Blog Archives

What We’re Watching: IDP Rising Schools Brings Better Education to Ghanaian Kids

If you think education is expensive, try ignorance. An uneducated society has no future. About IDP A growing body of research reveals many of the world’s most impoverished parents choose to send their children to private schools instead of subsidized or free government schools. These private schools are owned and operated by local school proprietors Read more…

Posted in Education, Loans, Our Work, Strategic Partners, Training, Videos, What We're Watching, Where We Work
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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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Paying it Forward

“I’m at a point in my life where I want to give back,” was his response. “You know, kind of pay it forward.” At the end of the training session for my alma mater’s mentoring program (I volunteer to help college students with their professional development) I had asked my fellow volunteer why he chose Read more…

Posted in Client Stories, Meet Our Staff, Videos, Where We Work
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Taking a Bite Out of Poverty with Cookies for Change

The kitchen at Opportunity International’s U.S. headquarters was filled with the intoxicating aroma of freshly baked cookies; this was no ordinary day in the office. As the Cookie Monster sang recently, “You got cookie, so share it maybe,” and sharing was the theme of this cookie contest fundraiser organized by the summer interns. “Cookies for Read more…

Posted in Events, Fundraisers, Local Staffing
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Not Just Global, But Local: Opportunity-US Staff Day of Service

For 364 days of the year at , our focus is global–global communities and the global issue of chronic poverty–but we also know how important it is to give back to our local community. So on Friday, May 11, Opportunity-US closed our Oak Brook, Ill. office to give back to the community with our annual service day. We Read more…

Posted in Events, Local Staffing, Our Leadership, Our Motivation
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Opportunity Staff Updates on Sustainable Energy Initiatives Around the World

Deborah Foy, Opportunity-UK’s International Programmes Director told me that 2012 is the United Nations’s “International Year of Sustainable Energy for All.” In the UN’s own words, “Energy is opportunity. It transforms lives. Economies. The planet.” Opportunity’s clients enjoy some of the world’s sunniest days–but they also experience the darkest nights. Lacking electricity, over a billion Read more…

Posted in Events, Loans, Local Staffing, Our Leadership, Our Mission and Vision, Our Work, Resources, Rural Outreach, Where We Work
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Meet Our Staff: Why Do I Believe in Opportunity?

In May of 2010, I attended a luncheon hosted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs where Melanne Verveer, the first-ever U.S. ambassador-at-large for Global Women’s Issues, spoke to the significance of investing in women as a means to drive economic growth in the developing world. Equally as captivating as Ambassador Verveer’s remarks was being Read more…

Posted in Our Leadership, Our Mission and Vision, Our Motivation, Our Work, Resources
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Tanzania Reporter: Our Day at Arusha’s Faraja Center for Young Women

Reporting back from the recent YAO Insight Trip to Tanzania, Tanzania Correspondent Contest winner Kelly Flanagan shares photos from the community service day she and her fellow travelers spent at the Faraja Young Women Development Unit in Arusha. The Faraja Center is a residential facility that helps rehabilitate young female victims of human trafficking, offering them vocational Read more…

Posted in Insight Trips, Where We Work, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity
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What We’re Watching: Opportunity Canada Meets Microfinance Clients in Cartagena, Colombia

Our friends at Opportunity Canada are leading an Insight Trip to Cartagena, Colombia and reporting back throughout January. Check out this video of their trip, including their visit to see client Melvis, who runs a bakery, who we also met on our Opportunity-US trip to Colombia in the fall. Clips from Day 3 in Colombia: Read more…

Posted in Insight Trips, Where We Work
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