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Honor Opportunity’s Women Clients Today for International Women’s Day 2011

By Opportunity International on March 8, 2011

On this 100th anniversary, we celebrate the significant progress that has been achieved through determined advocacy, practical action and enlightened policy making. Yet, in too many countries and societies, women remain second-class citizens. [...] In the home and at school, in the workplace and in the community, being female too often means being vulnerable. -U.N. Read more…

Posted in Events, Insight Trips, OptINnow, Our Mission and Vision, Our Motivation, Our Work, Technology, Women's Opportunity Network
Tagged Africa, Ban Ki-moon, Banking on Women, biometric technology, biometrics, Cell phone banking, Children, Client Stories, Clients, Community, Education, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Global change, International Women’s Day, Judith Godiah, Kenya, Loans, MFI, Microfinance, Mobile Banking, mobile phone banking, Mobile Phones, Mothers, Opportunity International, Opportunity Kenya, OptINnow, point-of-sale devices, Poverty, Schools, Social Change, Students, Technology, UN Secretary-General, United Nations, Women, Women's Opportunity Network, Women's Philanthropy, WON

Impressions from My First Day in Chennai

By Guest Post on March 7, 2011

The following post was written by Opportunity International supporter Eric Schade, traveling on our International Women’s Day Insight Trip to India this week. Here, he reflects on all he’s seen and heard, and the extraordinary people he’s met, just one day into his travels. From the street… A Widow’s Tale The life of a widow in India is Read more…

Posted in Insight Trips, Local Staffing
Tagged Chennai, Client Stories, Clients, Community, Ending Poverty, Financial services, GO Finance, Growing Opportunity, India, Insight Trip, International Women's Day, IWD Insight Trip 2011, Loan Officer, Loans, MFI, Microfinance, Mothers, Opportunity India, Opportunity International, Poverty, Schools, Students, Trust Groups, Women, Women's Opportunity Network, Women's Philanthropy, WON, Youth

Day One: Meeting Clients on My Insight Trip to Chennai, India

By Guest Post on March 7, 2011

The following post was submitted by Jill Dailey Smith, direct from her travels in Chennai, India on an Opportunity International Insight Trip in honor of International Women’s Day. Smith is an Opportunity supporter based in River Forest, Ill. She’s a member of the Women’s Opportunity Network (WON) and serves on our Board of Directors. Is it really just Read more…

Posted in Insight Trips, Our Mission and Vision, Our Work, Where We Work, Women's Opportunity Network
Tagged Chennai, Client Stories, Clients, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Global Poverty, GO Finance, Growing Opportunity, India, Insight Trip, International Women's Day, IWD Insight Trip 2011, Loans, MFI, Microfinance, Mothers, Opportunity India, Opportunity International, Poverty, Women, Women's Opportunity Network, Women's Philanthropy, WON

“Banking on Women” with Access to Microsavings

By Opportunity International on March 7, 2011

The following piece, “Banking on Women,” was published in USA Today‘s special supplement “Investing in Women & Girls” on Friday, March 4. In Blantyre, Malawi, dozens of women sell potatoes in the marketplace. But Grace Msowoya and her business partner Betty Louhana stand out. Frustrated by their small profit margins, they became the first women to Read more…

Posted in Events, Our Leadership, Our Mission and Vision, Resources, Rural Outreach, Savings, Technology, What We're Reading, Where We Work, Women's Opportunity Network
Tagged Africa, ATMs, Bill Morgenstern, Blantyre, Cell phone banking, Cell Phones, CGAP, Children, claudia kennedy, Client Stories, Clients, Community, Consultative Group to Assist the Poor, Education, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Global Poverty, Grace Msowoya, International Women's Day, Investing in Women and Girls, lieutenant general claudia kennedy, Loans, M-PESA, Malawi, MFI, Microfinance, Mobile Banking, mobile banking vehicle, mobile phone banking, Mobile Phones, Mothers, Opportunity International, point-of-sale devices, Poverty, Satellite bank branch, Savings, Schools, Students, Technology, USA Today, what we're reading, Women, Women's Opportunity Network, Women's Philanthropy, WON

Opportunity International in Today’s USA Today

By Opportunity International on March 4, 2011

We are so excited to announce that Opportunity International has been featured in a special supplement in today’s edition of USA Today entitled, “Investing in Women and Girls: 100th Anniversary of International Women’s Day.” This is a great opportunity for you to read all about our Banking on Women initiatives that help women gain financial freedom and change Read more…

Posted in Our Work, What We're Reading, Women's Opportunity Network
Tagged Africa, Banking on Women, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Chicago, Christy Turlington Burns, Clients, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Gates Foundation, Kenya, Loans, Mary Robinson, Melinda Gates, MFI, Microfinance, Mothers, New York, Nicholas D. Kristof, Opportunity International, Poverty, San Francisco, USA Today, Washington D.C., Women, Women's Opportunity Network, Women's Philanthropy, WON

What We’re Watching: Bill Gates On Aspirational & Actionable 2011 Annual Letter

By Opportunity International on February 25, 2011

I believe it is in the rich world’s enlightened self-interest to continue investing in foreign aid. If societies can’t provide for people’s basic health, if they can’t feed and educate people, then their populations and problems will grow and the world will be a less stable place. –Bill Gates’ 2011 Annual Letter Bill Gates’ third annual Read more…

Posted in Resources, Rural Outreach, Strategic Partners, What We're Reading
Tagged Africa, Agricultural finance, Agriculture, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, Education, Ending Poverty, Financial services, food aid, Food security, Gates Foundation, Ghana, Global Agriculture and Food Security Program, Global Poverty, HIV/AIDS, HIV/AIDS prevention, Loans, Malaria, Microfinance, Opportunity International, polio, Poverty, strategic partners, Teaching, vaccines, videos, WFP, what we're reading, Women, World Food Programme

ONE Blog: A “Tale of Two Budgets” that Could Help Alleviate Global Poverty

By Guest Post on February 24, 2011

The following post was published today on the ONE Blog, entitled “A Tale of Two Budgets” and written by Larry Nowels, it’s about the budgets currently in Congress that could have a significant impact on the U.S.’s support of programs to reduce global poverty. Read the original ONE Blog post here. Over the past 10 days, Read more…

Posted in Resources, What We're Reading
Tagged afghanistan, Congress, Ending Poverty, Feed the Future Guide, Financial services, Global Fund to Fight AIDS Tuberculosis and Malaria, Global Health Initiative, Global Poverty, Iraq, Loans, Microfinance, Nuulu Nankya, ONE, ONE blog, ONE Campaign, Opportunity International, Pakistan, Poverty, President Obama, Senate, Uganda, US Government, USAID, Women

What We’re Reading: “To Fight Poverty, Invest in Girls” (Time Magazine)

By Opportunity International on February 16, 2011

Every Wednesday, we highlight an article, book or a blog in our “What We’re Reading” series, featuring pieces that are noteworthy, inspiring, educational or relevant to the work we do at Opportunity International. We welcome your comments in the comment field below–-tell us what you’re reading, or respond to the piece we’ve highlighted. The following post Read more…

Posted in Our Mission and Vision, Our Motivation, What We're Reading, Women's Opportunity Network
Tagged Banking on Education, Children, Community, Dominican Republic, Education, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Ghana, Girls, India, Investing in Women and Girls, Malaria, Malawi, Microfinance, Opportunity International, Poverty, Students, Time Magazine, Uganda, United Nations, WFP, what we're reading, Women, Women's Opportunity Network, Women's Philanthropy, WON, World Bank, World Food Programme

What We’re Watching: Hosni Mubarek steps down in Egypt

By Emily Riemer on February 11, 2011

After more than two weeks of protests in Cairo’s Tahrir Square and other cities in Egypt, President Hosni Mubarak has finally agreed to step down from office. After Mubarak’s three decades in power, the speaker of the Egyptian parliament will now be acting president, working in collaboration with the army, until the elections in August or September. Thousands Read more…

Posted in Events, Our Mission and Vision, Resources
Tagged Africa, Cairo, CNN, CNN.com, democracy, Egypt, Ending Poverty, Global Poverty, Hosni Mubarek, Opportunity International, politics, Poverty, Technology, Women

Teri Goudie Shares Kilimanjaro Climb for Women with her Chicago Alma Mater

By Opportunity International on January 19, 2011

Back in September on the Opportunity Blog, we shared the inspiring, triumphant story of Teri Goudie, a communications coach and former ABC News TV producer who joined two local Chicago friends, Lisa Stafford and Patty Orler, to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. The three women summited the mountain in one week, facing extreme temperatures, scant oxygen, and treacherously Read more…

Posted in Events, Faith in Action, Insight Trips, Our Work, Resources, What We're Reading, Women's Opportunity Network
Tagged ABC News, Africa, Chicago, Education, Ending Poverty, Financial services, God, Half the Sky, Insight Trip, janada l. batchelor foundation for children, Kilimanjaro, Lillian Covington, MFI, Microfinance, Mothers, Mount Kilimanjaro, Nicholas D. Kristof, Opportunity International, Poverty, Schools, Sheryl WuDunn, Students, Tanzania, Teri Goudie, The Daily Herald, TV, Uganda, Women, Women's Opportunity Network, Women's Philanthropy, WON

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