Blog Archives

Back-to-School for Children Living in Poverty

By Opportunity International on September 7, 2010

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 Read more…

Posted in Events, Loans, Local Staffing, Our Work, Rural Outreach, Strategic Partners, Where We Work
Tagged Africa, Banking on Education, Board of Governors Conference, Children, Clients, Community, Conference, Dominican Republic, Education, Education finance, Ending Poverty, fall microfinance conference, Financial services, Ghana, IDP Foundation, IDP Foundation Rising Schools Program, India, Malawi, MFI, Microfinance, Microfinance Conference, opportunity dominican republic, Opportunity Ghana, Opportunity India, Opportunity International, Opportunity International Microfinance Conference, Opportunity Malawi, Opportunity Uganda, Poverty, Scholarships, School fee loans, School Proprietor Loans, Schools, Students, Uganda, Washington D.C., Youth

Agricultural Advisor John Magnay Talks Food Security in Africa, and How Agricultural Finance Can Feed a Continent

By Opportunity International on August 30, 2010

“Africa is capable of sustaining its food needs,” said John Magnay, Opportunity’s senior agricultural advisor. “[But] if you look at [crop] yields in Africa, it is at 40% of what it should be.” Magnay, a British-born, 33-year veteran of the agricultural development sector in Africa, has worked with several African governments to develop agricultural advancements, and Read more…

Posted in Loans, Local Staffing, Microinsurance, Our Work, Rural Outreach, Technology, What We're Reading, Where We Work
Tagged Africa, Agricultural finance, Agriculture, Agriculture Microfinance, Agrifinance, Clients, Ending Hunger, Ending Poverty, Financial services, food, Food security, Food Sustainability, Ghana, Hunger, John Magnay, Loan Officer, Loans, Malawi, MFI, Microfinance, Mozambique, northwestern university, Opportunity Ghana, Opportunity International, Opportunity Malawi, Opportunity Rwanda, Opportunity Uganda, Rwanda, Technology, Uganda, UN

Knowledge Leads to Understanding: Getting to Know Uganda

By Guest Post on July 30, 2010

supporter and her 16-year-old nephew contributed this final post about their trip to Uganda, summing up the unforgettable people they met and places they saw on their journey. The Mighty Nile River Debby: is a beautiful country: Winston Churchill described it as “the pearl of Africa” because of its green hills, the shores of Lake Read more…

Posted in Insight Trips, Local Staffing, Our Work, Trust Groups, What We're Reading, Where We Work, Women's Opportunity Network
Tagged Africa, Client Stories, Clients, Community, Education, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Insight Trip, Kampala, Loan Officer, Loans, MFI, Microfinance, Nile River, Opportunity International, Opportunity Uganda, Poverty, Schools, Students, Trust Groups, Uganda, University, Women, Women's Opportunity Network, Women's Philanthropy, WON

Be Inspired: A Traveler Meets Opportunity Uganda’s Microfinance Clients

By Guest Post on July 23, 2010

Debby Farrington, a supporter of the is visiting Uganda with her 16-year-old nephew Matt Statman. Yesterday, Matt sent us about meeting teenage students in Kampala, and today, Debby reports on their visits with Trust Group clients and some very inspiring women entrepreneurs. Today, we visited a meeting and some very special clients of Opportunity Uganda. Read more…

Posted in Insight Trips, Local Staffing, Our Work, Training, Trust Groups, Where We Work, Women's Opportunity Network, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity
Tagged Africa, Children, Client Stories, Clients, Community, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Insight Trip, Kampala, Loan Officer, Loans, MFI, Microfinance, Mothers, Opportunity International, Opportunity Uganda, Poverty, Students, Trust Groups, Uganda, Women, Women's Opportunity Network, WON, YAO, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity

Sending Our Condolences to the Victims of Sunday’s Bombings in Uganda

By Opportunity International on July 12, 2010

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the victims of the two bombings that took place late Sunday night in Kampala, Uganda. The bombings were done in a synchronized attack on large gatherings of World Cup soccer fans watching the televised final game on outdoor screens. To our knowledge, no Opportunity Uganda Read more…

Posted in Events, Local Staffing, Where We Work
Tagged Africa, Children, Community, Invisible Children, Kampala, Opportunity International, Opportunity Uganda, Uganda, world cup, Youth

Breaking the Cycle of Poverty: Education as a Solution

By Guest Post on June 25, 2010

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…

Posted in Insight Trips, Loans, Our Mission and Vision, Our Work, Savings, Trust Groups, Where We Work, Women's Opportunity Network
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

YAO Launches San Diego Chapter

By Opportunity International on April 2, 2010

Young Ambassadors for Opportunity (YAO) launched its San Diego chapter kick-off event this past Friday, March 26, at the Caster home. Core members Anne Edwardson, Chris Tharp, Elise Caster and Troy Finnigan organized the event, which was attended by about 20 young adults. After mingling and munching on appetizers and cocktails, guests heard about the Read more…

Posted in Events, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity
Tagged Bank Building, Board of Directors, Board of Governors, Char Caldwell, Donation, Flickr, Loan Officer, Mission, Opportunity Uganda, San Diego, Sponsors, YAO, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity

Strong Women: The Heart of Community in Kampala, Uganda

By Cynthia Greenwood on March 7, 2010

I woke up today, on the eve of International Women’s Day, thinking about the remarkable women clients I met on a recent trip to Kampala to visit Opportunity Uganda’s operations. For me, these women give new meaning to the words “hardworking,” “committed,” “brave,” and “strong.” Opportunity Loan Officer Charity Namutebi works out of the Read more…

Posted in Loans, Local Staffing, Our Mission and Vision, Our Motivation, Our Work, Savings, Training, Trust Groups, Where We Work, Women's Opportunity Network
Tagged $2 a day, AIDS, Build businesses, Charity Namutebi, Client Stories, Community, International Women's Day, Loan Officer, Loans, Mariam Noah, Nuulu Nankya, Opportunity Uganda, Orphans, Ruth Nassimbwa, Savings, Schools, Trust Groups, Uganda, Women, Women's Opportunity Network, Women's Philanthropy, WON

Honoring Those Who Increase Opportunities for Women

By Cynthia Greenwood on November 10, 2009

On a sparkling Saturday evening in Washington D.C., the Women’s Opportunity Network of Opportunity International honored a pioneering program and a special staff member in the field who are making an impact on women’s lives in the developing world. The first International Women’s Leadership Award of the night went to Teddy Ajiku, who has held Read more…

Posted in Our Mission and Vision, Our Work, Women's Opportunity Network
Tagged 10000 women initiative, 10k Women, Branch Manager, Clients, Community, Education, Financial services, Goldman Sachs, Goldmas Sachs, International Women’s Leadership Award, Loan Officer, Opportunity Uganda, Women, Women's Opportunity Network, Women's Philanthropy, WON

Subscribe to the Blog

Archives

Categories