"The greatest surprise for me in meeting the clients of Opportunity International in Colombia was how impressed I was of their accomplishments and how much I respected them for being entrepreneurs. I thought I was just going to see the impressive and life-changing work that Opportunity has done in Colombia, but what I also saw and learned was the amazing perseverance, resourcefulness, and strength of Opportunity’s clients. What also struck me was the strong, personal relationships and mutual respect the Opportunity loan officers build with each and every client as well as the extensive training and support that is provided. These are the reasons that I believe Opportunity International and micro-finance is one of the keys to eliminating global poverty."
— Kristen
"Missing Colombia as soon as I got on the plane. What an amazing trip!"
— Sonya Perez-Lauterbach
On Thursday, Alana read this poem on our bus, reminding us that God is present in who and what we love, and in who loves us. Beautiful food for thought. Thanks, Alana!
Nothing is more practical than finding God,
that is,
than falling in love in a quite absolute, final way.
What you are in love with,
what seizes your imagination
will affect everything.
It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning,
what you will do with your evenings,
how you read,
what you know,
what breaks your heart
and what amazes you with joy and gratitude.
Fall in love.
Stay in love.
And it will decide everything.
-Rev. Pedro Arrupe, S.J.
Superior General of the Society of Jesus, 18 years
In just a few hours the first set of Young Ambassadors for Opportunity (YAO) travelers will arrive in Cartagena, Colombia for a week of learning, adventure, and new relationships. This is the first YAO-US trip to Colombia as we have been focusing on Tanzania since our first Insight Trip in 2009. Opportunity International is one of the largest microfinance organizations with over three million clients and 17,000 employees in 20-plus countries. As a network of younger (under 40) Opportunity supporters, Young Ambassadors is excited to explore and learn more about the many different Opportunity International operations across the world. With similarities in core values yet sensitivity to the unique challenges and environments in each country, I’m very excited to learn firsthand as much as I can this week. I am also super-excited about the friendship that will be built among the travelers and the energy for creating change that will be ignited among us. This trip fits perfectly into the YAO mission, which is to inspire, educate and involve others in microfinance and the work of Opportunity International. Thanks for reading and following along with our adventure this week on this blog. I hope that you are also inspired and learn a thing or two as we report back over the next six days in Colombia.
-Sonya (YAO Manager, Opportunity-US)
