Stories
Governor Spotlight: Paul Lilienthal
As a former banker, the financial services component of Opportunity’s model made a lot of sense to him. And as the owner of Pictura Graphics, a printing company in Minneapolis, the idea of helping other small business owners stabilize and grow their businesses was also a no-brainer.
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We're Moving
Opportunity International’s U.S. headquarters are moving—we’re still in Chicago but at a new address!
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Waymaker Wednesday: Micheline
Women are not respected yet here. They don’t value us. For women to be valued, we will need support. I used to face so many difficulties with paying the technical fees to the school. My kids couldn’t go to school because they just tell them to come back home. “If you don’t bring the fee, don’t come back until you have it.” Sometimes we used to starve. We didn’t even have sugar to take tea. We just slept like that and would eat tomorrow. This is the first time I’ve seen a bank coming…
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Investing in Limitless Possibilities: Extreme poverty in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
A family’s economic condition not only determines their immediate experiences—things like inadequate housing, poor health outcomes, and a dearth of educational opportunities—but also their imagined possibilities; their ability to design a better than the life they have now.
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One man’s journey staring down prejudice, hunger, and life as a child soldier
Join the Opportunity Book Club as we read one of the best nonfiction books from last year
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Healthy People, Healthy Communities: Lessons Learned in India Throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic
In the spring of 2021, when COVID-19 ravaged communities in India, Opportunity International responded. While our traditional work is in financial services, our primary goal has always been to serve our clients—and at that moment, their immediate need was not accessing loans or building their business. Their immediate need was to stay alive.
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Waymaker Wednesday: Five Sisters
I’ve traveled all over the world, and met with hundreds of families living in poverty. I’ve sat on dirt floors of school classrooms and I’ve listened to their stories. So you would think that cultures would set us apart or maybe their challenges would divide us, but the thing is, parents all want the same thing: they all want to build a better life for their children. The family you see here wanted the same. Their father, Sekinder, drove his rickshaw taxi for more than 12 hours a day, yet he…
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Get Ready to Think Again
This month, we’re reading a #1 New York Times bestseller by one of our favorite organizational psychologists.
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Celebrating 50 Years at the Opportunity International Summit
This spring, supporters and friends from around the world gathered in Chicago to celebrate Opportunity International’s 50th Anniversary—a milestone marking five decades of service, impact, and transformation.
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Director of Philanthropy in the Field: My Trip to the DRC
It wasn’t until Director of Philanthropy, Heather Radsinski, went on the 2-hour road trip through deep sandy roads, holes, and difficult terrain, that she came face to face with the complexities and the challenges our farming clients battle day in and day out. The realities of their circumstances challenged her assumptions.
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