Sky[/intlink]: that the most effective way to fight global poverty is to empower and educate women and girls in the developing world.

Throughout her journey, Goudie has chronicled her triumphs at her blog on ABC. And today, Friday, Sept. 24, Goudie and her fellow climbers will reach their ultimate goal: the uppermost peak of Kilimanjaro. Her most recent post on Thursday night conveyed her nervous anticipation and exhilaration at the prospect of reaching the summit. She writes:

It will be hard to sleep tonight because we know what is coming. Our group has become very close and our team spirit will carry us. We will be awakened at midnight and told to put on almost every layer of clothing that we brought.

It is Carpe Diem time only now it is the longest day of my life and I am seizing a mountain. Hopefully I will have reached my goal as Chicago is getting ready for bed Thursday night.

This is it.

We at Opportunity are eagerly following the progress of Goudie and her friends, inspired by their commitment to alleviate poverty for women and girls. Though not everyone can scale Kilimanjaro, we can all do something to raise awareness and support for women in the developing world. Take action: attend our http://www.opportunity.org/opportunity-international-conference/breakout-sessions/breakout session[/intlink] on women’s philanthropy at Opportunity’s http://www.opportunity.org/opportunity-international-conference/fall microfinance conference[/intlink]; share the work of Opportunity with your family, friends and community members; and fund the loan of a woman client on optinnow.org. What will you do to empower women and girls? Share with us in the comment field below.

The boys and girls of the Ladybird Infant and Primary School in Kampala, Uganda pose for a picture. Preschool teacher Nuulu Nankya (back row, left) and school proprietress Mariam Noah (back row, middle) are Opportunity clients in the Progressive Trust Group.

 Every Wednesday on our blog, we highlight an article, book or a blog in our “What We’re Reading” series. We’ll feature pieces or works that are noteworthy, inspiring, educational or relevant to the work we do at Opportunity. We welcome your comments in the comment field below–tell us what you’re reading, or respond to the piece that we’ve highlighted. 

This week we’re reading the September 2010 report from MediaPlanet in USA Today entitled “Investing in Women & Girls: Dedicating Resources to a Single Woman Has a Ripple Effect on her Entire Community.” It’s an independent report featuring expert editorials–from everyone from Oprah Winfrey to http://www.opportunity.org/blog/melinda-french-gates-on-the-impact-of-agriculture-finance/Melinda Gates[/intlink] to Corinne Woods, the director of the http://www.opportunity.org/blog/un-gathers-this-week-to-eradicate-poverty-through-the-mdgs/U.N. Millennium Campaign[/intlink]–with testimonials as to why it is essential to be investing in http://www.opportunity.org/womens-opportunity-network/women and girls[/intlink] on a global scale. 

In addition to the editorials and interviews, the report outlines five key steps to change the world by empowering women and girls: 

1. Provide Quality Healthcare
2. Access to Financial Resources
3. Raise Awareness
4. Encourage Gender Equality
5. Educate Girls

Here are just a few quotes and highlights from the report. Click here to read “Investing in Women & Girls.” 

Corinne Woods, director of the U.N. Millennium Campaign:

• “The Millenium Development Goals have the power to bring about tangible change in the lives of women and girls.”
• “Make sure your elected representatives know that you support the administration’s new MDG strategy and efforts to prioritize the Millennium Development Goals. Advocate for the Goals in the media and educate your friends and neighbors.”
• Go to endpoverty2015.org and standagainstpoverty.org to learn how you can do more

Opportunity Kenya client Millicent Wahiga easily uses her cell phone to access banking services and repay her loans.

“The New Businesswoman”:

• Afghan entrepreneur Masooma Habibi participated in http://www.opportunity.org/blog/opportunity-attends-the-10000-women-leadership-academy/Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Women Program[/intlink], where she learned practical skills like accounting, human resources management, and marketing.
• After graduating in 2009, she started her own electrical engineering firm, and has managed to grow her business despite competition from male-owned companies, cultural prejudice in a predominantly male field, and security risks.
• Masooma’s goal is to start an electrical laboratory, and she hopes to establish a nonprofit organization to create job opportunities for all Afghan women.
• “A businesswoman makes her own money to support herself and change her life—but it wasn’t just to have my own business. I knew that if I had a successful business, I could help the poor people around me.” – Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Graduate Masooma Habibi

Q & A: Melinda French Gates on the Gates Foundation’s commitment to women’s philanthropy:

• “We’re seeing tremendous momentum around the idea that investments in women save lives and help their families, communities and nations to thrive.”
• “Technology has already had a huge impact on women’s lives [in the developing world].”
• “In Kenya, more than nine million people are using cell phones to transfer money [and manage their finances]. This means that women who previously may not have had access to a banking system can now send money to their children’s schools or other family members, or set up and access a savings account. This is revolutionary.”

Oprah Winfrey, Founder of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, South Africa:

• “When you educate a girl… you start to affect her family, her community, her nation. When you educate a girl, that girl becomes a woman who understands the value of an education and educates her children.”
• “[At the academy,] we support the development of a new generation of women leaders who, by virtue of their education and service, will lead the charge to transform themselves, their communities, and the larger world around them. [...We will] help raise the next generation of transformative South African leaders.”

These are just a few of the people, organizations and topics highlighted in “Investing in Women & Girls.” Click here to read more. 

Interested in learning more about how Opportunity invests almost 85% of its donor dollars to providing http://www.opportunity.org/what-is-microfinance/microfinance[/intlink] services to women? Attend our http://www.opportunity.org/opportunity-international-conference/breakout-sessions/breakout session[/intlink]–Investing in Half the Sky: Why Women? Why Now?–at the fall microfinance conference, Oct. 8-9, in Washington, D.C. Hear stories of hope and empowerment from Alice Gasatura, director of credit support at Opportunity Rwanda; Julie Hindmarsh, member of our Board of Directors; and Ruth-Anne Renaud, our VP of women’s philanthropy. http://www.opportunity.org/opportunity-international-conference/Click here[/intlink] to see the full agenda for the conference, and to http://www.opportunity.org/opportunity-international-conference/opportunity-international-conference-register-now/register[/intlink].

For me, this will be my first http://www.opportunity.org/opportunity-international-conference/Opportunity microfinance conference[/intlink], and I’m really looking forward to hearing from guest http://www.opportunity.org/opportunity-international-conference/speakers/speakers[/intlink] like Pulitzer Prize-winner http://www.opportunity.org/blog/sheryl-wudunn-to-speak-at-opportunitys-fall-microfinance-conference-in-washington-d-c/Sheryl WuDunn[/intlink], high-ranking official in the State Department María Otero, Nobel Peace Prize nominee Tony Hall, acclaimed writer http://www.opportunity.org/roger-thurow-enough/Roger Thurow[/intlink], and many more. But I’m also excited to meet other globally-minded individuals interested in http://www.opportunity.org/what-is-microfinance/microfinance[/intlink], and attend http://www.opportunity.org/opportunity-international-conference/breakout-sessions/breakout sessions[/intlink] on a number of technical topics related to philanthropy, poverty, political advocacy, and fields of microfinance.

Here now are just 3 of the many breakout sessions that I’m excited to attend:

1. Innovations in Technology
   We are working on so many exciting http://www.opportunity.org/blog/update-innovations-in-technology/technological innovations[/intlink] to help make it easier and more efficient to bring financial access to our clients, including sustainable electrical and power solutions, biometric smart cards, and cell phone banking technology. Meet session leader and expert, Daryl Skoog, Opportunity’s senior VP of technology.
2. Agricultural Finance: Reaching More of Africa
   Sixty-five percent of the sub-Saharan African labor force is employed in agriculture, yet the region’s agricultural sector receives just four percent of official development assistance. This breakout session, led by http://www.opportunity.org/blog/john-magnay-on-food-security-in-africa-and-agricultural-finance/John Magnay[/intlink], our senior agricultural advisor, will explain how we’re extending financial access to our most geographically remote clients on the continent.
3. Education Finance: Schools for Children Living in Poverty
   Through the Banking on Education initiative, we’ve disbursed over 450 loans to educational entrepreneurs building schools in underserved communities in Ghana, Malawi, Uganda and the Dominican Republic. Plus, we partner with the http://www.opportunity.org/blog/irene-pritzker-idp-foundation-honored-with-global-philanthropy-award/IDP Rising Schools Program[/intlink], pioneering a sustainable education model in support of extremely undeveloped schools in rural Ghana. Learn more about expanding educational opportunities through microfinance.

For more about our http://www.opportunity.org/opportunity-international-conference/speakers/speakers[/intlink], our http://www.opportunity.org/opportunity-international-conference/breakout-sessions/breakout sessions[/intlink] and the http://www.opportunity.org/opportunity-international-conference/agenda/agenda[/intlink] for the weekend, visit the http://www.opportunity.org/opportunity-international-conference/Fall Microfinance Conference page[/intlink] on our website. http://www.opportunity.org/opportunity-international-conference/opportunity-international-conference-register-now/Click here[/intlink] to register for the conference. Do not miss the chance to be a part of this exciting event.

REGISTER NOW

Watch the video “Harvesting Hope,” and attend the conference breakout session with sr. agricultural advisor John Magnay:

Client Dorothy Makupe and her baby, Ethel, are pictured here in Mulanje, Malawi. Dorothy shows off her bank card, equipped with biometric fingerprint technology. Investing in women clients like Dorothy enables them to improve the lives of their children, families and communities.

Every Wednesday on this blog, we’ll be highlighting an article, book or a blog in our “What We’re Reading” series. We’ll feature pieces or works that we think are noteworthy, inspiring, educational and relevant to the work we do at Opportunity. We welcome your comments in the comment field below–tell us what you’re reading, or respond to the article that we’ve highlighted.

This week we love the ONE Campaign‘s blog post, “Africa’s Future is Female,” highlighting their latest report about the crucial role women can play in eradicating poverty in Africa. The report also profiles African women who are leaders in their communities, ”from a Tanzanian sweet potato farmer to the director general of Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission.”

As we at http://www.opportunity.org/Opportunity[/intlink] know, and see every day among our clients, when women are economically empowered, they in turn support children, extended family and communities with their incomes. Donating to http://www.opportunity.org/womens-opportunity-network/women[/intlink] donates to a community. Still, 70% of the world’s women live in poverty. ONE is particularly interested in this subject, as are we, because they will be covering the important U.N. MDG Summit happening in New York City next week, in which goal 3–empower women and promote gender equality–will be one of the MDG’s discussed.

As ONE says, “it’s time to step up our investments in Africa’s women and girls.”  We agree. This is why Opportunity devotes almost 85% of our donor dollars into women clients and entrepreneurs worldwide.

Check out the ONE blog and their new report. To learn more about how and why Opportunity invests so much of its resources into women, and to hear stories and reflections from Alice Gasatura, director of credit support at Opportunity Rwanda, join us at our http://www.opportunity.org/opportunity-international-conference/Fall Microfinance Conference[/intlink] in Washington, D.C., October 8-9. For a list of our breakout sessions, http://www.opportunity.org/opportunity-international-conference/breakout-sessions/click here[/intlink], and http://www.opportunity.org/opportunity-international-conference/opportunity-international-conference-register-now/register here[/intlink] to attend the conference . Check back in to http://www.opportunity.org/blog/our blog[/intlink] every Wednesday for our “What We’re Reading” series.

Sheryl WuDunn is the co-author of New York Times best-seller Half The Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. At our fall conference, she'll speak to the power of women to improve the economies of their countries through access to microfinance.

One of the best ways to fight poverty is to educate women and give them economic opportunity. Microfinance institutions are at the center of that solution. I’m looking forward to seeing more and more people getting involved in this effort.  

–Sheryl WuDunn (March 2010) 

Sheryl WuDunn, an advocate for global women’s issues and proponent of the empowerment of women through microfinance and education, will be a keynote speaker at Opportunity’s http://www.opportunity.org/opportunity-international-conference/Fall Microfinance Conference[/intlink], Oct. 8-9, 2010, in Washington, D.C. 

WuDunn is the Pulitzer Prize winning co-author, with husband and New York Times reporter Nicholas D. Kristof, of http://www.opportunity.org/blog/celebrate-international-women%e2%80%99s-day-with-%e2%80%9chalf-the-sky%e2%80%9d/Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide[/intlink]. As a speaker at Opportunity’s conference, she’ll be discussing the movement to emancipate women and fight global poverty by unlocking women’s power as economic catalysts. 

WuDunn is senior managing director at Mid-Market Securities, an investment banking boutique serving growth companies in the middle market, including companies founded and run by women. This year, WuDunn was honored for Half the Sky with the Beacon Award from the White House Project, a nonpartisan organization that seeks to advance women’s leadership in all communities and sectors. 

Sheryl WuDunn was the first Asian-American reporter to win a Pulitzer Prize, which she won for her reporting from the Beijing bureau of the New York Times.

Previously, she has worked at The New York Times as both an executive and a journalist. Among her roles, she was an editor for international markets, energy and industry, and a foreign correspondent for The Times in Tokyo and Beijing, where she wrote about economic, financial, political and social issues. She has experience in the financial sector as a vice president in the role of investment advisor for private clients in the investment management division at Goldman Sachs, and as a commercial loan officer at Bankers Trust. 

Sheryl WuDunn is a pragmatic, passionate and inspiring advocate for the untapped potential of economically marginalized women in the developing world. We’re thrilled she’ll be sharing her insights and experiences with attendees at the conference. For more on Sheryl WuDunn, and to register for the conference, visit our http://www.opportunity.org/opportunity-international-conference/fall conference page[/intlink].

School administrator Jacinta Njoki, of the Wisdom Junior Educational Center in Kenya, works with her students in the schoolyard. She started her school in 2001 with a $375 loan from Opportunity, and now has 150 kids and six teachers.

Welcome back to school. It’s an exciting time for kids of all ages: new teachers, new classroom, new school supplies… maybe even new back-to-school clothes. But for children living in poverty, their access to even the most basic education is never a certainty. 

Yet, education is one of the most vital development tools for economically marginalized individuals and communities. Access to educational opportunities can mean the difference between improving one’s future and mere economic survival. That’s why http://www.opportunity.org/Opportunity[/intlink] provides funding for educators and proprietors who operate private schools in underserved neighborhoods, through our Banking on Education program. 

Through this initiative, we’ve disbursed more than 450 loans to educational entrepreneurs in Ghana, Malawi, Uganda and the Dominican Republic. We offer school fee loans and scholarships to clients in India. Plus, we’re partnering with the IDP Foundation Rising Schools Program, which is pioneering a sustainable education model that combines financial and non-financial capacity building services in support of extremely undeveloped schools in rural Ghana. 

Through these programs, we’re working to bring educational opportunities to children living in extreme poverty all over the world. Learn more about our Banking on Education initiative and our work with IDP Rising Schools in “Education Finance: Schools for Children Living in Poverty,” a http://www.opportunity.org/opportunity-international-conference/breakout-sessions/breakout session[/intlink] at our Fall Microfinance Conference, Oct. 8-9 in Washington, D.C. Visit our http://www.opportunity.org/opportunity-international-conference/conference page[/intlink] for more information.

UnPoverty: Rich Lessons from the Working Poor, by Mark Lutz, inspires us to imagine the reality of a future without extreme poverty.

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: Rich Lessons from the Working Poor, a new book written by Mark Lutz, the senior vice-president of global philanthropy for Opportunity. His book is a series of vignettes, introducing you to people living in extreme poverty, inspiring you with the knowledge that with just a small opportunity, these individuals can be big change agents in their own lives and in their communities.

After more than two decades of working closely with people living in extreme economic poverty in developing nations, Lutz believes that what he calls “unpoverty” is possible. He envisions a world in which we eradicate global poverty by empowering the economically marginalized, but emotionally wealthy, offering them the tools to create a more financially stable future–with the goal of completely eliminating extreme poverty for the more than one billion people who live on $1 a day.

Says Lutz: “The purpose of UnPoverty is to convince the reader that we can eradicate extreme poverty in our lifetime if we act strategically. I shine the spotlight on poor people so the readers see them in a new light and want to act on their behalf. Each chapter is a different lesson I’m learning from the poor. Each lesson is illustrated by the stories of http://www.opportunity.org/media-center/stories/Opportunity clients[/intlink]. My prayer is that thousands of readers will decide to invest in the poor, and that many of those will choose to do so by supporting the working solution of http://www.opportunity.org/our-work/microfinance[/intlink] that Opportunity offers its clients.”

Praise for UnPoverty:

• “Mark Lutz has captured what I have seen to be true over and over again around the world. We have much to learn from the resilience, determination and generosity of the families in these stories and countless more who are able to do so much if only given a chance.” –Jonathan T.M. Reckford, CEO, Habitat for Humanity International
• “Instead of stirring feelings of pity in his readers, Mark Lutz reveals the resilience, perseverance, wisdom, and willingness of the working poor. Through his personal interactions with those living in incomprehensible poverty, as well as his own genuine “ah-ha” moments, the author builds a deeper level of understanding. By joining hands with the poor, we can go beyond good intentions to genuine change.”  –Sammy T. Mah, President and CEO, World Relief
• “Our abundance can render us tone-deaf to the needs of the extremely poor. We are proud of ourselves when we make a difference. Mark shows us how.” –Claudia Kennedy, U.S. Army Lt. General (Ret.), speaker at Opportunity’s http://www.opportunity.org/opportunity-international-conference/Fall Microfinance Conference[/intlink]
• “How powerful–to be mentored by the marginalized about what it means to be generous and to live with dignity. Through personal vignettes I discovered unconventional wisdom that if heeded will see ‘unpoverty’ as our global footprint.” –Paula A. Curtis, President and CEO, Opportunity International Canada

UnPoverty is now available to purchase. Visit unpoverty.org to learn more.

Opportunity Rwanda client Marie Grave Byukusege sells produce in the market in Rwamagana.

This week, Roger Thurow, Senior Fellow on Global Agriculture and Food Policy at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, posted a blog reporting on an unusual situation for farmers in Kirehe, Rwanda — an agricultural surplus. Thurow examines the situation, interviewing Agnes Kalibata, Rwanda’s minister of agriculture, and discusses the positive impact of USAID’s Feed the Future initiative as well as the need for continued momentum and perseverance by farmers in Rwanda in the face of a recent agricultural surplus. (Thurow’s piece, “Keeping up the Momentum,” is part of a weekly series called Outrage and Inspire that he writes for Global Food for Thought, the blog for the Global Agricultural Development Initiative.)

Since 2007, when Rwanda’s President Kagame refocused his efforts on permanently eliminating hunger in his country, spending on agriculture development has increased to about 7% of its budget from less than 3%, according to Minister Kalibata. And while two-thirds of the country’s districts were below daily food requirements then, today, there are none.

While this effort led to a much-needed increase in production, it also brought on new problems. Prices were falling and there was the potential for food spoilage. Farmers’ enthusiasm and motivation were waning. They needed markets for their produce right away. Says Minister Kalibata, “‘We have the food, but we have no post-harvest network. When you talk about gaining food security without putting these other things into place, it’s wishful thinking.’”

In the effort to keep up momentum and enthusiasm among farmers, Kalibata says she welcomes the help of the Feed the Future initiative, the Obama administration’s effort to end hunger through agriculture development. Feed the Future invests in post-harvest infrastructure — post-harvest losses in Rwanda and elsewhere in Africa can run as high as 30% to 50% of production.

Opportunity is also responding to these needs of farmers in Rwanda and all over sub-Saharan Africa. Our agriculture finance program strives to connect smallholder farmers with markets for their harvests. Through a grant by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the MasterCard Foundation, Opportunity will develop strategic partnerships with extension service providers to equip farmers with training and market linkages that can help to improve crop productivity and household income. It is also providing 90,000 smallholder farmers in Africa with access to financial services, including savings products and weather index crop insurance to protect their assets.

As Roger Thurow highlights in his post, when it comes to solving global hunger, it is not only production that’s needed, but an infrastructure that allows for a way to ensure financial security through that produce as well. After all, asks Minister Kalibata, “How can I tell the farmers to plant more maize? Unless we sell this, how can we get them to grow more? That’s the challenge of creating food security.”

Click here to read Thurow’s full article on the blog Global Food for Thought.

Writer and agricultural expert Roger Thurow is co-author of the author of the book, ENOUGH: Why the World’s Poorest Starve in an Age of Plenty. He will be a featured speaker at Opportunity’s Microfinance Conference in Washington, D.C. on October 8-9, 2010. To attend the conference, and meet many more experts in agriculture, microfinance and international development, visit our conference information page.