Blog Archives

Guest Post: Believe in Sheela

By Guest Post on December 16, 2009

The following is a guest post by Desiree Adaway, Sr. Director of Volunteer Mobilization at Habitat for Humanity. It was first posted on her personal blog. I want you to believe in Sheela. She is a leader of Opportunity International’s Baba Trust Group meeting in Chennai, India. Nineteen women have joined together to repay loans, learn accounting skills Read more…

Posted in Trust Groups, Women's Opportunity Network
Tagged Desiree Adaway, Guest Post, Habitat for Humanity, India, Sheela, Trust Groups, Women, Women's Opportunity Network, WON

Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I will remember. Teach me and I will understand.

By Guest Post on December 7, 2009

The following is a guest post from John Wayman written on November 12th, 2009. Eighteen hours ago, I was one of 10 students from Northern Illinois University preparing to embark on a trip to Guadalajara in the state of Jalisco, Mexico, to learn more about and study in depth the elements that comprise the principles of Read more…

Posted in Our Mission and Vision, Our Motivation, Training, Trust Groups, Women's Opportunity Network
Tagged Clients, Empowerment, Entrepreneurs, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Loans, Local staffin, Mexico, Microfinance, Northern Illinois University, Passion, Students, Trip, Trust Groups, Women

Gender Integration highlighted at USAID Administrator Confirmation Hearing

By Ruth-Anne Renaud on December 4, 2009

We are pleased to share that on Wednesday, December 2nd at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Confirmation Hearing for Dr. Rajiv Shah, the nominee for USAID Administrator, Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) posed a a question to Dr. Shah on gender integration, and specifically asked for Dr. Shah’s commitment to carry out gender integration as part Read more…

Posted in Loans, Training, Trust Groups, Women's Opportunity Network
Tagged Children, Dr. Rajiv Shah, Education, Female entrepreneurs, Food Security Initiative, Foreign assistance, Gender, Gender integration, Infant-mortality rate, Microfinance, Poverty, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Ben Cardin, USAID, Women, Women's Opportunity Network, Women's Philanthropy, Women's rights, WON

My Life Changing Experience: What I learned from a Woman Leader

By Guest Post on December 2, 2009

The following is a guest post by Darcy St. John. The events described below took place on November 23rd, 2009. Yesterday was life-changing. I could write a book about this one part of my visit to Nicaragua, so describing it in a few paragraphs is going to be a challenge. I’ll start at the beginning. The Read more…

Posted in Loans, Local Staffing, Our Mission and Vision, Our Motivation, Trust Groups, Women's Opportunity Network
Tagged Client Stories, Community, Education, How Strong Women Lead, Loan Officer, Loans, Mothers, Nicaragua, Opportunity International, Opportunity Nicaragua, Poverty, Ruth-Anne, Trust Group, Women, Women Leaders, Women's Philanthropy

#MifiMon: Women and Microfinance

By Guest Post on December 2, 2009

The following is a guest post by Sheethal Shobowale, Kiva Fellow at MFIs Asociación Arariwa in Cusco, Peru and Emprender in La Paz, Bolivia starting in January. Interested in learning about microfinance? Follow our biweekly Twitter discussion group #mifimon (because Microfinance Mondays was too long for Twitter’s 140-character limit). Our aim is to host an Read more…

Posted in Loans, Our Mission and Vision, Our Work, Training, Trust Groups, Women's Opportunity Network
Tagged #MifiMon, Accion, Clients, Community, Community development, Education, Entrepreneurs, Equal opportunity, Gender equality, Group lending, Healthcare, Kiva, Lending Laws, Loan Officers, Loans, MFI, Microfinance, Savings, Seven Bar Foundation, Social Performance Indicators Blog, The Next 4 Billion, Training, Trust Groups, Twitter, WAM, Women, Women Advancing Microfinance, Women's Opportunity Network, Women's Philanthropy, WON

World AIDS Day: Lending Hope to Africa

By Sonja Egeland Kelly on December 1, 2009

AIDS continues to devastate sub-Saharan Africa. Thirty million people have died already, leaving 14 million orphans behind. Without decisive action, millions more will die, at the rate of over 6,600 a day. This figure is likely to increase because of the 9,500 new daily infections in Africa alone. Today marks World AIDS Day. The day Read more…

Posted in Loans, Our Mission and Vision, Training, Trust Groups, Where We Work
Tagged Africa, AIDS, Crisis, Dorothy Kanjautso, Education, HIV/AIDS, Loans, Opportunity International, Orphans, Poverty, Training, Trust Groups, Women, World Aids Day

#Mifimon Preview: Women and Microfinance

By Amy Carol Wolff on November 24, 2009

Next week we have the privilege of discussing how microfinance is changing the lives of women around the world. We’ve got a pretty dynamic panel coming to this as well. Below, you’ll find their bios and thus, have the chance to learn more about them as we prepare for next week. We look forward to Read more…

Posted in Our Work, Women's Opportunity Network
Tagged #MifiMon, 7Bar Foundation, Accion, Africa, Consulting, Events, Julie Soforenko, Leap Work, Microfinance, OptINnow, Ruth-Anne, Sheethal Shobowale, Social Entrepreneurship, tweet ups, Women, Women's Opportunity Network, Women's Philanthropy, WON

Help Create Opportunity for Women Worldwide

By Guest Post on November 13, 2009

The following is a guest post from Women’s Opportunity Network Member, Susan Gillette: I have just finished reading “Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide” by New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof and his wife, Sheryl WuDunn. It’s a difficult but inspiring read about the oppression of women in the developing world Read more…

Posted in Loans, Our Mission and Vision, Savings, What We're Reading, Women's Opportunity Network
Tagged Community, Education, Half the Sky, Nicholas D. Kristof, 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

Spotlight from the Field: Maria Felix Gallardo Hernandez

By Sonja Egeland Kelly on October 22, 2009

Pots bubble, bread rises, and tortillas simmer as Maria does what she does every day: builds a better life for her family. And makes plans expand her business. And dreams of enrolling herself in school for the first time. If you were to ask Maria how old she is, she would reply (nonchalantly), “Sesenta y Read more…

Posted in Loans, Our Mission and Vision, Our Work, Where We Work, Women's Opportunity Network
Tagged Chapala, Children, Client Stories, Clients, Education, Entrepreneurs, Mexico, Trust Groups, Women

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