Blog Archives

A Trip Down Memory Lane with Some New-Old Photos

We have a lot of great photos at Opportunity International. With all of the amazing clients we get to meet and all of the places we get to work, great pictures aren’t hard to come by. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts to keep them neatly organized, some of those photos get buried underneath all of Read more…

Posted in Local Staffing, Rural Outreach, Technology, Where We Work
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Solar Panel Loans Offer a Beacon of Light for Ugandan Families

In November, launched a solar energy loan to provide power to families currently living with no or unreliable electricity. Opportunity Uganda is now offering clients like Betty Aute (pictured right), a papyrus weaver and mother of two, a solar panel loan of about $300, which covers panels and installation and is repayable over two years, to Read more…

Posted in Loans, Our Work, Resources, Where We Work
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Meet Ugandan Staff Member Frida Mungoma, Education Finance Manager

This past Monday, just after arriving in the United States, Opportunity Uganda‘s Education Finance Manager Wakhasa Frida Mungoma–known as Frida–sat down with me at the Opportunity-US offices in Oak Brook, Ill. for a discussion of her work, the challenges she faces and the most rewarding aspects of her job. Below, see brief excerpts of my Read more…

Posted in Events, Local Staffing, Where We Work, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity
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Breakout Session: Banking on Education

A quality education empowers students with the skills and abilities to secure higher paying jobs, build strong families and help in the economic development of their communities. Today, we discovered how Opportunity’s Banking on Education program is increasing educational opportunities for more than 120,000 children in underserved neighborhoods in Ghana, Malawi and Uganda. The panelists Read more…

Posted in Events, Loans, Microfinance Conference, Our Work, Where We Work, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity
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Conference LiveBlog: Anessa Chui of Credit Suisse

This morning, Anessa Chui–VP of Human Resources-Onboarding and Program Management at Credit Suisse–spoke from the main stage at Opportunity’s annual conference. Credit Suisse, a strategic partner to Opportunity International, is the generous sponsor of our conference this year. Anessa visited Opportunity’s operations in Uganda as part of Credit Suisse’s Global Citizens Program, examining the branches’ Read more…

Posted in Events, Microfinance Conference, Strategic Partners, Where We Work
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What We’re Watching: Banking on Education Video by Students of the World at CGI 2011

We’re watching this video produced in partnership with Students of the World, which had its world premiere on the main stage at this year’s CGI. In it, Opportunity staff and clients discuss the goals and the impact of our Banking on Education program, which provides , and to 280 schools serving 120,000 students in Malawi, Uganda and Read more…

Posted in Events, Loans, Local Staffing, Microfinance Conference, Our Work, Resources, Savings, Training, Where We Work
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Faith in Action: Opportunity Supporter Walks 500 Miles of Christian Pilgrimage El Camino de Santiago

With just 50 miles to go, Opportunity International supporter Ann Loar Brooks is about to complete a 500-mile walk for Ugandan women. Ann began her journey on August 27th, hiking the last 500 miles of the Christian pilgrimage El Camino de Santiago, which starts from southern France and winds through the Pyrenees across northern Spain. Her mission: to raise awareness Read more…

Posted in Board of Governors, Events, Faith in Action, Our Work, Where We Work, Women's Opportunity Network
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CGI Day 2-Pres. Barack Obama, Opportunity’s Education Initiatives, Rajiv Shah on Peace & Food Security, and More

Today’s afternoon plenary session at the 2011 Clinton Global Initiative opened with a Students of the World documentary on Opportunity International’s Banking on Education initiative, which is increasing educational opportunities for more than 120,000 children in underserved neighborhoods in Ghana, Malawi and Uganda. The video was a progress report on Opportunity’s Banking on Education commitment Read more…

Posted in Events, Resources, Where We Work
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Photo Journey of Meeting Microfinance Clients in Rwanda and Uganda

Uganda- A young girl (right) welcomes an Opportunity International visitor from the floor of her father’s shop in a Kampala market. Her young father is an enterprising entrepreneur and Trust Group member who runs a small boutique that sells both new and old clothes, mattresses, and small luggage. Business is good, he reports, and he Read more…

Posted in Insight Trips, Loans, Local Staffing, Rural Outreach, Training, Trust Groups, Where We Work
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Back to School with a Visit to See Education Finance in Action in Uganda

As we head back to school in the U.S., we’re thinking a lot about our educational loan clients and school proprietors around the world, and the impoverished children who are receiving an education because of them. Here, staff member Mark shares what he learned about education finance on his recent visit to a primary school in Kampala, Read more…

Posted in Insight Trips, Loans, Our Work, Resources, Where We Work
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