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An Education and a Brighter Future for Nicaraguan Girls
The following post was written by actress and Young Ambassador Malin Akerman about her July visit to Opportunity’s Emprendedora School in Granada, Nicaragua. It was first published on the Half the Sky movement‘s blog. For more blog posts by Malin, click here. For information on Opportunity’s partnership with Half the Sky, visit opportunity.org/halfthesky. In late Read more…
Tagged Agricultural finance, Agriculture, Children, Community, Education, Emprendedora School, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Geralyn Sheehan, Girls, Granada, Latin America, Malin Akerman, Microfinance, Nicaragua, Opportunity International, Opportunity Nicaragua, Schools, Technology, Women, Women's Philanthropy, YAO, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity
Empowering Women & Girls with Half the Sky
Though microfinance is available to both men and women entrepreneurs, the gains that women achieve are almost three times more likely to be reinvested in their children—providing a powerful generational multiplier that accelerates economic growth. A woman will spend 90% of her income on her family, while men typically spend only 35%. That’s why if Read more…
Tagged Children, Education, Empowerment, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Girls, Half the Sky, India, Investing in Women and Girls, Jayanthi, Loan Officer, Loans, Microfinance, Mothers, Nicholas D. Kristof, Opportunity International, Poverty, Sheryl WuDunn, strategic partners, Trust Groups, Women, women's empowerment, Women's Opportunity Network, Women's Philanthropy, WON
What We’re Pinning: Women’s Empowerment
We believe that one of the keys to poverty eradication is the empowerment of women. Women represent 70% of those living on less than $2 a day, but typically spend 90% of their income on their families. So in honor of all the hardworking and courageous women around the world, here are some of our Read more…
Tagged Africa, Children, Empowerment, Ending Poverty, Entrepreneurs, Female entrepreneurs, Girls, Half the Sky, infographic, Latin America, Loans, Manal al-Sharif, Microfinance, Middle East, Oprah Winfrey, Poverty, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Time Magazine, what we're pinning, Women, women's empowerment, Women's Philanthropy, Women's World Banking
Three Rwandan Mothers I Met on the Women’s Opportunity Network (WON) Insight Trip
I recently returned from a week-long Insight Trip to Rwanda with a group of supporters from the U.K. and the U.S. We traveled in Kigali and to rural villages, visiting with clients and local staff, attending meetings, and getting to know how Opportunity’s Rwandan clients live and work. Now that we’re just three days out Read more…
Tagged Africa, Clients, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Global Opportunity Quilt, Global Poverty, Insight Trip, International Women's Day, Loans, Microfinance, Mother's Day, Mothers, Opportunity International, Opportunity UK, Poverty, Robin Ussery, Rwanda, Trust Groups, Women, Women's Opportunity Network, Women's Philanthropy, WON
Last Weekend of Willow Creek’s 2012 Celebration of Hope
This weekend marks the end of the three-week Celebration of Hope for Her event at Willow Creek Church in Barrington, Ill. Opportunity was one of over 40 ministries and organizations–and the only organization–represented, with booths set up in the megachurch’s lobby after Sunday services. The booths inform worshippers about different global initiatives all related to the empowerment of Read more…
Chicago Premiere of No Woman, No Cry, Directorial Debut of Christy Turlington Burns
Yesterday afternoon, YAO members, members of the Board of Governors, several of my colleagues and I went to the Chicago premiere of Christy Turlington Burns‘s directorial debut, the powerful documentary “No Woman, No Cry.” It’s part of the Every Mother Counts campaign, which raises awareness and support for maternal health issues worldwide. In her film, Burns shares Read more…
Tagged Africa, Asia, Bangladesh, CARE, childbirth, Christy Turlington Burns, Community, Education, Every Mother Counts, Global Poverty, Guatemala, Health insurance, Healthcare, Latin America, Maternal Health, maternal mortality rates, Mothers, No Woman No Cry, Poverty, Tanzania, U.S., Women, women's health, Women's Philanthropy
What We’re Reading: Top 10 Posts on International Women’s Day
As we close out the week, I’m reflecting on some of the articles published in honor of yesterday’s International Women’s Day. Here are just a few of the provocative, interesting, inspiring and even maddening(!) ones I encourage you to read or re-read, in no particular order… “What if Mark Zuckerberg Were Born a Girl in Read more…
Tagged Africa, Agriculture, Climate Change, CNN, Community, Education, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Global Poverty, Huffington Post, International Women's Day, IWD2012, Kenya, Loans, Malawi, MFI, Microfinance, Mothers, ONE blog, Opportunity International, Oxfam, Poverty, Rural Outreach, Tanzania, The Guardian, The New York Times, Trust Groups, UN Women, Women, Women's Opportunity Network, Women's Philanthropy, WON, World Bank
How Will You Celebrate Women on March 8th?
In just one week, on Thursday, March 8th, the world will celebrate International Women’s Day 2012. On this day, organizations and individuals will gather to celebrate the economic, political, and social achievements of women past, present, and future. Here at Opportunity, where 85% of our clients are women, we’re passionate about equipping the next generation of women Read more…
Tagged biometric fingerprint technology, Clients, Community, DR Congo, Education, Ending Poverty, Facebook, Financial services, Global Poverty, Half the Sky, International Women's Day, IWD2012, Loans, MFI, Microfinance, Mothers, Opportunity DRC, Opportunity International, Savings, School fee loans, Schools, Social Media, Students, Uganda, Women, Women's Philanthropy
Meet Client Monica: She is Clothed with Strength and Dignity
When I’m having a rough week, I take a quick break to remember Opportunity‘s clients, like Monica Koranteng, who is most definitely a Proverbs 31 woman. Meet Monica: she watches over the affairs of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness. Before being introduced to Opportunity Ghana, Monica worked as a “hawker,” Read more…
What We’re Reading: A Microfinance, Poverty, Empowerment Reading List
Looking for your next big read? We’ve put together a list of compelling books we’re reading, running the gamut from microfinance and international development, to global aid and putting your faith into action. Check out our list and let us know what you think in the comment field below. What would you add, and what Read more…
Tagged Banker to the Poor, Daryl Collins, Dead Aid, Ghana, Global Poverty, Half the Sky, Jacqueline Novogratz, Katie Smith Milway, Kojo, Loans, MFI, Microfinance, Muhammad Yunus, Nicholas D. Kristof, One Hen, Opportunity International, Portfolios of the Poor, Portfolios of the Poor: How the World's Poor Live on $2 a Day, Poverty, Sheryl WuDunn, The Blue Sweater, unpoverty, unpoverty rich lessons from the working poor, Women, Women's Opportunity Network, Women's Philanthropy, WON
