There’s a saying I often hear in church or in organisations with social missions, “People before programs.”

The idea is simple but profound: programs for the sake of programs are ineffective if they don’t meet the needs of the people involved in them.

The people Opportunity works with are most often best placed to know what they need to transform their lives, their families and their communities. So it makes sense that, as an organisation with a social mission, Opportunity wants to give their clients a voice and put them at the centre of everything they do and every program they run.

Opportunity International’s Global CEO Vicki Escarra puts it this way:

At Opportunity, we have a strong belief that the clients we work with are also our partners. We put great value in listening to our clients’ needs and providing innovative, transformative services that meet those needs.

In the latest Opportunity Social Performance Report, a collection of social data allows supporters to better understand the impact Opportunity’s programs are having on families living in poverty.

The report is structured around three questions with the end goal of using the collected social data to further improve Opportunity’s programs. Here’s what I found interesting... 

On the first question, are we reaching people living in poverty, results show that Opportunity’s microfinance partners are performing well in targeting those in need – especially women, rural families living in poverty and those who have been financially excluded. That said, the report recognises that poverty is complex and that programs need to reach diverse groups.

On the second question, are we meeting peoples’ needs, the report demonstrates how Opportunity is committed to collecting feedback on products and services through surveys, focus groups, complaint mechanisms and other tools. More importantly, they’re responding to clients’ voices with improved services. I read that almost 20,000 people now have savings accounts in Indonesia after a client needs assessment established that savings would help families cover unexpected costs in crises and offer greater security.

On the final question, are we transforming families’ lives, a collection of baseline data is given on clients’ situations. Over time we will be able to find out whether transformation is taking place and what contribution Opportunity’s programs and services are making to those changes. It’s encouraging to see that initial results from India and Indonesia indicate that longer-term clients are less likely to be living below $2.50/day. And in the Philippines, clients also demonstrated a reduced likelihood of poverty over five years.

To take a closer look at the report findings, read the full version here.

And if you want to enhance the impact your giving has, you can support the further development of Opportunity’s social performance program here.

Because knowing for sure your support is making a difference in people’s lives is paramount.