It's 7am on a Wednesday. In a Brisbane suburb, eight-year-old Sarah has just woken up. Half asleep, she waits for her eyes to adjust to the light and gets out of bed. After pulling on her school uniform, she picks up a book and a pencil case from her desk and packs them into her backpack as her mother calls her down to breakfast.

It’s 5am on a Wednesday in the Philippines. Eight-year-old Lily has just been woken by her mother and is getting dressed. But for Lily, there is no uniform, no books, no backpack. There is no school for Lily – her parents cannot afford to send her. Today, Lily is going to work.

The World Bank estimates that across the globe, more than 100 million primary age children are not in school. The United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation established that in 2006, 414,652 of these children were living in Indonesia, 953,028 were in the Philippines and an incredible 7.1 million were living in India. Secondary school attendance rates are even lower – for many, enrolling in high school would be unheard of. Many areas don’t even have the facilities.

By supporting our partners in the Philippines, you will be able to help more Filipino people get the loans they need to start a business and provide for their families.

In Indonesia, close to 118 million people live on less than US$2 a day – that's more than half the population. To reach out to the millions of men, women and children who are living in poverty in Indonesia, Opportunity Australia works through TLM, a microfinance institution in West Timor.

Here, soaring food prices are creating harsh living conditions for local families, and thanks to your donations, TLM provides valuable transformation services to the poor. Still, TLM’s work is not without difficulty.

The Summer 2008 edition of Insight, the Opportunity International Australia newsletter,is now available for download from our Resources section.

This issue includes an article on education and the role you and Opportunity play in enabling parents to send their children to school, a diary note from a recent trip to West Timor, an update on our work with the poor in South-East Asia, a review of Opportunity events in October and a story from Sunitha, one of our inspiring clients in India.

Thank you for your support of Opportunity – your donations enable people in poverty to grow their businesses, earn an income and keep their families housed, clothed and fed.

Please click here to go to our Resources page and download your copy of Insight.

From left: Ambassadors Melissa Hartman and Davina Stanley with Miranda Wakely and Sarah Hornby of Opportunity and Betsy Harrington, Vice President Corporate Optimisation, BHP Billiton.

The Melbourne headquarters of BHP Billiton was resplendent in hot pink for this year's annual 'Put Yourself in her Shoes’ luncheon. More than 100 Melbourne women gathered together to support Opportunity International and the work it is doing in the Philippines.

Thanks to the tremendous support of the women who attended this year’s lunch, the event raised $162,000, which was dollar matched by BHP Billiton to total $324,000. These funds will support Opportunity’s work in the Philippines, funding 10 new Trust Banks to enable close to 200 people to access funds and training to establish or grow their own businesses. Additional funds will be invested into Renewal Program to ensure clients in the Philippines receive suitable products, ongoing training and other services to assist their escape from poverty.