Source Compassion International.
Original article available here.
COLORADO SPRINGS, November 6 – Compassion International and Opportunity International, among the largest Christian organizations of their kind, today announced a dramatic expansion of their partnership that began last year in Uganda to promote sustainable, transformational community development for the poor across Africa.
Compassion International, a leading child development and sponsorship ministry serving more than 900,000 children in 24 countries, will invest USD 5 million over the next five years in Opportunity International to fund its microfinance operations to reach more of the working poor. The partnership will enable Opportunity to expand its operations in Ghana, Kenya and Rwanda, offering microloans, savings accounts, insurance and business training to the families of Compassion-sponsored children and other community members.
“This relationship is a strategic alliance between two Christian operations, focused on the same mission to reverse the cycle of poverty in the lives of the poor,” said Dr. Wess Stafford, President of Compassion International. “Ministries such as Compassion can deliver far greater outcomes by sharing ideas and resources with other Christian groups than we could on our own. Our Christian community expects this type of engagement. We believe our ongoing effort with Opportunity will continue to produce mutually beneficial results for the children, families and communities that both organizations serve.”
In October 2006, Compassion International awarded $180,000 to Opportunity International to open new microfinance operations in three rural areas in Uganda where Compassion-assisted families are concentrated. In addition to business loans, Opportunity has also offered training in business development and management skills, as well as holistic training in HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention to the caregivers of Compassion-sponsored children. Over the past year, Opportunity International has made 25,219 loans totaling more than $11.5 million in Uganda. Compassion International helps support more than 50,500 Ugandan children.
“We believe that our two organizations, each with its own strengths and areas of expertise, can have a much bigger impact on the poor if we work together rather than stand alone,” said Christopher A. Crane, President and CEO of Opportunity International. “We pray that this Christ-centered, holistic approach to development will serve as a useful and replicable model for the many fine churches and charitable Christian organizations that are doing God’s work in the developing world.”
IMPACT OF UGANDA PROGRAM ON ONE FAMILY
Following is an example of the Compassion-Opportunity partnership and how it has benefited one family in Uganda.
Phoebe Kebirungi and her husband were finding it difficult to provide basic necessities for their 10 children and the orphans of her late sister. Compassion Uganda stepped in to sponsor their daughter Marion, then in second grade, providing her with an education, health care, social skills development and Christian training. Through the new partnership, Phoebe became an Opportunity International loan client with the Rukungiri branch in western Uganda in March 2006, when she received her first loan of USD 286 to begin a bricklaying business.
With profits from her growing business, Phoebe provided much needed essentials, including education, proper nutrition and medical treatment for all of their children. Using the business training and management skills she received from Opportunity International, Phoebe made timely loan repayments and, after repaying the first loan, she received a second loan for USD 572 to construct a large poultry house that she stocked with 200 chicks. Her third loan of USD 1,144 is being used to purchase a cow and start a banana-growing business.
Phoebe says she is thankful for the encouragement, training and counseling she received from Opportunity and for the extra support from her daughter’s Compassion sponsor family. Although she is married to a supportive husband who is the supervisor of her bricklaying business, she proudly states, “I am a financially independent woman.”
Similar Posts:
- SPECIAL REPORT: The Business Case for Education Finance #EMW2023
- MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Child Labor, Rainfall Shocks and Financial Inclusion: Evidence from Rural Households,” by Carolina Bernal and Razvan Vlaicu, Published by IDB
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Opportunity International, UPS Foundation Announce “Unstoppable Women Initiative” to Expand Financial Services in Colombia, India, Indonesia, Nigeria
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Liberation Community Finance Expanding Branch Network, Product Lineup for Farmers, Women, Youth in Uganda
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Aflatoun, Fintech Robos to Collaborate on Financial Literacy in Middle East, North Africa
