Compassion International will invest $5 million over the next five years in Opportunity International to fund its microfinance operations to expand its project in three African countries with the aim of reversing the cycle of poverty.
The fund invested by the child development and sponsorship ministry would enable Opportunity to expand its operations in Ghana, Kenya and Rwanda so they could offer micro-loans, savings accounts, insurance and business training to the families of Compassion-sponsored children and other community members.
By working together, both Christian ministries would benefit, said Dr. Wess Stafford, President of Compassion International since they could pool their resources and ideas together. Underpinning this relationship is the desire of both ministries to reverse the cycle of poverty in the lives of the poor.
"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. Stafford.
"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."
The proposition of benefits flowing out from this partnership has also been supported by Christopher A. Crane, president and CEO of Opportunity International, who said greater strength could be derived from combining the strength of the two organisations rather than them operating in a stand-alone approach.
"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 Mr. Crane.
In October 2006, Compassion International awarded $180,000 to Opportunity International to open new microfinance operations in three rural areas in Uganda where Compassion-supported families are concentrated.