Stories
What We’re Reading: “Ten Biggest Positive Africa Stories of 2011,” The New Yorker
“…Yes, there is tragedy in Africa, and you will always find it there, and we must take those tragedies seriously, but there is also extraordinary opportunity. And if you see this continent as the continent of the future, it sort of reframes it. This is a continent that, by 2050, will be the largest and the youngest continent in the world…” – U2′s Bono, July 2011, The David Letterman Show As we close out 2011 and consider the momentous year it was for Africa–from the Arab Spring uprisings…
Read MoreYear-end Update from MicroEnsure, Providing a Powerful Safety Net for the World’s Most Vulnerable People
As we approach the end of year, we’re celebrating a big 2011 full of growth for MicroEnsure, Opportunity International‘s microinsurance subsidiary. Here are a few highlights from the year in review… During 2011, MicroEnsure grew ten-fold in Africa to cover more than one million people in Ghana, Kenya and Tanzania. Within two years, the company expects to serve more than five million people in Africa, the vast majority of whom have never had access to insurance. In the past year, MicroEnsure…
Read MoreWe Wish You a Merry Christmas
On behalf of Opportunity International‘s global family, we wish you all the joy, peace, love and blessings of Christmas. More than ever, we’re grateful for your ongoing support of our work, which helps empower our clients and provides life-changing opportunity to their families. Below, please watch a special Christmas message featuring our clients from Malawi, Colombia, India and Mexico. We wish you a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year. Watch a special Christmas message from our family…
Read MoreChristmas Blessings from Opportunity Colombia
The clients and staff of Opportunity Colombia have prepared a special Christmas message. The Opportunity family wishes you a joyous Christmas and a new year full of hope.
Read MoreMy Family Traditions at Christmas
In the U.S., Christmas is a time when we anticipate the falling of snow, and pine-scented candles, and friends and family. I look forward to most of that (although I actually hate being cold so I’m not looking forward to snow). All things considered, this season is pretty spectacular. Every circle of family and friends celebrates Christmas with different traditions and customs. In mine, we all live near each other, and enjoy celebrating Christmas Eve with lots of extended family, lots of food,…
Read MoreAs I Consider Advent this Year
This advent season, my church’s sermon series is “He is our King.” It’s a refreshingly challenging one as it looks not so much to a meek baby in the manger, but the hope of a powerful God coming to meet humankind within drastic poverty and political oppression. On a recent Sunday, as I listened to the pastor speak to the political and cultural environment at the time that Christ was born, I realized how different my current context is living in 21st-century Chicago. I’m grateful for my…
Read MoreSolar Panel Loans Offer a Beacon of Light for Ugandan Families
In November, Opportunity Uganda launched a solar energy microfinance loan to provide power to families currently living with no or unreliable electricity. Opportunity Uganda is now offering clients like Betty Aute, a papyrus weaver and mother of two, a solar panel loan of about $300, which covers panels and installation and is repayable over two years, to bring light to their family homes. The implications are life-changing and endless–when it becomes dark at night, so many productive activities…
Read MoreCelebrating 40 Years of Microfinance with the “Holiday Fête” in Scottsdale, Arizona
On Tuesday evening, Dec. 6, 2011, the members of Opportunity International’s Arizona Board of Governors hosted the “Holiday Fête: Commemorating 40 Years of Client Impact and Transformation,” a 40th-anniversary celebration at the Gainey Ranch Golf Club in Scottsdale. “Opportunity International is proud to celebrate our 40th year of working alongside our clients, staff and supporters to fight global poverty,” Jon Yasuda, Opportunity’s SVP of resource development and interim CEO, said about…
Read MorePrayers for Peace in the DR Congo
We wanted to provide you with a brief update surrounding the situation that is unfolding on the ground in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in response to last week’s elections. International news agencies such as Voice of America, BBC, and United Press International (UPI) have reported that tensions surrounding the elections resulted in violence that led to 18 civilian deaths and hundreds of injuries. Election results were scheduled to be released on Tuesday, Dec. 6, but have been postponed,…
Read MoreWorld AIDS Day 2011: Ending AIDS in a Generation
Today, Thursday, Dec. 1, is World AIDS Day. This year’s theme, Zero new HIV infections, Zero discrimination, Zero AIDS-related deaths, is an optimistic one but there is good reason to hope. The latest Report on the Global HIV/AIDS Response by the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and UNAIDS indicates that increased access to HIV services has resulted in a 15% reduction of new infections over the past decade and a 22% decline in AIDS-related deaths in the last five years. Launched in 1987…
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