by Opportunity International
There is a common misconception about refugee settlements – they are often pictured as emergency temporary camps, with rows upon rows of tents. However, that isn’t always the case and in the Ugandan refugee settlements that we work in, they are very different. Uganda is known for its progressive and generous policy to refugees, supporting free movement, access to land, owning property and integration into society. Uganda is the fifth largest hosting nation of refugees in the world, with over…
Read More
by Pete Parisetti, Programme Manager at Opportunity International UK.
During the last seven years, we implemented a £1.5 million International Development assistance project in the southern and western provinces of Rwanda. The project, implemented in partnership with Urwego bank, was financed by the Scottish Government’s International Development initiative. The title of the project was “Improving Livelihoods in Rural Rwanda” and, gladly, this is precisely what the activities achieved. The direct beneficiaries were 15,000 smallholder farmers working in agricultural…
Read More
by Opportunity International
Our recent Christmas appeal raised over £130,000! We’re bowled over by the generosity of our supporters. This staggering amount will now be put to good use, training over 26,000 women in finances, budgeting and business development. It will have a life-changing impact. Thank you! The generosity of supporter like you enables us to continue our life-changing work across Uganda, Malawi, Ghana and Rwanda. It will help thousands of women like our client Mary, who featured in our appeal, transform their…
Read More
by Opportunity International
We have officially launched our latest three-year project ‘Inclusive Finance for Agricultural Value Chains in Rwanda’, in partnership with Jersey Overseas Aid. The project was launched in Kigali last week, with local partners, cooperatives and clients, government representatives and district mayors, industry bodies and NGOs. Rwanda remains one of the poorest countries in the world with just under half the population living on less than $2.15 per day. Extreme poverty in the Southern region,…
Read More
by Opportunity International
What do you do when you want to save your hard-earned money somewhere secure, or pay an invoice for a service, or withdraw money to buy food? You go to the bank or open up your mobile banking app on your smart phone. But we are in the minority. For many people, particularly in Africa, it’s not that simple. They often have little or no access to any formal banking services. Some of the main reasons for this are a lack of equipment and training, legal barriers, the role of gender norms in their community,…
Read More
by Nana Francois, CEO
In November last year, I had the pleasure of meeting one of our remarkable clients Mary and her husband Myros in Southern Malawi. They shared with me their five-year vision – a better home, more livestock and educational opportunities for their children. Below is a picture of them with their vision board that illustrate this vision and the steps to achieve it. It was wonderful to hear how, with the support of Opportunity International, they are working together to fulfil their vision. With financial…
Read More
by Jenny Dunn, Head of Marketing and Communications
Malawi is often referred to as the warm heart of Africa and I can see why – the warmth, friendliness and welcome of its people overflows. I had the privilege of visiting in May this year and was amazed by the generosity of our clients, who opened their homes and businesses as they spent precious time sharing their stories with me. Mary is one of the clients I met. She was fun, energetic and delighted to show us around her home, her farm and her business. Mary is remarkable. A mother of…
Read More
by Mandy Burrows and Melissa Bell, Opportunity International UK, and Soledad Muniz, InsightShare.
Between 2019 and 2023, InsightShare and Opportunity International UK (OIUK) came together to incorporate participatory storytelling into our internal Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning strategy We wanted to better listen and understand lived experiences and outcomes of financial inclusion programmes, particularly supporting people living with disabilities and their carers, as well as refugees and host communities in Uganda. After training the international and local staff, as well as…
Read More
by Jenny Dunn, Head of Marketing and Communications
Twenty-Three years ago Alison gave her first gift to Opportunity International. Since then she faithfully gave £100 a year, regularly supporting our work and the people we serve. An intelligent, hardworking women, Alison paved out a successful career working in the civil service at a time when women were not expected to have a profession. She strongly believed in the importance of education and empowering women. At the age of 90 Alison sadly passed away, but her generosity lives on. After ensuring…
Read More
by Mary Oakes, Deputy CEO
In August, I visited our work in Ghana with Programme Manager, Melissa Bell – here are my reflections: This wasn’t my first trip to Ghana. I had worked there previously with World Vision, but it was my first visit in my new role as Deputy CEO of Opportunity International. I was keen to meet some of our partners in-country, to better understand the work and in particular, to visit the kayayei project. The kayayei project was set up in 2019 to provide vocational training and life skills to some…
Read More