As a working mom with two amazing young children, I can say without hesitation that there is no greater joy in my life than caring for my children. My life revolves around their every need – making sure they are well-fed, well-dressed and thriving in every way. Like many mothers I know, I serve them more food than they could ever eat and rarely refuse a request for dessert. I fuss over their every runny nose and flu and get their doctor’s advice on every developmental milestone. I schedule their days with music class and play groups, hoping to give them every opportunity to learn and grow.

By following the work of Opportunity International, I’m reminded that there are millions of mothers who love their children just as dearly but work with a very different set of resources. Rather than pleading with their children to eat one more bite of vegetables at the dinner table, they struggle to put food on the table at all. Rather than building a college savings fund from the time of birth, they must tell their children that they cannot afford the small monthly school fee required to provide a decent education. Harder still is that each day, a mother somewhere loses her precious child to malnutrition, easily preventable disease or unsanitary conditions.

95 percent of Opportunity International’s loans go to women, many of whom have experienced what it means to struggle to provide the barest of essentials for their families. Based on collateral of nothing more than a trust group of similarly-situated women, Opportunity International provides financial resources, education and training to women who have nowhere else to go. In return, these determined women create sustainable solutions to poverty and bear a 98 percent repayment rate. Most importantly, studies show that women clients reinvest 90 percent of their incomes back into their families – sending their children to school, ensuring they are clothed and fed, and saving for the future. But to any mother, this is probably no surprise – we share a common understanding that the greatest investment we can make is into our children, our families and our communities.

This Mother’s Day, in addition to honoring the women in my life, I honored the connection among all women in the common experience of motherhood. Opportunity International is building a network of women investing in women to end the cycle of poverty, and I am humbled to be a part of it.

Last October, my good friend and Opportunity Governor Deyl Kearin ran 155 miles across the hottest desert on the planet. In support of his pursuit, he started Run4Poverty to raise awareness and sustainable funds for people in impoverished circumstances. Not only did he complete one of the toughest endurance events out there, he raised over $42,000 for Opportunity International.

Many people in Deyl’s community and those who followed him on his journey were inspired. They were inspired by the strength and endurance of one man. They were inspired to support and give. They were inspired to share it with their friends. This is exactly what Deyl had in mind, and hundreds of Opportunity loan recipients’ lives were changed.

What Deyl didn’t necessarily foresee was how he would inspire another (slightly crazy) person to attempt the same feat. He also didn’t know that this person would be a woman.

After hearing straight from Deyl about the grueling, humbling, elating and life-altering experience, I was intrigued. I was not only compelled by the physical event, but also the mental challenge and the clear purpose that went into Deyl’s race. These are the things I love and I believe we were made for.

There was only one hiccup. I, this inspired and empowered woman, had never even run a marathon before, let alone six in a row! I quietly considered the possibility at first and then subtly inquired of Deyl, “Hey, what do you think you’re going to do with all of that gear?” Immediately, Deyl’s eyes lit up and he said to me, “Ness, you can do this. It is 10% physical and 90% mental. You would kill it.”

How’s that for a pep talk? Well, if it wouldn’t have worked for you, it did for me. I was hooked. I could not think of a better way to test my physical and mental capacity and loved the idea of supporting Opportunity International’s clients in the process.

What further inspired me to attempt six marathons in six days was the fact that in looking deeper into the organization that Deyl ran for, I learned that Opportunity International’s loan recipients are 95% female. In some ways I think it is very appropriate for me to struggle physically and mentally, across inhospitable terrain, carrying all of my own gear, in order to raise awareness and funds for women that struggle as much if not more on a daily basis to provide for their families. I am inspired by these women and dedicated to making an impact by raising funds for sustainable change for women worldwide.

So on June 2, I will be carrying the baton for the next leg of Run4Poverty. My adventure will be in the Gobi desert in China, which is marked by mountainous desert terrain, dramatic ranges in temperature from up to 100 degrees to freezing daily, and a rich culture.

My goal is to empower one woman for every kilometer I run. That is 250 women at $150 per loan (the average size of a microfinance loan), for a total of $37,500. This is going to be a tough race. Knowing that one woman is given the opportunity to start her own business or find a creative solution to provide for her family for every kilometer I run will add fuel to my body and my mind. Help me empower these women by supporting one or more of my kilometers.

You can also follow me on my blog while I’m on my journey and share my mission with your friends! I can use all of the support and encouragement I can get. Wish me luck in the Gobi desert!

Through partnering with Opportunity Nicaragua for the past 2 years as part of the Artisan Community Program, Fidel and Francisco have been able to export their products out of Nicaragua. Because of this, they have hired 3 additional workers from the community and increased their production and sales – sustainably growing the size of their small business. Fidel has 2 children that already have started learning the trade and helping out in the shop when they can. While they hope to keep the business “in the family”, they want to continue grow by training and hiring additional community members to work in the shop.

I love food. I love eating food, making food, sharing food, even just talking about food. It provides me with more than just basic nourishment; it’s my go-to stress reliever, pick-me-up, and icebreaker. I cater friends’ cocktail parties. I measure my exercise in terms of treats earned. And despite my mother’s best training, I constantly play with my food (see the edible football stadium and Peeps Diorama contest entry).

My favorite part is taking something ho-hum, something ordinary, something expected… and making it a surprise. Frosting strawberries to look like Christmas trees. Cheeseburger sliders made out of cake. Bite-sized grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup shooters. Adding a twist creates what I’ve always considered the higher purpose of eating: to delight.

When I signed up for the Live Below the Line challenge, I thought the hardest part would be stretching my daily $1.50 allowance. So imagine my pride as I rung up my purchases for the week (2 boxes of orzo, 2 cans of corn, and a bell pepper) and my total came to less than $7. The “hard part” done, I merrily skipped home to make my first serving of pasta.

After my fourth meal of plain, unsalted pasta with microwaved corn, all I wanted was a cookie. I even went so far as to take one out of my freezer stash, put it on a plate and set it in the microwave, before guiltily putting it back. I wasn’t really hungry but I was so far from satisfied, both nutritionally and emotionally.

By Thursday I was sluggish from my starch-only diet, grumpy from the thought of eating another bowl of reheated orzo (which I may never eat again), bored from avoiding cooking for my family and friends, and coping with simultaneous caffeine and Pinterest withdrawals. But mostly I was deeply humbled by my misguided thinking on Monday that the “hard part” was doing math and shopping smartly.

I realize now how naïve it was to think that the only challenge to hunger is quantity of food available. Even when there is plenty of food around, is it the right food? Does it provide the right nutrients, a balanced diet, or fuel for the body and mind? My diet last week did none of this and only fueled my own frustration at committing to give up even healthy eating for five days. I spent most of Friday contemplating why I had ever thought this challenge was a good idea, and even with only a few hours left in the challenge, I nearly quit. So much for Monday being the hard part.

Food is such a basic but pivotal part of our existence. In the past, I have donated bags of rice to families in extreme poverty and thought, “Wow, they must be so grateful that we’ve provided this.” Now I realize that just isn’t enough.

In the end, this challenge meant more than just giving up fresh produce for a few days. It meant radically changing my thinking about the broader societal impact of extreme poverty… and orzo.

It was Christmas morning and I was eager to open all of the presents to get to the final envelopes in the tree. In our family, we always save any envelopes in the tree for last… the envelopes are often our biggest gifts; they might include a picture and a check towards a big ticket item. There were two envelopes left… one with my name and one with my sister’s name on it. What big new item would it be this year? I thought as I ripped it open. I found a gift card for Opportunity International and a letter from my parents about the joy of giving. This card allowed me to go online, look through stories of women all over the world who live in poverty and are in need of a small amount of capital to get their businesses going, and see the face of the women I could help by redeeming my gift card.

I am grateful to have a mother who passionately dedicates her time to an organization like Opportunity International. Her involvement with Opportunity – from hosting people from all over the world in our home to setting up an Insight Trip for me to go to the Dominican Republic when I was 13 to see poverty with my own eyes – has been an example for me to make giving a priority in my life. My sister and I both chose to become Young Ambassadors for Opportunity when we graduated from college and began our careers. It has been such a special experience to remain a part of the life-changing organization our Mom introduced us to growing up.

–Julia Smith

Thanks to my mom’s passion for serving others and combating worldwide poverty, Opportunity International has been a part of my life since Mother’s Day of 1986, the day I was born. Yes, my mother became a mother on Mother’s Day.
My mom has a heart that is wide open to God’s unbounded plans for her. Or in other words, she never turns down the chance to visit with Opportunity clients in any corner of the world. She is fearless.

She has traveled throughout Latin America, Africa & Asia to connect face-to-face with men and women whose lives have been transformed by Opportunity International: parents now able to send their children to school, women supporting and praying for each other in trust groups, communities turned around by newfound economic growth. Witnessing such transformation has driven my mom’s dedication to Opportunity for 27 years and counting.

While my mom loves to tell me what to do (sorry Mom, it’s true), I have learned far more from observing how she treats others. Not only has she impacted lives across continents, but she has also opened up our family home to more people than I can count. She cares deeply for each visitor, student or intern that steps through our doors. Through her involvement with Opportunity, our family has come to know some of the most inspirational people you’ll ever meet.

This Mother’s Day, I am thankful for a mother whose heart is open to life’s greatest adventures and possibilities, and whose commitment towards serving others remains stronger than ever before.

–Erin Smith

It was a fortuitous, fateful introduction. The kind of moment where you can trace things back in time and see how every decision you made along the way lead you to this perfect, precise place. The sort of moment that reaffirms that things really do happen for a reason. That’s how my mom and I felt when we shook hands with Opportunity.

Years before, my mom and I had spoken about starting a foundation. We were sitting outside in Colorado by a fire, when someone started playing Blackbird by the Beatles on the guitar. (Yes, it was a rather picturesque movie moment.) Instantly we knew that we would call it the Blackbird Foundation. Take what’s broken and help it fly. Empower. Restore worth. Reaffirm dignity.

My mom and I are both fighters in our own way. Mom, who I lovingly call Mama Bear and Gladys, grew up in rural Tennessee without much more than the clothes on her back and an ever-changing roof over her head. You would never know it looking at her. She never complains. She never gripes about her past. Instead, she has taken her intimate knowledge of having little, and has channeled it into immeasurable gratitude for her life now. Her favorite way to express this gratitude is through true sharing—giving.

My story is different. I’ve never known a life with material want. My parents always did everything they could to ensure that my life would be spared the pain of theirs. They succeeded. The only problem is that pain is an integral part of the human experience, and no matter how hard you try, you can’t protect someone from life. Life knocked when I was 15—I was assaulted, an experience that sent a seismic shock not just through my life, but through my family as a whole.

Now back to Blackbird. Taking the combined experiences of my mom’s life and my own, we decided that we wanted to create a scholarship program for survivors of sexual assault and domestic abuse. We always said that “surviving” wasn’t enough and viewed education as one means to break the cycle. So we filed what felt like 10 million IRS papers, selected board members, and had our first board meeting. Finally, Blackbird was happening! And then after two more meetings, we realized we were slightly in over our heads. And by slightly, I mean seriously.

Giving is a lot harder than most people give it credit. It isn’t about putting on a superhero cape and saving the world. It isn’t about recognition and accolades. In truth, giving has a lot more to do with humility than heroism. Giving requires knowing our strengths, and then joining these strengths with others to truly maximize our impact. And this is where Opportunity International comes in—

Opportunity International is a quiet powerhouse of transformation. They are as passionate as they are strategic as they are devoted. My mom and I feel we share the same heart of Opportunity. We are all driven by the restoration of worth—transformation—and above all else, we know that the only way we can uplift humanity as a whole is if we start giving people the tools to do more than simply survive.

The truth is that people don’t fix people. We fix ourselves and make ourselves whole. That’s why my mom and I joined hands with Opportunity the moment we shook their hand. They get it. We know that by partnering with Opportunity, we stand in solidarity with millions around the globe, and can help in a way we never dreamed possible…

And learn….

And continue on our own journey of restoration.

Natalie Hornsby is the former Spokesperson and Vice President of Marketing for Cepia LLC, the tiny toy titan behind Zhu Zhu Pets. Natalie’s success in brand management and crisis management led to various industry accolades for Cepia including: 2010 SABRE Award for Brand Reputation Management, 2010 American Business Award for Crisis Management PR2010 Toy Industry Association Toy of the Year, Most Innovative Toy, and Best Girls Toy. Nominated as a ‘Woman to Watch’ in the toy industry, and voted ’30 under 30’ by the St. Louis Business Journal, Natalie was invited to keynote at various industry and non-profit events, where she fell madly in love with helping others through the spoken word. Natalie now speaks to audiences about transforming insecurity and hardship into true power. She has been called everything from a Hallmark hugging hippie to an inspirational leader and great visionary. She hugs (a lot), is intensely optimistic, and will work tirelessly to help you discover how important you really are. Even if you don’t ask. (Sorry.)

I am expecting my first child this summer, a baby boy named Hunter. As I await Hunter’s arrival, I spend hours each day thinking about the endless possibilities and my hopes and dreams for him. Will Hunter have my freckles? Will he share my husband’s passion for math?

I hope that Hunter will be healthy, that he will have the strength and resilience to persevere through whatever challenges may come his way, and that he will treat others with dignity and respect. I think about Hunter’s boundless potential. As his Mother, I want to make sure that I give Hunter every opportunity that I can – so that he can fulfill any dream he desires.

I realize that while I cannot compare my experience of raising a child in middle-class America to the struggles that many mothers face raising children in the developing world, I know that I am not alone in sharing the dream of a mother wanting to give her children every opportunity that she can. This is one of the reasons I support Opportunity International, an organization that provides five million women with access to life-changing financial products that empower them to build better lives for themselves, their families, and their communities.

Read more the tributes to Mother’s around the world that were added to the Global Opportunity Quilt this year.

At Opportunity International, we recognize the remarkable power of one woman to change the world. That’s why we founded the Women’s Opportunity Network, a community of dynamic trailblazers, corporate and government leaders, entrepreneurs and philanthropists committed to helping Opportunity International empower women to improve their lives, strengthen their families and enhance their communities. WON includes leaders like Opportunity Global Ambassador Carly Fiorina, Governor Chair and entrepreneur Karen Robinson Cope and Opportunity CEO Vicki Escarra, who share a commitment to empowering one woman at a time.

The fact is 70 percent of the 2.5 billion people living on less than $2 a day are women and girls. That’s a sobering statistic that demands action. Of the five million clients served by Opportunity International in 20 countries, 93 percent are women and 98 percent of their loans are repaid. Funds raised by WON benefit Opportunity International’s One Woman Initiative, which seeks to raise $50 million by 2015 to empower an additional two million women to work their way out of poverty through financial resources, education and training.

We’re motivated by women, like Felicitus Mmboge, an Opportunity International client who saved enough money to open a beauty products business then used a loan from Opportunity to purchase inventory. She also keeps chickens and sells the eggs to help pay school fees for her three children and an orphaned niece.

And then there is Betty Mulooki, a sugar cane farmer who would sell any extra food—a rare occurrence—in the nearby market for money to help support her family. When a sugar cane factory was established in her village, she signed on to cultivate three acres. With a small business loan from Opportunity, she has since expanded her operation to six acres. And Betty intends to expand further to generate a larger income and help her children finish school.

This Mother’s Day you can celebrate the special women in your life with something more meaningful. You can extend your mother’s love and compassion around the world with a donation to The One Woman Initiative in honor of her or your grandmother, sister, aunt or friend. Your Mother’s Day donation will transform the lives of hundreds of women and families across generations.

Please join us in helping mothers around the world make improve their life and strengthen their family and communities.

	To Hope Dear human mom . . . I can’t thank you enough for all the wonderful things you do for me. Feed me – really good people food, walk me, massage me, buy me fun things, take me to the groomer, the vet – not so much, and give me cookies even in the middle of the night. But most of all you love me more than anything in the world. And for that, I will always kiss your feet – literally. I love you human mom.
	To Louise Thanks for being such an amazing mom and teaching me the joy of giving! I love you Mom!
	To Mary Happy Mothers Day!
	To Hana Thinking of you and celebrating you this Mother’s Day! Thank you for being such an amazing mom to the boys, the girls and now Amanda and me. We love you tons! XOXO Jennifer

Join us and honor the women who have helped shaped your life by buying digital tribute patches on our commemorative quilt. All gifts made will help provide our women clients with access to the financial services needed to send provide for their families, educate their children, create jobs for their neighbors and build a safety net for the future. And right now, thanks to our generous donors, every dollar donated will be matched one-for-one, doubling your impact

Learn more and create a patch today at: opportunity.org/quilt.

Consider this encouraging statistic: The share of people living in extreme poverty in the developing world has been halved in the last 2 decades (from 43 percent in 1990 to 21 percent in 2010). Truly exciting.

But 1.4 billion people across the world still live in extreme poverty. To put that into perspective, 1.4 billion is nearly 5 times the population of the entire US. The World Bank estimates the extreme poverty line to be equivalent to USD $1.50/day. This is an eye-opening reminder because I spent twice that amount on a tiny chai tea latte yesterday!

I am living below the line in honor of those 1.4 billion who are still trapped under the poverty line and in honor of the 2 billion people across the world without access to basic financial services. I am living below the line with the understanding that my generation has the actual possibility of seeing an end to extreme poverty within my lifetime. In fact, The World Bank recently announced an ambitious but achievable agenda for the global community to end extreme poverty by 2030 and to foster income growth of the bottom 40 percent of the population in every country.

Read the full post and other stories from her journey on Ashley’s Live Below the Line profile.