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.
Nur's fish business feeding her family
How selling fish helps Nur earn a reliable income Nur and her husband monitor the weather closely. If the weather is good, they know fish will be plentiful, and they get to the fish markets around 5am to buy fish for their stall. If the weather is bad and they know fish will be scarce, they’re there at 2am to pick up some of the catch. They sell grilled and fresh fish at their roadside stall in Kupang, Indonesia, that they opened with a small loan of IDR 2 million (A$200). As long as there is fish…
Read MoreEducation - An investment that lasts a lifetime
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 MoreBuffalo loan helps Chetna rebuild her life
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 MoreA healthier family thanks to community training
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 MoreA trek for opportunity to help end poverty globally
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 MoreMerry Christmas and thanks for your support in 2023
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 MoreSelf-help groups support people with disabilities to thrive in business
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 MoreWATCH: In Conversation with David Bussau AM
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 MoreCan we end global poverty?
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 MoreRural women want to work
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,…
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