The husband-wife team of Frank Rubanda and Faith Kaligirwa ran a small dairy business in Mubende, Uganda, and dreamed of the day they could use Frank’s training as a suit maker to open a tailoring business. They purchased cows and sold the milk, but still found it impossible to set aside enough money to start a second business and meet the needs of their seven young children.

Then Frank and Faith became Opportunity’s one millionth savings client and their dreams began to come true.

With savings and an Opportunity loan, they opened Bakiyonga Modern Tailors, the only shop of its kind in Mubende. After years of hiding their cash at home, they now have an Opportunity bank in their community. Their account isn’t just safe, it’s convenient. Each day they walk to the bank to deposit their income—and earn interest on it.

Paying school fees was once a struggle, but Faith and Frank are close to reaching their dream of sending their children to private schools. “We are thankful to God for what we have been able to do,” says Frank. “Opportunity bank came to us by way of a miracle.”

Today Frank and Faith are having an impact not only on their family, but on their community where they employ seven people to create custom suits for women and men. For employees who lack training in tailoring, Frank has created a unique apprenticeship program that effectively “pays it forward,” teaching workers valuable skills they can use for a lifetime.

The business is open from dawn to dusk, filling more than 20 customer orders each day—without electricity. Faith regularly travels to Kampala to purchase material, a job once handled by her husband alone. In a country where women struggle to be

(continued on page 5)

How Noemi leadsThe inspiring story of Noemi Vivas Ocaña, a fish-selling client turned regional manager at Opportunity Nicaragua, is featured in the book “How Great Women Lead: A Mother-Daughter Adventure into the Lives of Women Shaping the World.” Co-authors Bonnie St. John and Darcy Deane interviewed Noemi, her co-workers and family on a 2008 visit to Nicaragua.

The result is a chapter on how Noemi struggled to support her three children before receiving a loan from Opportunity, and how each subsequent loan enabled her to incrementally grow her business. The authors document Noemi’s rise from poverty to become treasurer and then president of her Trust Group, an Opportunity loan officer, and now head of the regional office in San Rafael with responsibility for 17 loan officers. These loan officers provide support to approximately 1,200 (mostly women) clients who are working their way out of poverty.

Like other women leaders featured in the book, Noemi talks about work-life balance. “You have responsibilities on both sides, but they are different,” she says. “The struggle for me is to find the moments to spend with my family. It is hard, but God gives us the strength.”

Faith Kaligirwa and Frank Rubanda in their tailoring shop

Meet our millionth savings client

Noemi Vivas Ocaña

summer | fall 2012

It is with incredible gratitude that I reflect on our 2012 fiscal year. My deepest thanks go to every single individual who chose to contribute to the work of Opportunity International Canada throughout the year. Microfinance is a powerful way to answer God’s call to serve the poor. Thank you for your partnership.

Opportunity is serving over 4 million people globally with financial services – loans, savings, and insurance. That said, our mission is not driven by economics alone. Opportunity is helping people transition from poverty to dignity; from dependence to self-sufficiency; and from despair to hope. We provide the way and the poor are charting their own path to transformation. Facilitating transformation is our chief aim. Financial transformation is evident as families provide a regular and growing source of income for their families. Children are attending school and eating well, experiencing social transformation. Character development is leading to improved family and community relationships among our clients. My wife, Cathy and I were privileged earlier this spring to see this happening first hand in Rwanda. The transformation is stunning.

On the homefront, we worked hard on stabilizing operations in Canada and moving toward operational efficiencies across the board. A couple of examples of how we have invested this past year include: relocating our Toronto office to a more appropriately sized footprint reducing our monthly costs for real estate by two-thirds and on the human resource side, we recruited a Director of Philanthropy for BC. Jamie Hubick joined our team in April and he has been working hard on contacting all of our constituents in BC with a vision to increase and grow our donor base in that province. We were also pleased to welcome Bill Watson to the Board of Directors. Bill a former executive with Husky Oil. Bill’s vast experience and influence is a real asset and his commitment to connect Opportunity to leadership and foundations within the oil & gas world is deeply appreciated.

For Opportunity, the challenge is great. I am increasingly thankful for the ongoing passion and energy provided by our supporters, volunteers, dedicated staff and committed Board of Directors and Governors Council. Together we are having an extraordinary impact around the globe-meeting the needs of more of the world’s poor.

I look forward to continuing our great work with you into the future.

– Bob Lawless, CEO & Board Chair Opportunity International Canada

Message from the CEO & Board ChairBob Lawless

MicroEnsure turns In February 2002, Opportunity’s Richard Leftley set out to answer the question: Do people living in poverty need access to insurance? His research confirmed they do and led to the creation of the world’s first microinsurance intermediary, MicroEnsure, where Richard serves as president and CEO. This year marks the organization’s 10th anniversary.

As a starting point, Richard and his team helped Opportunity’s banks and other microfinance institutions partner with local insurers to establish credit life insurance. “We soon realized the risks the poor faced went far beyond the value of loans,” Richard says, “so we started to look for ways to extend basic credit life products to cover funerals, disability and property.”

Today, MicroEnsure offers not only this coverage, but also health, life, and weather-indexed crop insurance that mitigates the devastating consequences of drought or excess rain. In 2011, MicroEnsure provided over 3.2 million policies across five countries, and is reaching more than 250,000 new clients each month.

“Ten years ago I was on record as saying that health insurance for the poor was impossible,” says Richard. “We love to prove ourselves wrong.”

Discovery Channel goes to GhanaThe faces and stories of Opportunity Ghana clients will be splashed across television screens in schools around the world this year courtesy of the Discovery Channel Global Education Partnership.

The Discovery Channel traveled to Ghana to produce a microcredit segment for the video “Understanding Economics: Saving, Spending, Lending.” There the video crew followed loan officers Albert Mills and Albert Abokatoa as they visited clients in businesses made possible through hard work and loans and training from Opportunity.

The partnership uses the power of television to provide education and enrichment opportunities to more than a half-million students and 1.5 million adults in 200 underserved communities around the globe.

In the Discovery Channel video, Opportunity Ghana loan officers mentor client Regina Asimoni, who sells smoked fish in an Accra market.

With health insurance from MicroEnsure, a Tanzanian boy receives care for a head injury at Rauya Dispensary in Moshi.

Lighting Uganda’s villagesOpportunity Uganda has launched a solar energy microfinance loan to provide power to families currently living with a lack of or unreliable electricity. The energy absorbed from the sun throughout the day helps people working their way out of poverty make the most of their evenings.

Clients can take out a two-year loan of approximately $300, which covers the solar panels and installation. The implications are life-changing and endless. Without light, children cannot do important activities like homework and families find it difficult to accomplish everything they need to do before it turns dark.

Light coming into a village increases productivity, but also adds to a community’s sense of hope and helps families feel whole when their needs are being met.

Updates from Colombia It’s official! Opportunity International celebrates receiving the much anticipated Operational License for the new Finance Company on June 22, 2012! The new formal name is now “Opportunity International Colombia S.A. Compania de Financiamiento” (“OI Colombia”) Opportunity Colombia worked through a variety of Information Technology adjustments, accounting system set-up, and office adjustments in order to meet regulation requirements.

Loans will be officially disbursed by OI Colombia as of August 2012 and clients will be able to deposit their savings. The system has been test run and is ready to go. In October 2012 Opportunity International looks forward to hosting an inauguration and formal opening ceremony.

The Transformation NGO and OI Colombia worked together this spring to solidify a unified vision, strategy and implementation plan for the two entities and to formalize their structural relationship. Both organizations commit to working together to live out Opportunity’s values and fulfill the mission of being agents of transformation in the lives of the poor.

A special thanks to all the Canadian supporters that have helped make this dream a reality!

Jim Frantz, Chief Transformation Officer says, “We feel blessed that God is using Opportunity in so many ways to bring hope and empowerment to His people in Colombia.”

Opportunity Colombia serves thousands of displaced persons like Carmenza Jimenez, who is a member of the Mano de Dios (Hand of God) Trust Group and has a roof loan for her new house in Arjona.

Technical school open for businessIn a country where only 46% of children advance past sixth grade, Opportunity has created a technical school where Nicaraguan youth from impoverished families can learn skills that will change their lives and their community forever.

Now serving 57 seventh graders from low income families, the Emprendedora School will add a new grade level each year, up to twelfth grade. Students will graduate not only with a high school diploma, but also with a technical certificate that prepares them for employment in eco-tourism and agriculture—two of the area’s main industries.

Everything at Emprendedora School has a purpose in the community. The large yard where the students have recess is surrounded by mango trees, and Opportunity has contracted with a local buyer to purchase the fruit when ripe. Beyond the schoolyard is more than 10 acres of land being used to test 32 varieties of yucca. The school will be a research facility for determining the highest yield and the best-quality product for the region’s farmers.

Later this year, the school will begin its first agricultural business—a hatchery with 500 chickens—to provide the students with direct experience in raising healthy, productive chickens. The sale of the eggs will provide revenue to cover some of the school’s operational costs.

In 2014, the school hopes to open an eco-lodge where students will have hands-on hospitality training and the opportunity to serve real hotel customers in a managed environment.

INNOVATING TO END POVERTY

Opportunity Uganda clients like Betty Aute have access to electricity because of the new solar panel loan product.

Students at the Emprendedora School in Nicaragua

IT’S GOING TO COST US $8.30 TO IMPACT ONE LIFE

YOU GIVING $41.50

YOU GIVING $41.50 / MONTH for 23 months with CIDA matching your gift

230 lives impacted

But CIDA is matching that, which means your donation of $8.30 impacts 2 lives

+ =

+ =CIDA

CIDA

You can be a part of the dream to impact the lives of 300,000 people in Africa and see your contribution doubled thanks to a matching donation by CIDA.

If you have already made a donation, thank you! If you have not, there is still time. For only $4.15 you can impact the life of one person, for $41.50 you can impact the lives of 10 people and for $41.50/month your donation will be matched until March 2014 and can impact the lives of 230!

Please consider making your impact now, by donating online or calling 877-867-2448

You Can Make and Impact, You can be a Part of Somthing BIG!

BE A PART OF SOMETHING BIG!

Amigos De Colombia put faith into action In June of 2010 a Gift Agreement between Opportunity International and the Amigos De Colombia was officially signed by Governors Kevin and Kimberly Asman. This agreement specified that this passionate group of volunteers was devoted to raising $150,000 in funds for a Village of Opportunity in Colombia over the next 3 years. This goal was met and surpassed in less than the anticipated timeframe, and the money was raised in 18 months. The birth of the Amigos De Colombia came about because six women from Calgary (including Kimberly Asman) participated in an insight trip to Colombia organized by Governor Rosemary Flaaten. These women returned to Canada with a burden and a passion to do something, and the group was born. Shortly thereafter others joined the Amigos group to be a part of this incredible journey. The Amigos attribute the success of their fundraising to the burden and motivation God planted within their hearts. Amigos De Colombia, Calgary, AB - a family affair

DUCA Credit Union: Growing forward by Giving Back In May, DUCA Financial Services Credit Union Ltd, of Toronto, celebrated the completion – and surpassing – of their goal to raise $150,000 for Opportunity’s work in Colombia. DUCA began 55 years ago to reach the ‘unbankable’ new to Canada. Their vision was to be inclusive and to provide “Financial Security to All!” Through this corporate partnership, they are extending that vision to the previously ‘unbankable’ in Colombia – and welcoming them into financial security. A special thank you to Jack Vanderkooy, an Opportunity Governor, who embraced this vision, and congratulations on his retirement in June, after 35 years with DUCA!

Pictured left to right: Jack Vanderkooy, President & CEO DUCA; Jannalee Anderson, VP Operations, OIC; Bob Lawless CEO & Chair, OIC; and Henry Brzuchalski, Sr. VP DUCA

recognized, her solo excursions empower her and make her feel valued.

Using an Opportunity loan, Faith and Frank have also diversified their dairy business by adding the sale of meats. Some of their savings have been used to purchase refrigerators and they plan to buy more land for their growing herd of cattle and goats. The enterprising couple also plans to double the size of their tailor shop and to purchase a block of 12 merchant stalls for rental revenues.

Frank is visibly energized when talking about the future. “Now I am a planner,” he says with pride. Faith, too, is enjoying a whole new feeling of optimism. “When the tailor shop first opened, I struggled to address customers,” she says. “Now I have the confidence to talk to them and make the necessary business transactions.”

Her husband is happy to encourage her. “I’m very proud of her role in the business,” Frank says.

Faith Kaligirwa with her youngest daughter

Meet our millionth savings client (continued from cover)

Lydia Njoroge CEO, Opportunity Kenya

Lydia Njoroge has been named CEO of Opportunity Kenya, replacing the retired John Giles.

“Through my work at Opportunity, I have a deeper relationship with my God,” says Lydia, who has served as chief relationship officer for the past two years, “and a deeper passion in serving our clients and giving them hope—something that transcends offices held, financial rewards accorded and personal accomplishments.”

Lydia has also served as regional manager for the central region and before that, operations manager for Sunlink, which was acquired by Opportunity in 2008. Lydia holds a bachelor’s degree in education from Kenyatta University and an MBA in strategic management from University of Nairobi. Lydia and her husband, Ephraim, live in Nairobi and have two sons, Oscar Njaga, seven, and Cedric Ndungu, three.

“To build the business, we must first build up our staff and clients. I am committed to doing all that is within my ability to help others succeed,” Lydia said. “I pray and seek God’s will so that I may spread Opportunity Kenya’s outreach and transformational impact beyond current frontiers.”

Having served Opportunity since 2009 and the needs of people living in East Africa for 12 years prior to that, John and his wife, Margaret, will be returning to their home in New Jersey, where they hope to remain active in the Opportunity family.

HIGHLIGHTING GLOBAL STAFF

IT IS A STORY THAT GRIPS CANADA’S IMAGINATION. You are invited to hear the riveting story of Nazanin and her decision to speak up for a stranger denied her own voice. And hear how Opportunity International is working to change the lives of women imprisoned in the cycle of poverty around the world. If not now, when?...If not you, then who?

October 16th Women’s Luncheon in Toronto and Dinner in Cambridge

For more information go to opportunityinternational.ca/passion or call Keri toll-free 1-877-867-2448.

Ross Clemenger, a Canadian and one of the original brains behind the genius of microfinance and what would become Opportunity International worldwide, died unexpectedly in his sleep on the morning of Sunday July 8th. He was 88.

Families, colleagues and friends mourn a great husband, father, grandfather and companion, but the world mourns a visionary.

A visionary is one who, because of their original ideas, leaves people in different walks of life better than when they found them. Ross Clemenger was a such a man.

In 1971, Ross Clemenger had already been living in Colombia for 25 years. He had felt the tug of the heart of God for the poor many years before and was serving as a missionary with the Evangelical Union of South America.

That year, he was contacted by an American businessmen who, as Ross explained in an interview in 2001, “had a big idea.”

“He wanted me to come on board. I saw what his idea was. Loans to the poor. I had actually given some small loans out of my own pocket.”

Six months later, Clemenger found himself formally part of a bold experiment extending loans to the poor to start businesses. The even bolder hope was that with access to this kind of credit, the poor would be able to increase their income, and by extension, improve their family living conditions, education and slowly but surely, edge their way out of poverty.

Thanks to his experience (and his Spanish), it was agreed Ross would take care of business on the ground, keeping tabs on their first “clients.”

Later that year, Ross gave a small loan to Carlos Moreno, a tea and spice merchant.

“He paid it back in record time,” said Ross, “just 2 ½ years. But do you know, within four years, he had 11 people working for him! He ended up starting a (second) factory up in Bogata.”

They wrote the book of successful microfinance as they went. “We actually had no idea. We were going by feel those first few years because we really had no idea how to get (all the clients) to repay the money.”

He was the first executive director, but in effect, says Jim Frantz, chief transformation officer for Opportunity Colombia, “he was the model of the first Loan Officer”.

If others pioneered the way of getting funds for loans in the United States through donors, Ross Clemenger was the one who pioneered how you make sure those funds were paid back.

Herein lies perhaps the greatest impact of Ross Clemenger to not only the Opportunity International family, but to millions of working poor the world over: intrinsic within his personality was willingness to walk

beside people of all circumstances in easy comraderie. He spent time building relationships of trust with clients. He spent time teaching them how to fill out an income balance sheet. He believed then, as he did to his dying day, that God has a holy bias for the poor. And he mirrored it.

He would teach every staff person who eventually joined him on the ground to do the same.

The unexpected side benefit of the heart of a missionary working in tandem with the head of businessman was that in return, clients repaid loans.

Ross’s highly personal way of walking with the poor has steered the operating policies of Opportunity International ever since. Opportunity’s focus on the spiritual transformation of clients and staff has become one of three bottom-line indicators Opportunity measures for success.

And it all began with Ross Clemenger and the relationship he built with that very first client. However, it grew into something that was beyond even Clemenger’s wildest imagination.

Little did he know that within 40 years, his confidence in one poor man, and his generosity of spirit with countless others like him, would help give birth to an institution that has now served over 14 million impoverished men and women with access to credit – and hope – in some 28 countries all around the world.

A few years ago, Clemenger was speaking to a group of Opportunity International Latin American board members. He was asked if Opportunity International had grown into anything resembling what he hoped.

“When I started working with Opportunity,” he said, “I felt I was cutting a path through a field with a machete. As I cut away, I was afraid it would be too narrow and not able to help enough people or that it would become to broad and lose its transformational impact.”

“Instead,” he continued, “what I see emerging is a broad highway with a bright line painted down the middle. It is able to serve many, but always has that white line in the middle defining the vision of reflecting God´s love and seeking His impact in the lives (of our clients).”

It is our hope and our privelege to be continuing the mission of this large-sighted man.

Jim Frantz speaks for every Opportunity International staff person when he says “The biggest way we can bring tribute to Ross Clemenger is to maintain that highway in good condition, always adding lanes, but ensuring that the bright light always shines right down the middle.”

The Clemenger family has established “The Ross Clemenger Legacy Fund” to honor Ross’s lifelong passion and to ensure the good work continues. You can make a donation online or call 1-877-867-2448.

ROSS CLEMENGER Opportunity International Pioneer, Visionary, Leader

From left to right: Ross Clemenger in the early days, Ross & Ruth Clemenger celebrating with AGAPE staff on a recent trip, Ross Clemenger & Mitzi Machado, Executive Director AGAPE, Vancouver Island, “Partners in Hope Trust Group” Insight Trip - visiting AGAPE head office.

HOPE RISING FOR AFRICAIn Africa there are millions of people living in poverty, fighting for a basic existence.

This is the common story we hear. We are told of starving children, families living on less than a dollar a day, and the daily struggle of every person in Africa. This may be part of the story, but it is not the whole or even the only story.

Here’s a different one...

A woman in Ghana is faced with living in poverty or finding a ways to support her family after the death of her husband. Despite her dire situation, she hopes and envisions a a better future. She needs enough income to provide the basics like food, clothing and shelter, and school fees for her children.

Setting her goals high, she uses her sewing skills and eye for fashion to make wedding dresses. She quickly realizes she

needs funds to buy materials and equipment if her business is to succeed. With a small loan of only $60 from Opportunity International and support from her Trust Group, her business thrives. Her children are fed, clothed and attend school. She hires staff and her village prospers. Poverty becomes a thing of the past.

All of this from one simple thought: hope. Throughout Africa, hope is rising and you can be a part of making those hopes a reality. Join us on September 19 and experience hope rising for Africa in Calgary.

Listen to Immaculée Ilibagiza, world-renowned author of Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust, as she shares her story of survival and hope. Hear from Bob Lawless, President & CEO of Opportunity International Canada as he discusses the impact microfinance is having on the lives of individuals and poverty in Africa. Learn what you can do to make poverty a thing of the past.

Visit OPPORTUNITYGALA.CA for more information.

Impact is published by Opportunity International Canada 10 Four Seasons Place, Suite 610, Toronto, ON M9B 6H7

For more information, call (877) 867-2448or visit opportunityinternational.ca

©2012 Opportunity International

OPPORTUNITY INTERNATIONAL’S VISIONOur vision is a world in which all people have the opportunity to provide for their families and build a fulfilling life.

Our belief is that small-scale entrepreneurs can be big change agents in overcoming global poverty.

Our mission is to empower people to work their way out of chronic poverty, transforming their lives, their children’s

futures and their communities.

Our method is to provide microfinance services, including lending, savings, insurance, and transformational training, to people in need. To do this, we build and work through sustainable, local microfinance institutions.

Our motivation is to respond to Jesus Jesus’s call to love and serve the poor.

OICAN RIDE & FESTIVAL Our donors are well rounded individuals and also often have found ways to keep balanced in all areas of life. A Trust Group in Victoria decided to raise funds through riding the 17 mile 5,200-foot climb to the top of hurricane ridge. Eleven Riders, 5 of whom were kids, raised $4,000 for that ride. We have decided to expand and increase the awareness and ridership of that ride and also have an event in the Fraser valley. These will be ongoing annual events that will become a key part of our yearly awareness and fundraising campaign.

Engage: Create awareness on Twitter (#rideforopportunity). RIDE, fundraise at LANGLEY or HURRICANE RIDGE, VOLUNTEER, or START A RIDE IN YOUR AREA.

TORONTO’S OPPORTUNITY INTERNATIONALOPEN

ALL PROCEEDS RAISED WILL SUPPORT OPPORTUNITY INTERNATIONAL CANADA

Hosted by YAO Toronto, this gold tournament and promises to be and above par event! For more information you can go to opportunityinternational.ca/torontogolf or contact Andrew MacDonald at 647-883-2271 or amacdonald@opportunityinternational.ca

Sunday, Sept 23, 2012 Lionhead Golf and Country Club

Snuggled in a cosy blanket in the early dawn, my three flickering candles caught my imagination.

Unbidden memories flickered in my mind in response to the candles, memories of the good times and bad, the victories won...and then lost. And the utter faithfulness of God through it all. One thing we need to do at those moments is ask questions: Lord, what do you want me to learn through this? Or sometimes, more importantly, Lord, what are you trying to teach me that I don’t want to learn?

One of my answers to the last question has confronted me with the luxury and grace I experience as a Westerner to walk out my challenges, mistakes and pain. And what a different picture it is for so many in the developing world. There are no counsellors, make-work projects, social security nets. No rights, no opportunities, no jobs, no education. And for many, not even a first chance at a real future, never mind second or third chances. But they just keep going, keep hoping.

Delia Rodriguez is a Colombian client that epitomizes for me the resiliency that can ignite a nation to transformation: no retreat, no surrender! She began with next to nothing, trying to sell just six t-shirts a day, but she grew that business into a successful partnership with the Department of Tourism. Then she lost it all (including education for her children) during the country’s dark years of violence. Although she had no capital to re-start her business, as a single mother with five children, quitting wasn’t an option.

LIFE HAPPENS by Kaaren Robinson Governors Council, Newfoundland

Through OILA, Delia eventually joined a 14 member trust grop to rebuild her business. She can now produce 50 dozen t-shirts a day! She currently employes two full time staff, several people during peak tourist season, and her family “so that they, too, can have a chance.” Delia

used her savings to send one daughter to nursing school; her current savings will send her son into the army to finish his studies. “Opportunity International has given me the opportunity and dignity to raise my children on my own.”

But Delia is the first to say that God has been her foundation in every loss and every gain. This reminds me of the words to Matt Redmond’s song, You Never Let Go. “I will fear no evil, for my God is with me. And if my God is with me, whom then shall I fear? Through the calm and through the storm...in every high and every low...Oh No, You never let go, You never let go of me.”

Delia’s gratitude never diminishes for the changes in the lives of herself and her family . Tears continue to spring unbidden at each telling of her story. “I feel so glad because my quality of life is improving day by day. I hope the Lord gives to Opportunity the wisdom to go all over the world to others like me who can benefit. Opportunity gives poor people like me a chance to live with dignity.”

10 Four Seasons Place, Suite 610, Toronto, ON M9B 6H7

Opportunity International is a Canadian Registered Charity and serves all people regardless of race, religion, ethnicity or gender.