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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.

New CEO for Dia Vikas

by Opportunity International Australia

Arpita Pal Agrawal has been appointed the new Chief Executive Officer of Dia Vikas Capital Private Limited, Opportunity International Australia’s microfinance business in India. Arpita’s most recent role was as Managing Director of M-CRIL, a social enterprise that provides high quality professional services for the economic enhancement of the lives of low-income families. Previously, Arpita has been a Partner in Big 4 professional services firms. She has over 25 years of management and risk consulting…

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Ratna’s recipe for sweet success

by Opportunity International Australia

Ratna lives on the remote island of Rote in Indonesia with her husband, Hermanus, and their three daughters. The family struggles financially as Hermanus, a seaweed farmer, does not earn enough to cover their living expenses and education costs. I only wish my children could finish high school... I work hard so all my children can have a good future,” says Ratna. She had dreams for a better life, but Ratna needed just one more ingredient to get started: a small business loan. With the help of a…

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Lynn and Bill supporting Opportunity for life and beyond

by Opportunity International Australia

Lynn and Bill Creek have been supporters of Opportunity International Australia since 2001. They first heard about Opportunity after seeing the ABC’s Australian Story episode featuring the founder David Bussau. “It was the philosophy that your donation could be recycled, and the money would keep making money for people that was so appealing,” said Lynn. We had previously given to other organisations, but once you’ve given that money it’s gone. The fact that our donation lives on and on,…

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Yohana’s work ethic inspires her children

by Opportunity International Australia

Single mother Yohana likes to work hard. She opened a snack stall with a loan of A$200 in 2017. The business was successful, but she found that she wasn’t busy enough for her liking, so she hired some employees to run the food stall and set up a second business – tailoring and making garments – with the support of another loan.  Earlier in her life, the 50-year-old worked at a garment factory in Java, where her hard work was recognised and she rose to the rank of supervisor, until she left…

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Education loan helps Meena’s family get back on track

by Opportunity International Australia

Meena and her husband Devendra live with his extended family on their farm in rural India. They have two children, a daughter Manisha, aged 19 and a son, Mukesh, aged 13. Devendra drives a tractor for other farmers in the local area. A few years ago, Meena and Devendra took out a small loan through one of Opportunity’s microfinance partners for maintenance and repairs on the vehicle. Meena works on their farm running a dairy business. She sells cow’s milk to the local community, and grows fruit…

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Sweet success key to educating the next generation

by Opportunity International Australia

Mother-of-six Bathsheba stands over her outdoor stove in the morning sun, surrounded by palm trees that have yielded their sap for the sugar syrup she is producing. Her youngest daughter plays nearby as she patiently stirs the sap and reduces it down into a thick syrup. Once it has cooled, she bottles and sells the honey-coloured sugar syrup to families in her neighbourhood. Bathsheba didn’t go to school, but thanks to the palm sugar syrup business they set up with the help of a small loan, Bathsheba…

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Tri - A tower of strength for her family

by Opportunity International Australia

Opportunity International Australia supports families in Indonesia to access the tools they need to work their way out of poverty. One of the families accessing a small loan through Opportunity is Tri’s. Tri is a working mother in Jakarta where one in five people live in poverty. She is a tower of strength for her family – resourceful and resilient. She is hopeful for the future, but her family faces enormous challenges. Tri and her husband Sumardi have four children, Rizky aged 20, Nadine 14,…

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Supporting persons with disabilities through inclusion

by Opportunity International Australia

December 3 is International Day of People with Disability, a United Nations observed day which aims to recognise and celebrate people with disability, increase awareness of disability and overall promote understanding and acceptance – both locally and around the world. Through working with our local partners, raising awareness and understanding of disability and committing to reaching those who are underserved, Opportunity International Australia aims to improve outcomes for those living with disabilities.…

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From poverty to plenty with banana chips

by Opportunity International Australia

Aranchie serves customers at the small snack shop attached to her house with a quiet confidence and smiling demeanour. However, tears come quickly as she recalls her childhood. “I had a very difficult childhood, because my dad left when I was just three months old, so my grandparents took me in and raised me. They couldn’t afford to pay for my school, so I didn’t even finish junior high.” Hard work and determination, combined with small loans have enabled her to build a business and provide…

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Christmas Gifts that make the world a better place

by Opportunity International Australia

While the festive season is usually a time when many of us like to splurge on gifts for loved ones, it can also be a time of enormous struggle for those experiencing poverty globally. While data for 2021 and 2022 is not yet widely available, according to World Bank estimates, COVID-19 had a profound impact on health and wellbeing around the world, and drove an additional 90 million into extreme poverty in 2020. Opportunity International Australia is ending poverty in developing countries – one…

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