Stories
Insight Trip: Rwanda Day 4 – AJ Renold
One of the things I love about Twitter is that you’re able to experience real-time industry developments and thought exchange. I love seeing people discuss social entrepreneurship, music, literature and food. Individuals can discover new resources that help grow their knowledge of the world and space in which they operate. It is truly fascinating. This summer, Opportunity International created the discussion, #Mifimon (Microfinance Monday was too long for twitter’s 140 character limit), which…
Read MoreReal-Time Conversation. Real-Time Impact. #Mifimon
One of the things I love about Twitter is that you’re able to experience real-time industry developments and thought exchange. I love seeing people discuss social entrepreneurship, music, literature and food. Individuals can discover new resources that help grow their knowledge of the world and space in which they operate. It is truly fascinating. This summer, Opportunity International created the discussion, #Mifimon (Microfinance Monday was too long for twitter’s 140 character limit), which…
Read MorePainters, Activists & Engineers at the Clinton Global Initiative
On the last evening of The Clinton Global Initiative, I ended up chatting with the following three people: a painter who uses his art to teach children in Mexico about tolerance and peace, a small business loan officer who works for a community development organization in Harlem, and an engineer who is piloting a solar lantern program for people living in poverty in Pakistan. These weren’t keynote speakers or commitment presenters, just people I happened to sit next to in the hotel lobby. While…
Read MoreTeri Goudie, Inspired by Half the Sky, Summits Mount Kilimanjaro for Women in Poverty
One week ago, Teri Goudie, a former TV producer for Chicago’s ABC 7, traveled to Tanzania to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, raising donations for Opportunity International and the Janada L. Batchelor Foundation for Children (JBFC). Goudie was inspired to accomplish this incredible feat after reading the book Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, by Sheryl WuDunn and Nicholas D. Kristof. She’s joined on her journey by two friends, Lisa Stafford and Patty Orler.…
Read MoreInvesting in Women and Girls
According the to the UN, women undertake 66% of the world’s work. They produce 50% of the worlds food. In spite of this, they earn only 10% of the world’s income. And they own only 1% of the world’s property. With statistics like these, it is no wonder that the Clinton Global Initiative emphasizes the importance of investing in women and girls. As I watched the Wednesday morning plenary panel address this issue, the consensus and conviction among panel members was crystal clear that empowering…
Read MoreInsight Trip: Tanzania/Rwanda Day 3 – Suzie Hofert
Ambitions soar, hope floats, and change hangs in the air each year at the Clinton Global Initiative. This year is no exception. Today (Wednesday), at 2:45 p.m. EST, Madeline Albright will spotlight Opportunity International as a key player in the advancement of opportunities for children in the developing world. By introducing tuition savings accounts, school fee loans and school financing, Opportunity is investing in education for children living in poverty. Opportunity International CEO Kadita…
Read MoreInitiating Change in Education: Opportunity’s CGI Commitment at 2:45 p.m. EST #cgi09
Ambitions soar, hope floats, and change hangs in the air each year at the Clinton Global Initiative. This year is no exception. Today (Wednesday), at 2:45 p.m. EST, Madeline Albright will spotlight Opportunity International as a key player in the advancement of opportunities for children in the developing world. By introducing tuition savings accounts, school fee loans and school financing, Opportunity is investing in education for children living in poverty. Opportunity International CEO Kadita…
Read MoreWhat We’re Reading: “Investing in Women & Girls” (MediaPlanet supplement, USA Today)
Every Wednesday on our blog, we highlight an article, book or a blog in our “What We’re Reading” series. We’ll feature pieces or works that are noteworthy, inspiring, educational or relevant to the work we do at Opportunity. We welcome your comments in the comment field below–tell us what you’re reading, or respond to the piece that we’ve highlighted. This week we’re reading the September 2010 report fromMediaPlanet in USA Today entitled “Investing in Women & Girls: Dedicating…
Read MoreThe Most Famous Person You’ve Never Heard of
Not many Nobel Peace Prize winners remain unknown in their home country. What is more surprising is that an estimated one-sixth of the world’s population is alive because of a man virtually invisible in the U.S. “Though barely known in the country of his birth,” wrote Gregg Easterbrook in his Atlantic profile from a decade ago, “elsewhere in the world Norman Borlaug is widely considered to be among the leading Americans of our age.” Mr. Borlaug died last week at the age of 95. Borlaug…
Read MoreUN Gathers This Week to Eradicate Poverty Through the MDGs
The UN Summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is taking place this week at the UN Headquarters in New York City. A gathering of 140 world leaders are strategizing and discussing how to achieve the eight goals in order to eradicate extreme poverty and its root causes by 2015. I was deeply inspired by their work and their words. Here are my reflections… “We must not fail the billions who look to the international community to fulfil the promise of the Millennium Declaration for…
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