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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.

Opportunity Through The Eyes Of An Economist

by Winton Bates

It must have been over 15 years ago when I first began making modest monthly donations to Opportunity International Australia. Opportunity is a microfinance organisation that provides small loans to help people in low-income countries break the poverty cycle by starting their own small businesses. It also offers its clients other financial services including savings accounts and insurance. What attracted me to Opportunity the most was the potential for money donated to be recycled to help more people…

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Food For Thought 2015 Wraps Up

by Opportunity International Australia

What an incredible few months it’s been! Thanks so much to everyone who took part in Food for Thought this year – we saw so many great ways people enjoyed good food and spread the word about Opportunity. Thanks to the support of people like you, we exceeded our fundraising target of $100k, raising a total of... $120,562!   This is enough to help give 1,722 mothers like Anupa small loans to start their own small businesses. Not that long ago, Anupa was afraid. Not for herself, but for her son…

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Spotlight on a Volunteer

by Ariadne Sofianidis

In February of this year I crammed into my suitcase countless maxi skirts, boxes of malaria medication and enough Hydralyte to last me a lifetime and headed off to rural India for a month. I began my trip at the Hotel Empire in Bangalore. It wasn’t too different to home. There was a western shower, a western toilet and a Starbucks just around the corner so I wasn’t too worried. A few days later, I and eight other students moved into a small house in Chikkajala, a rural village in India about…

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Now's The Time For Something Bigger

by Ariadne Sofianidis

Christmas is most truly Christmas when we celebrate it by giving the light of love to those who need it most. Ruth Carter Stapleton For many of us, Christmas is the of year time we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ with our family and friends. We sit down and eat turkey, potato salads, seafood and Christmas pudding before opening the presents we’ve thoughtfully bought for one another. However, for families living in India, Indonesia or the Philippines earning less than $2 a day, Christmas can…

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Taking Data To The Next Level

by Kate Saunders

It was more than 35 degrees and I was sheltered only by a tin roof participating in a weekly meeting of loan group clients in a back alley off a main road in Kampala, Uganda. They were talking about how they were using their Opportunity loan. Present were several market stall holders, a small restaurant owner, a motorbike taxi operator, a second hand clothes retailer and several others. While discussions of loan applications were taking place, various forms were being shuffled around and filled in…

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Facing Up To Typhoon Koppu

by Benjamin Freeman

In my time working with Opportunity International Australia, I’ve written about a number of natural disasters and their effects on people with loans. After just one week back in the Philippines, I experienced one firsthand. On Saturday I left with two friends and travelled from Manila to Baler, a small coastal town on the east of Luzon Island. We had warning that a storm was coming, but it was expected that the storm would hit Saturday afternoon and be relatively clear from Sunday afternoon onwards.…

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Focusing On The Bigger Picture

by Benjamin Freeman

Over the past eight weeks I’ve been pushed by a lot of different things. One of which has been learning to make the best of the situation that I’m in. Because of what I’m doing and where I’m travelling, I’ve stayed in places I typically wouldn’t stay in and eaten at places I typically wouldn’t eat at. Personally, these times are difficult. One reason for this is that I’m out of my comfort zone. The other is that I feel a very real sense of guilt about my discomfort. I’ve been spending…

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Coming Together To End Poverty

by Ariadne Sofianidis

Between now and 2015, we must make sure that promises made become promises kept. The consequences of doing otherwise are profound: death, illness and despair, needless suffering, lost opportunities for millions upon millions of people. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations In 2010, Ban Ki-moon stood up and spoke about the importance of the year 2015 in the fight to end global poverty. And now the year is almost over. Tomorrow, 17 October, marks the International Day for the Eradication…

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Respect To Protect Women In India

by Jessica Carter

Do you know what one of the leading causes of death among women all around the globe is? It’s not car crashes, or diabetes or even breast cancer. It’s violence. In fact, around the world, women aged 15-44 are more at risk of rape and domestic violence than cancer, car crashes, war and malaria. Violence against women is one of the most widespread and persistent violations of human rights. At least one in three women will experience physical and/or sexual violence during her lifetime, usually at…

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Opportunity Supporter Survey 2015

by Opportunity International Australia

The results are in! Thank you to everyone who took the time to share your thoughts and opinions with us in Opportunity International Australia’s 2015 Supporter Survey. By giving us more insight into why helping people out of poverty is important to you, we are better equipped to work alongside you and engage other Australians in order to achieve our goal of reaching 20 million families by 2020. With a total of 689 survey responses, a generous supporter has donated a total of $6,890 – so your…

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