Opportunity International - Plans for 2011

Because of Merlinda.......

Click here to watch the video of Merlinda's story.

Merlinda is not a woman who always lived in poverty. As a young married couple, she and her husband farmed land in the Philippines where they had an abundance – until the day everything changed. “I can still remember the night I was shot at,” she says, crying, describing the conflict over land with neighbours that forced them to flee their home. “Everything we’d worked for and sacrificed for was gone.” Overnight, Merlinda and her family had entered into a life of poverty.

A loan of 5,000 pesos (A$125) from one of Opportunity International Australia’s microfinance partners helped Merlinda open a fruit stall and small restaurant. The income she earned allowed her to slowly build a new home and buy a school uniform for her daughter Jeannie. She is also hoping to save the money she needs to pay for her daughter-in-law Sheila to give birth to her first born in a proper hospital… and not alone.

Merlinda is the reason we do what we do. As we head into 2011 with a strong vision for growth, here’s what I mean…

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