“…Yes, there is tragedy in Africa, and you will always find it there, and we must take those tragedies seriously, but there is also extraordinary opportunity. And if you see this continent as the continent of the future, it sort of reframes it. This is a continent that, by 2050, will be the largest and the youngest continent in the world…” – U2′s Bono, July 2011, The David Letterman Show

As we close out 2011 and consider the momentous year it was for Africa–from the Arab Spring uprisings in north Africa, to the ongoing famine in the Horn of Africa, to the recent violence around the president elections in the DR Congo–it’s refreshing to remember the positive stories that also have emerged from the continent. So when one of my colleagues forwarded me this article, “Ten Biggest Positive Africa Stories of 2011,” in The New Yorker, I wanted to take this opportunity to celebrate these good news stories from Africa. As author Alexis Okeowo writes, “There are always caveats to any good news, but, for now, the good is outweighing the bad. Africa is a place that is impossible to reduce to any generalities, except maybe this one: it has an enormous amount of potential.”

Among the good news items lauded by Okeowo…

• Africa is experiencing an economic boom. Okeowo cites that Africa is predicted to have the largest economic growth of any continent over the next decade. “As domestic industries, entrepreneurs, and foreign investors prepare to take advantage of this growth, the economies of at least a dozen countries have expanded by more than six per cent a year for six or more years.” That’s a key statistic not only for Africa’s wealthy and middle class, but also for the impoverished families working hard for economic survival. At Opportunity, we offer microfinance loans and other financial tools to economically marginalized families to help them bridge the gap between economic subsistence and stability. An inflow of capital to a local economy trickles down to help vulnerable people break the cycle of poverty.
• South Sudan gained its independence after two decades of civil war. Though the world watched nervously as the independence referendum unfurled, and tensions are still high, a tenuous détente has prevailed.
• Two Liberian women won the Nobel Peace Prize. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberia’s first female leader, and the activist Leymah Gbowee were among the three female Nobel Peace Prize laureates. They were the first women to be awarded the prize since the late Professor Wangari Maathai won in 2004.
• Cell phones continue to change how Africans live. Okeowo cites mobile healthcare tracking in Rwanda, and Kenya‘s cell phone banking system, “called the world’s most innovative,” which lets Kenyans “pay bills, send remittances, purchase goods and airtime, move funds among accounts, and even take out and pay back loans for entrepreneurial ventures.” Those are just two examples of the almost endless possibilities for accessing Africans with services via their mobile phones. MicroEnsure piloted a mobile phone life insurance program with Tigo Ghana, and the program was so successful that it’s now testing it with Tigo Bima in Tanzania. MicroEnsure expects to double the number of Ghanaian clients with life insurance by the end of 2011.

To read all ten of Okeowo’s good news stories from Africa, read her piece on newyorker.com.

This morning, President Obama commemorated World AIDS Day with an AIDS panel discussion at George Washington University, which was streamed live at 9:00 EST by the ONE Campaign on YouTube. The panel featured President George W. Bush, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, U2′s Bono and more.

World AIDS Day 2011 Poster (www.worldaidscampaign.org)

Over the last month, other world leaders have been speaking out in honor of World AIDS Day. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a statement: “Heading into the fourth decade of AIDS, we are finally in a position to end the epidemic. […] Synergies between prevention and treatment are speeding up progress. But to end AIDS, we need to deliver even greater results. This year in June, the United Nations General Assembly’s High-Level Meeting on AIDS adopted bold targets for 2015: reduce the sexual transmission of HIV by half, eliminate new infections in children, provide treatment for 15 million people living with HIV, end stigma and discrimination, and close the AIDS funding gap. With strong political will, reasonable financial resources and a firm human rights-based approach, we can achieve all of these targets.”

Secretary Clinton spoke to the National Institute of Health in November about the U.S.’s work to bring about creating an AIDS-free generation, eliminating mother-to-child transmission, preventing infection among adults, and treatment for those already afflicted. “Although the past 30 years have been a remarkable journey, we still have a long, hard road ahead of us. But today, thanks both to new knowledge and to new ways of applying it, we have the chance to give countless lives and futures to millions of people who are alive today, but equally, if not profoundly more importantly, to an entire generation yet to be born.”

At Opportunity International, education through financial, health and life-skills training is an integral part of our services to our clients. In Sub-Saharan Africa, as part of health training modules offered in our banks in Malawi, Mozambique and Rwanda, clients have access to education that promotes better understanding and prevention of HIV/AIDS. We’re committed to life-skills training and education like this in order to improve all aspects of our clients’ lives.

After more than three decades, the global fight against AIDS has come so far, and yet there is still much to do. As Secretary Clinton said, “Our efforts have helped set the stage for an historic opportunity, one that the world has today: to change the course of this pandemic and usher in an AIDS-free generation.”

The press gather in preparation for Pres. Obama's remarks at the afternoon plenary session

The plenary session closed with remarks from President Barack Obama, who thanked CGI participants for the amazing work they are doing, saying, “Hundreds of millions of people have been touched by what you have done here.”

The session also featured a panel discussion on “Sustainable Consumption: Redefining Business as Usual,” moderated by Gro Harlem Brundtland, Former Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Norway. Participants included Bob Diamond, Chief Executive, Barclays; Viviane Victorine Kinyaga, Director, Desert Research Foundation of Namibia; Indra Nooyi, Chairman and CEO, PepsiCo; and Paul Polman, Chief Executive Officer, Unilever.

More than ever before, the world’s population–and its ever-increasing demand for products and services–is putting pressure on the planet. In an era of rapidly depleting and finite resources, businesses and society have the opportunity to reframe how value is created and how consumption acts as a driver for economic growth. This panel session sought to explore how design decisions at the highest levels can drive consumer choices, and innovative marketing and branding can encourage consumer demand to drive more sustainable supply, addressing these opportunities and challenges through the lens of the global food business. The current food system has resulted in high prices paid by the natural environment and by consumer health. Therefore, the panel explored how to ensure sustainability and  how to evaluate what is driving consumption patterns to determine both ethical and profitable responses to these challenges.

Pres. Obama addresses attendees at the plenary session

Watch video of the entire plenary session by clicking here.

Today, Sept. 21st, is also the International Day of Peace, so it is apropos that USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah, speaking at the CGI breakout session “Securing Global Nutrition” earlier today, called for all countries to live up to their commitments to support agricultural development in Africa, not only as a moral obligation, but to increase global security and economic prosperity.

While hunger and undernutrition remain persistent problems for the poorest populations of the world, inequities in food production and distribution have most recently been dramatically pronounced in the food crisis in the Horn of Africa. Events such as the drought that has ravaged livestock and crop production in East Africa will continue to create extreme nutrition shortfalls if the overarching challenges to food production and consumption are not addressed. Working to meet the needs for food distribution in times of emergency, it is essential that governments, businesses, and NGOs also collaborate for long-term nutritional security. Dr. Shah also warned that if we do not help to create a stable environment in the Horn of Africa, the area will become more vulnerable to extremist groups.

Playing the Students of the World video about Banking on Education

Other participants in the breakout session, which was moderated by The New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, included Vinita Bali, Managing director and CEO of Britannia Industries Ltd.; Gebisa Ejeta, Distinguished Professor of Agronomy at Purdue University; and Yolanda Kakabadse, President, WWF International. Kristof said that in the last few decades, the U.S. government and development community had “dropped the ball on agriculture and nutrition.” Shah discussed the U.S. Government’s Feed the Future program, which reverses the trend and calls for country-led agricultural development and partnerships to reduce poverty and increase access to food.

Tune in tomorrow for the last day of CGI 2011, including the plenary session “Engaging Boys and Men as Allies for Long-term Change,” with remarks by Melanne Verveer, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, U.S. Department of State; and featuring philanthropists, world leaders and thought leaders such as Muhammad Yunus, chairman, Yunus Centre; Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda, and more. As well as a number of breakout and special sessions on a number of issues related to gender, technology, business and the environment.

Watch live streaming video of all CGI sessions via CGI’s Facebook page. Follow along with CGI on Twitter at #CGI2011.

The child of a client in Kampala, Uganda

The daughter of a Rwandan dairy farmer client

Rwanda- What does the future hold for this daughter (left) of a Rwandan farmer living in poverty?

After surviving the genocide, and being given a single cow, the mother and her family slowly have been rebuilding their lives as subsistence dairy farmers, with the help of an Opportunity microloan. Life is hard as all the water and food for the cow must be brought in manually each day on a bicycle or by walking, carrying the burden of heavy water containers for a great distance.

Still, there is optimism about the future. The single cow has given birth to three additional cows, two of which the family has kept. The opportunity for improvements in productivity are great, and there is hope for the future.

Rwanda- At a Trust Group meeting (right), an Opportunity client in the rural agricultural village of Nyamata describes how her microloan and the Trust Group have transformed her life by allowing her to buy land, build a house, feed her children, provide schooling, and achieve dignity for herself in her community.

She says that the lessons her loan officer has given her on running a business are very helpful and that her community of friends in the Trust Group give her support and encouragement, helping her solve problems and looking toward the future.

Several of the members of this Trust Group were widowed by the genocide. We saw a monument to the victims on the road, a short distance outside of town.

A Trust Group meeting in the village of Nyamata, Rwanda

Opportunity supporter Fred of Hillsborough, Calif. writes of his journey traveling with fellow supporters and Opportunity staff on an Insight Trip to Rwanda and Uganda in August to see firsthand the impact of our Banking on Africa campaign.

Stay tuned to the Opportunity Blog for more from the Banking on Africa travelers.

Dorosera Mukagahima, an Opportunity Rwanda client, is treasurer of her rural Trust Group.

Life hasn’t always been this good. She explained that a couple years ago when she joined the Trust Group her “brain was closed.” She says she was confused, with low self-esteem and without direction or hope. She lived in a grass, thatched hut where she cared for her sick husband and their four children who were all attending primary school.

Her fortunes began to change with her first Opportunity loan of only $33, which enabled her to start selling juice that she makes from bananas. Within four months she paid off her loan and took out a larger one to expand her business. By the third loan cycle, she could afford to make the mud bricks she eventually used to build her new house. Inspired by the success of the others in her group she says she’s no longer afraid to take larger loans and make investments.

Our group of travelers asked her several questions, one of them inquiring about the influence of her Trust Group on the progress of her business. She was quick to respond. Before her loan, as a woman she could not leave her home or spend time with others unless accompanied by her husband. Though those traditional practices are discouraged by the government, many rural women still live within those boundaries today.

Now she is able to be out running her business or meeting with the other Trust Group members. Seeing the added income to the family, her husband welcomes her participation. When she hears the stories from the other group members, she says, it encourages her to “think beyond where she is and what she can accomplish.” The interpersonal skills she has learned in the group, she has taken home and used in her family.

The next day as we took our long bus ride, several in our group commented on the strength, camaraderie and empowerment these Trust Group members gained from working and meeting together. Perhaps here in Rwanda the group dynamic is especially powerful, as members rebuild their lives in the wake of the genocide. Knowing that this genocide pitted neighbor against neighbor, it’s certainly possible that some family members of those in this Trust Group were victims of atrocities inflicted by other families represented in the group. Coming together every week helps brings healing and support like little else can. It is clear to all of us that microfinance is playing a significant role in the restoration of Rwanda.

Mark Lutz, our Senior VP of Global Philanthropy, wrote this post last week while traveling to Rwanda and Uganda with Opportunity supporters to see firsthand the impact of our Banking on Africa campaign. Stay tuned to the Opportunity Blog for more posts from their exciting trip.

Ugandan Trust Group

Amazing. I am just blown away. They have done this on an average loan size of $80. As a group they now have a loan balance of $8,000.

Insight Trip traveler Kevin of Palo Alto, Calif. writes about a Trust Group of Opportunity Uganda clients thinking creatively to further improve their futures. Kevin traveled with Opportunity supporters and staff last week to Rwanda and Uganda to see firsthand the impact of our Banking on Africa campaign.

Stay tuned to the Opportunity Blog for more from their exciting trip.

Check out a photo tour below of some of the countries we’re serving in Sub-Saharan Africa. For more on the Banking on Africa Campaign, check out opportunity.org/africa.

Originating near San Francisco, Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles and Raleigh, our travelers certainly don’t share common back yards. What’s in common is our desire to meet some of the neighbors in our global village; those who not only survive economically but thrive spiritually on a few dollars a day. How do they do it, and what can we learn about life from them?

My book UnPoverty: Rich Lessons from the Working Poor is a smorgasbord of stories about amazing people I’ve met on previous trips like this, and what they teach me. Now on this voyage our group will journal our thoughts and present them here for everyone to read. We plan to share blog posts, videos, candid shots, and most of all our immediate and honest impressions.

We encourage you to pack your virtual bag and join us for the week. We’ll be sharing many of our posts right here, on the Opportunity Blog. Let us know what you like or challenge our reactions in the comment field below. We’ll have plenty of time bouncing around in the back of a bus to discuss your response and possibly even respond back to you. We’re all going with slightly different agendas, but with a common goal to be inspired by and learn from those we visit. Who really is “poor” and why? And how can we live in community with them? Thank you for joining us.

Bon voyage.

This post was written by Mark Lutz, Banking on Africa Insight Trip traveler & senior vice-president of Global Philanthropy at Opportunity International.

The Financial Literacy Conference takes place in Nairobi, Kenya on July 21-22, 2011.

The Financial Literacy Conference opened with remarks from Professor Njuguna S. Ndunu’u, governor of the Central Bank of Kenya, who emphasized that financial literacy not only strengthens markets but increases financial access to those living in poverty. He went on to say, “The drive toward a more financially literate Kenya and African continent requires a diverse group of actors.” Other keynote speakers included: David Simms, board chair, Opportunity International Network; Alyna Wyatt, team Leader, Financial Education Fund (FEF); and Musapenda Phiri, project coordinator, Zambia’s Central Bank. Throughout the conference, attendees have been receiving information on existing education projects, new education tools and timely topics such as the importance of technology in promoting financial literacy.

As a FEF grant recipient, Opportunity has been piloting a variety of ways to develop and deliver financial education. Utilizing a multimedia approach, we’ve conducted in-country research and focus group discussions to create modules on the importance of debt management, savings and insurance. As a result of these studies, financial literacy videos are being used in Ghana, Uganda, Malawi, and Mozambique to inform clients of ways they can protect themselves from exploitation. These videos also provide our clients with the tools and knowledge they need to effectively manage their finances.

In her remarks, FEF’s Alyna Wyatt emphasized that rapidly changing financial products and services create a greater need for financial literacy. She reported that as a result of the FEF grantees work in eight African countries, 130,000 people have been reached through formal training initiatives and an additional 11 million have been exposed to financial literacy topics and information through a variety of vehicles, including radio and TV broadcasts.

Through the conference presentations and discussions on both the impact and challenges of financial education initiatives in Africa, Opportunity International and FEF seek to reach out to millions more people who could benefit greatly from financial literacy tools in their struggle to lift themselves out of poverty.

This post was written by Shannon McGuire, Opportunity International intern.

The organizers of YAO-ZA! (Photo: emilyelizabethphoto.com)

Greetings from the Denver chapter of Young Ambassadors for Opportunity (YAO). We are thrilled to officially become part of the YAO network after YAO-ZA!, our successful chapter launch on Saturday, May 21st. Thanks to a dedicated team and the generous support of our sponsors, families and friends, we were able to raise over $10,000–enough to fund two Trust Groups at Opportunity Tanzania–and spread awareness about Opportunity International’s microfinance work, all while having a great time!

YAO - Denver co-chairs Caitlin Andrews (left) & Monica Perez cut the ribbon. (Photo: emilyelizabethphoto.com)

Nearly 250 Denverites from all parts of the city came to hear about YAO and enjoy a night of local art, music, food and drink. We were lucky enough to be joined by Sonya Perez-Lauterbach, the manager of YAO, as well as members of the Board of Governors, and our keynote speaker Daniel Ryumugabe, the Transformational Impact Manager at Opportunity Rwanda. After some brief words about Opportunity International’s mission and history, we introduced the co-chairs and a few of the members of YAO – Denver, and cut the ribbon to mark the occasion.

Attendees enjoy local art plus handmade Rwandan crafts from Trading for Treasures. (Photo: emilyelizabethphoto.com)

We were thrilled to find a venue for the event in Denver’s Santa Fe Art District at the Colorado Arts Center, Inc.  (CACI). A huge thanks is due to CACI’s executive director Jeff King for hosting the launch. CACI is a local art nonprofit dedicated to growing Denver’s creative spaces.

Many more thanks are due to the local businesses, individuals, and nonprofit organizations that donated their time, energy, and financial support to get YAO – Denver up and running. It’s because of their collaboration that we were able to take an idea, refine it over months of weekly meetings, and develop it into a successful fundraiser and the start of an exciting new globally-minded community in Denver. With some healthy doses of trial, error, and creativity we navigated the logistical hurdles–including finding super-sized scissors for ribbon cutting!–to host this launch and future YAO – Denver events!

Opportunity Rwanda's Daniel Ryumugabe (Photo: emilyelizabethphoto.com)

Now that YAO-Denver is officially established, we have big plans to follow up with a leader retreat and a happy hour on June 9th at Diego’s Mexican Cantina in LoDo. As for the next big event, we’re inspired by other chapters who have hosted benefit concerts–like YAO – Chicago’s Tunes for Tanzania last November–and we hope to plan one of our own this fall.

YAO – Denver is so grateful for the community’s support and we can’t wait to grow our chapter.

Check out YAO – Denver on Facebook for more YAO-ZA! photos and for updates on future events. All photography by Emily Elizabeth Photography.

To join YAO – Denver, register with YAO and check the Denver box in the Chapters section.