by Sam Bickersteth, Chief Executive
Many of us are relying on digital connections to sustain our work, finances and social lives during COVID-19 and it’s restrictions yet over four billion people around the world remain digitally excluded. They are predominantly women, living in rural areas in low-income countries. Many live in areas that have mobile network coverage and a majority (estimated 80%) have access to a mobile phone but they lack the knowledge and resources to access digital channels effectively. Through local partnerships,…
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by Opportunity International
The impact of COVID-19 on our jobs, lives and communities is evolving daily. It is the same for our clients in Africa. They too wonder if they will have a job next month, be able to feed their family and if schools will reopen for their children this year. The world is living in uncertainty but we are living it together, as a global community. Challenging times often cause us to reflect on what we will leave behind. This was the case for Elisabeth, a lifelong supporter whose family have kindly given…
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by Opportunity International
An immediate concern, as we bring the lockdown to an end, is the fate of an estimated 30 million children who according to UNESCO may never return to school. For these, the world’s least advantaged children, education is often the only escape from poverty – a route that is in danger of closing.\" (Letter by 275 global leaders directed to the G20, IMF, World Bank, Regional Development Banks, and national governments) Currently, there are more than 1.5 million non-state schools in low and medium-income…
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by Jenny Dunn, Communications Manager
Elizabeth is a fabric trader in Ghana. With a loan and financial training support from our partner organisation Sinapi Aba, she had grown her business and increased her income which allowed her to build a house and provide for her family. But like all of us, COVID-19 has affected every aspect of her life, particularly her business. With four children to feed, it has been a challenging time. Thankfully Elizabeth had savings put aside for a rainy day. Today is that rainy day. “As…
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by Jenny Dunn, Communications Manager
Every community in the world has been effected by COVID-19. For all of us life has changed dramatically. We are working tirelessly with our partners on the ground to best support our clients at this time. The challenges of lockdowns and social distancing mean we have to do things differently and adapt our projects. Your support is helping us do this, ensuring that our clients can still provide for their family and build a secure future. One such project is ‘Roots of Change’ in Ghana and…
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by Kate Brockie - Reflections from an Opportunity International UK volunteer two-years on.
In 2018, the Opportunity International UK (OIUK) office in Oxford temporarily adopted me into their team over the summer. I was two years into an undergraduate degree, grappling with the global challenges I was learning about and struggling to imagine how such overwhelming poverty around the world could be alleviated sustainably. I started researching microcredit, financial inclusion, and models of poverty alleviation that didn’t offer pity but empowerment and hope. A hand up, not a handout. Opportunity…
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by Jenny Dunn, Communications Manager
Akua had a thriving hairdressing salon in the Ashanti region of Ghana. Since December 2019 she had been growing her business through a small loan and applying the knowledge and skills gained from our financial training programme. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. With many customers staying at home as a result, Akua’s income dropped dramatically. She started to struggle. She could no longer service her loan repayments. She could no longer pay her shop assistant in the salon. She could no longer…
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by Kelly Jennings-Robinson, Philanthropy Manager
19-year-old Confiance is a typical teenager. She loves music, fashion, selfies and sweets. She is also a refugee. Confiance fled Burundi with her mother and now lives in Nakivale Refugee Settlement in western Uganda. Her family came with very little but Confiance is determined to build a new life and a strong community in the place she now calls home. I met Confiance when I visited Nakivale in February 2020 as part of an insight trip. Despite only spending a day together, she made a lasting impression…
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by Cliff Hampton, Chair of Opportunity International UK Board of Trustees,
As I reflect back on last year I am doing so at a time of global crisis and uncertainty. Yet when I think of the clients I have had the privilege to meet I am full of hope. On visits to Rwanda and Uganda earlier this year, I met clients from a poor rural community who were so grateful for our support despite facing many challenges and hardships in recent times. It was clear that these men and women were ambitious and determined to succeed but had lacked the financial help to grow their…
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by Mandy Burrows, Senior Programme Manager
Next Saturday 20th June is World Refugee Day. It is a day to remember the courage and resilience of the millions of people who are being forcibly displaced from their homes and having to rebuild their lives from scratch. Last year, we began a four year project in Uganda which works in two of the country’s refugee settlements. The project will provide over 20,000 refugee families with the financial tools and training they need to rebuild their lives and livelihoods and work for a better future.…
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