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Meeting Ugandan Students: Reflections of an American Teenager
Sixteen-year-old Matt Statman shares his impressions of traveling to Kampala, Uganda with his aunt, supporter Debbie Farrington. He sends us back this enthusiastic report on the connections he made and the lessons he learned by visiting with students through a local education NGO called Educate! Matt’s experience offers a window into the lives of Ugandan students, highlighting their Read more…
Tagged Africa, Banking on Education, Children, Clients, Community, Education, Microfinance, Opportunity International, Poverty, Schools, Students, Uganda, Women's Opportunity Network, WON, YAO, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity, Youth
Sending Our Condolences to the Victims of Sunday’s Bombings in Uganda
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the victims of the two bombings that took place late Sunday night in Kampala, Uganda. The bombings were done in a synchronized attack on large gatherings of World Cup soccer fans watching the televised final game on outdoor screens. To our knowledge, no Opportunity Uganda Read more…
Tagged Africa, Children, Community, Invisible Children, Kampala, Opportunity International, Opportunity Uganda, Uganda, world cup, Youth
Supporting Youth Groups with Microloans in Tanzania
AJ Renold, Opportunity Tanzania’s multimedia YAO reporter on the ground, sends us this report about a pilot microlending program for a Tanzanian youth group. This past Friday, Opportunity Tanzania lending staff visited the NGAO Youth Group, a group supported by Youth Initiatives Tanzania (YITA), to assess their business for the capacity for a loan. This Read more…
Tagged Africa, AJ Renold, Children, Clients, Community, Dar es Salaam, Education, Financial services, HIV/AIDS, Loans, Microfinance, Microloans, Opportunity International, Opportunity Tanzania, Poverty, Schools, Students, Tanzania, Training, Trust Groups, YAO, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity, Youth
YAO Hosts an Expert Panel: The Microfinance Landscape Today
YAO-New York core member and event co-organizer Sheila Ramachandra sends us this report from the panel discussion YAO hosted on Tuesday evening, which examined the current microfinance landscape. On Tuesday evening, YAO-New York hosted a panel discussion entitled “Trends and Challenges in Today’s Microfinance Landscape.” The panelists included Sarah Buitoni, senior associate at Women’s World Read more…
Tagged Cell phone banking, Dan Yu, Deutsche Bank, Jennifer Mitrenga, Loans, MFI, Microensure, Microfinance, Microfinance Club of New York, Mobile Banking, Opportunity China, Opportunity International, Poverty, Savings, Technology, Women's World Banking, YAO, YAO-New York, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity, Youth
YAO meets Ken Vander Weele at the Microfinance Club of New York
Panelist Ken Vander Weele (front center) and Opportunity’s East Coast Regional Director Richard Spalholz (far left) posed for a picture after the panel on Tuesday night, with guest blogger and YAO core member Michelle Mak (front right) and members of YAO-New York and YAO-Boston. YAO-NY core member Michelle Mak shares with us this report from last night’s Read more…
Tagged Africa, China, Global Leadership Team, HIV/AIDS, Ken Vander Weele, Malawi, MFI, Microensure, Microfinance, Microfinance Club of New York, Mobile Banking, Opportunity China, Opportunity International, Poverty, Training, YAO, YAO-New York, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity, Young Professionals, Youth
Happy Memorial Day! Make microfinance a part of your summer.
Today the first three-day weekend of the summer comes to a close. So what are you planning to do this summer? Join the YAO team for the 14th Annual Chicago Half Marathon/5K on Sunday, Sept. 12. Be a part of the fifth largest half marathon in the U.S. and run the lakefront course along South Read more…
Tagged Chicago, Chicago Half Marathon, Coronado Bridge Race, Holiday, Memorial Day, Microfinance, Opportunity International, Opportunity Tanzania, OptINnow, Poverty, San Diego, Students, Tanzania, YAO, YAO-San Diego, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity, Youth
Meeting the Grandfather of Microfinance
Last Friday, YAO-Chicago chair Shannon Leutheuser and I had the chance to not only hear but actually to meet Dr. Muhammad Yunus at the Chicago Council of Global Affairs event, “Building Social Business.” Yunus is the founder and manager of Grameen Bank and the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner, and he has written a new Read more…
Tagged Africa, Bangladesh, Building Social Business, Business, Capitalism, Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Economics, Education, Grameen Bank, MFI, Microfinance, Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize, Opportunity International, Poverty, Selfishness, Selflessness, Social Change, Technology, YAO, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity, Youth
Why we’re excited about the Tanzania launch on OptINnow…
Now that Opportunity has launched Tanzanian clients on OptINnow, participants from last September’s YAO Insight Trip to Tanzania want to share the good news. Here, they tell us what excites them most about the launch of Tanzania on OptINnow. “I’m excited to tell my family and friends, because they all know how much Tanzania means to me. Read more…
Tagged Africa, Blog, Facebook, Insight Trip, Loans, Microfinance, Opportunity International, Opportunity Tanzania, OptINnow, Poverty, Tanzania, Technology, Twitter, YAO, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity, Youth, YouTube
Arusha Bank Branch Opens in Tanzania
This week, Opportunity announces the launch of its Tanzanian clients on OptINnow.org. AJ Renold, our multimedia YAO reporter on the ground with Opportunity Tanzania, had the opportunity to travel to Arusha in March to attend the opening ceremony for its flagship bank branch, and he shares with us the story of this significant event… Thursday, Read more…
Tagged Africa, AJ Renold, Arusha, Branch Manager, Branch staff, CEO, Clients, Dar es Salaam, David Makanza, Education, Francis Pelekamoyo, Insight Trip, Isidore Shirima, Loan Officers, Loans, Microfinance, Mobile Banking, Opportunity International, Opportunity Tanzania, OptINnow, Peter Olivier, Poverty, Savings, Students, Tanzania, Trust Groups, YAO, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity, Youth
YAO Insight Trip Participants Reflect on the Microfinance Clients of Tanzania
In September 2009, 21 people traveled on a nine-day YAO Insight Trip to Tanzania. The diverse group included students, business-owners, financiers, and other globally-minded young people interested in seeing microfinance at work in Tanzania. Now, in honor of Opportunity International‘s launch of Tanzanian clients on OptINnow, in the first of a series of blog posts, Read more…
