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Sydney South NSW 1235, Level 11, 227 Elizabeth Street Sydney NSW 2000

Telephone: 1800 812 164

© 2025 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.

Meet Manzi

by Lucinda Needham

Manzi, a mother-of-one from India, lives in the rural town of Nagod in the Satna district of Madhya Pradesh, where 31.6% of people are reported to live below the poverty line. Sadly, Manzi has lived in abject poverty her entire life. She is unable to read or write and was denied the opportunity to attend school and receive a proper education. As a young girl, Manzi supported her parents and siblings by learning the traditional craft of broom-making, using whatever materials she could find. For poor…

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Hot Off The Press: Insight Newsletter

by Stephanie Hristovska

Autumn is well and truly here and so is the latest issue of Insight! In this issue you can find out how you’re helping 100 farmers in poverty add value to their businesses and increase their profits by exporting ginger to Japan. As the challenges farmers face grow more difficult, linking them to bigger markets gives them a fair go and greater financial security for their families. You can also get to know Najma, Sharlota and Veronica – three mothers who have crafted better futures for their families…

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Let There Be Light

by Jessica Carter

Waking up in India is not like waking up anywhere else. There’s the sound of the rickshaw bell – a flustered brrrring – as it hurtles past your window. There’s the smell of tea, steeped in spices and milk, drifting in from the room next door. There’s the golden light that is unique to South Asia – a hue blended by geography, pollution and the foggy breath of a billion people. And then you step outside. A few weeks ago, I found myself back in India, travelling with Opportunity International…

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More Than Microcredit

by Manna Mostaghim

Through its grassroots investments, microfinance is recognised to offer a trickle-up solution to the problem of poverty. But those who receive small loans still have to operate within the pre-existing conditions of their countries. Inadequate healthcare, education and a lack of transport infrastructure still constrain the ability of families in developing countries to overcome poverty. For example, a 2011 study presented in The Lancet reported that 39 million people in India were pushed into poverty…

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Educate To Alleviate Poverty

by Filiz Casey

One of the most rewarding opportunities for a mother is to send her child to school. The first day is filled with apprehension, sometimes tears, but mostly pride and joy. Mothers also enjoy celebrating when their child finishes school. These are special milestones I have shared with my mother. Things are a little different for families living in poverty. Mothers can find it difficult to provide an education for their children for a number of reasons. The most obvious is affordability, but distance…

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We See Differently

by Stephanie Hristovska

The journey of transformation out of poverty begins with the opportunity to receive a small loan. But for so many of the mothers we meet, they receive a lot more than money in their first loan cycle. Here are four things that shouldn’t be overlooked: 1. Vision Poverty can be defined as a lack of choice about the food you eat, the clothes you wear, whether you can afford an education for your children and much more. I also think it goes even deeper than that. Poverty attacks your ability to realise,…

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International Women's Day

by Stephanie Hristovska

Sunday 8 March is International Women’s Day. It’s a day to recognise and celebrate women’s achievements, promote gender equality and create meaningful change, captured in this year’s theme, Make It Happen. But before I go into what 'it’ is, let me fill you in on some of the things that have been happening in the lives of women, especially those living in poverty… Women make up 70% of people living in poverty More than 875 million women and girls are illiterate One billion women globally…

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The World Day Of Social Justice

by Stephanie Hristovska

Today is the United Nation’s (UN) World Day of Social Justice, where poverty eradication, full employment, decent work, gender equality and access to social wellbeing and justice for all are promoted globally. Placing poverty eradication under the umbrella of social justice changes the way we think about and deal with poverty. It makes poverty eradication not just about altruistic gestures of charity but a matter of human rights. In human rights theory, there are two types of rights: the first…

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Gates Place Big Bet For The Future

by Stephanie Hristovska

Late last month, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation released their 2015 Annual Letter, and with it, a ‘big bet’ for the future. In the letter, Bill and Melinda forecast that: The lives of people in poor countries will improve faster in the next 15 years than in any other time in history. And their lives will improve more than anyone else’s. The key to achieving this rapid progress? Innovative technology. Through innovation in technology, the Gates’ project that people living in poverty…

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Australian Government Visits Opportunity's Work In The Philippines

by Meredith Downey

Opportunity is grateful for the support the Australian Government provides to help mothers break the poverty cycle in the Philippines and last month we were delighted when Michael Bergmann, a/g Assistant Secretary in the NGO and Volunteers Branch of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT), visited some of the mothers we serve in Manila, Philippines to see firsthand the impact small loans can make. Mr Bergmann, accompanied by Mark Daniels, Opportunity’s Philippines Country Director, visited a…

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