Donate Give Monthly

Menu

Donate Give Monthly


Email SignUp

Stay connected and receive updates from Opportunity International Australia.

Follow Us

Search


PO Box A524
Sydney South NSW 1235, Level 11, 227 Elizabeth Street Sydney NSW 2000

Telephone: 1800 812 164

© 2024 Opportunity International AustraliaABN 83 003 805 043

News & Stories Blog

World news on the fight to alleviate poverty – follow innovations in microfinance, technology and community development that are changing lives in developing countries.

Education - An investment that lasts a lifetime

by Opportunity International Australia

Today, 24 January, marks the United Nations International Day of Education. Through our work with trusted local partners, Opportunity International Australia helps empower more young learners through providing school fee loans and education quality programs in Asia. Education sets a strong foundation for more peaceful, just and sustainable societies. On this International Day of Education, Opportunity has launched the 2024 Back to School appeal, asking supporters to help keep children in school…

Read More

Buffalo loan helps Chetna rebuild her life

by Opportunity International Australia

Opportunity International Australia creates pathways out of poverty through trusted, sustainable solutions like ‘Buffaloans’. In rural parts of Northern and Western India like Chetna’s village in Gujarat - the need is enormous. Chetna is a skilled buffalo farmer from a remote village in the District of Mahesana, Gujarat. She has two sons and a daughter. When Chetna’s children were little her husband suddenly got sick and the family was plunged into crisis. Chetna felt overwhelmed, raising…

Read More

A healthier family thanks to community training

by Opportunity International Australia

20-year-old Sabikunnahar’s family forced her to marry her husband, Khalilur, when she was only 15 due to harmful gender norms and as a chance to escape the poverty her family was living in. Sabikunnahar dreamed of completing her education and working for the welfare of society. She completed her Secondary School Certificate (SSC) at the end of 10th grade, however her husband’s family wasn’t supportive of her continuing her studies, preferring that she not work outside of the village they live…

Read More

A trek for opportunity to help end poverty globally

by Opportunity International Australia

Uphill adventure? ✔️Bucket list experiences? ✔️Helping end poverty? ✔️ In October 2023, a group of passionate Opportunity International Australia supporters set off to India for the Trek for Opportunity, hiking from Darjeeling to Sandakphu and back again, along mountain peaks through the majestic Eastern Himalayas. As well as trekking up to heights of more than 3600m, the ten-day experience gave participants the opportunity to see the impact of microfinance firsthand. Following the…

Read More

Merry Christmas and thanks for your support in 2023

by Opportunity International Australia

Merry Christmas from the Opportunity International Australia team! It's been a big year for Opportunity, our partners, our supporters and most importantly, the women and families we serve. Together with your support in 2023, we've been able to help families start their own businesses, access healthcare and training, and afford food, shelter and education.

Read More

Self-help groups support people with disabilities to thrive in business

by Opportunity International Australia

The United Nations theme for International Day of Persons with Disability in 2023 is ‘United in action to rescue and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for, with and by persons with disabilities.' To improve financial inclusion, people with disabilities need a say in how to access their own pathways to economic empowerment and ultimately, to help themselves. Persons with disabilities living in low- and middle-income countries often struggle to obtain a job - but still have the same…

Read More

WATCH: In Conversation with David Bussau AM

by Opportunity International Australia

Opportunity International Australia founder David Bussau AM joined us on 15 November 2023, in conversation with Nicole Clements, former ABC journalist and now Marketing and Communications Manager at Opportunity. David, one of the pioneers in microfinance, is an inspiring social entrepreneur, who has been hailed for his innovative approach to solving world poverty. Since Opportunity was founded almost 50 years ago, millions of families have been supported to start their own business and lift themselves…

Read More

Can we end global poverty?

by Scott Walters

My youngest son, who is 20 years old, asked me recently, “Dad, do you really think global poverty can be eradicated?” We had been discussing the meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York where the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) had been in focus. You may know that we are nowhere near achieving any of them by the agreed date of 2030, including the first one which is ‘End poverty in all its forms everywhere’. We had also been discussing that although the…

Read More

Rural women want to work

by Opportunity International Australia

It’s over 40 degrees on a summer’s day in Kolhua, a rural area outside Kushinagar in Northern India. Sudha* is working the dry earth with a hoe as part of a group of other Musahar women, fortifying the village’s walking tracks between fields. Sudha is being paid for her daily labour through the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme. The scheme aims to guarantee the right to work to all Indians, however in practice there are many barriers to accessing the scheme,…

Read More

Melbourne Giving Circle supports Women’s Safety in India

by Opportunity International Australia

Content warning: This story discusses gender-based violence and trafficking, which some readers may find challenging. In India, gender-based violence and trafficking are a major societal problem, with one woman every four minutes reporting violence in her home, and over 60,000 communities identified as high risk of being targeted by traffickers. A group of Opportunity International Australia supporters and Board Directors from Melbourne decided to do something in response to shocking women’s safety…

Read More

Stay in Touch