Opportunity Honours Women

On March 8, 2020, we celebrate International Women’s Day! Every year we recognize our female clients and their important role within their local communities. Women account for 97% of our loan clients as entrepreneurs, small to medium business owners, members of financial literacy and skill training programs, and trained health leaders in their communities. As we recognize the women that we serve, we also wanted to take the time to recognize some special women that have influenced our lives. Some Opportunity Canada staff members took the time share a brief part of their experience and appreciation for a woman that had contributed to their life.

Dan Murray, CEO

When asked to reflect on women who have inspired me, I realized there are so many but I can only list a few. My wife Brenda, a fearless artist, entrepreneur and amazing mom has inspired and shaped me more than anyone. My two amazing adult daughters, Kaitlin and Danielle, and my wonderful daughter-in-law, Megan, all make me very proud – and they have also raised my awareness of the challenges still faced by female leaders. And, there was my mom, who graduated as a biochemist from Queen’s University in the 50s.  I remember spending Saturdays at the Immunology Lab in Downsview where she showed me the centrifuge to separate the blood samples. She also read all my high school essays and was up for any conversation regardless of the topic. 

When I started my career as a hearing aid engineer, Mary, the lead assembler, made me come to the production floor and assemble one of my new hearing aid designs at her station, using a soldering iron looking through a microscope. As a result, I made several changes and always consulted her from that point on. At the tech start-up I led, we were deeply impacted by Dianne, the VP R&D of our largest customer. She was a tough PhD in Audiology who made us a better company with her drive for excellence. Paula, the Weekend Service Pastor when I served as Executive Pastor at a church, was a great leader who made the whole team stronger.

Jenny, a graduate of an addiction program where I worked, became a staff member and is one of the strongest, most passionate leaders I have ever worked with. And here at Opportunity International Canada I am surrounded by talented, passionate, driven women leaders, both on staff and on the Board – they are the future of this amazing charity. And finally, there are the many women entrepreneurs – our clients – who I have had the privilege of meeting in Haiti, Honduras, Colombia, the DR, and India. They inspire me with their confidence, work ethic, commitment to family and community, and the smarts with which they leverage microfinance to grow their business in very tough environments. These women leaders and many others throughout my life have deeply shaped who I am today.

Jannalee Anderson, Vice President Business Development

For this International Women’s Day I would like to honour Maria Elena Alvarez — wife, mother, colleague, friend, and role model.  I had the privilege of meeting Maria Elena in 2007; she was instrumental in my journey to Opportunity International. She and her husband Arnoldo have an incredible ministry in rural Honduras and have delivered sustainable community development to thousands of villagers.  She has served on Opportunity International’s Global Network Board, Opportunity Canada’s Board, and continues to serve on IDH’s Board in Honduras.  She is a visionary, serves sacrificially and with integrity, and is intelligently innovative.  In every way, she is an asset to international development.  I’m proud to call her my friend. 

Caroline Munshaw, Director of Philanthropy, Ontario

This International Women’s Day, I honour my mom, Margaret Sandusky, who inspired me to work in microfinance. Her heart for helping women anywhere she found them was, and still is, an amazing example for me. Long before it was commonplace, in the 70’s, she organized sponsorship for a refugee family from Vietnam. She was deeply involved as a volunteer in a home for young moms in Toronto when I was a teenager, and in her second career, worked tirelessly at Yonge Street Mission providing innovative programming for new immigrant women – to name just a few initiatives!  When I was 18, it was her idea for our family to participate in medical mission trips to the Dominican Republic.  Her way of showing me how fortunate I am and then providing me with an opportunity to help make life a little bit better for others led me to my career today. I couldn’t be more proud of her and I couldn’t be more grateful for her legacy. I would be proud if my boys thought I was anything like her. March 8th is also her birthday – Happy Birthday Mom!

Kim Buller, Director of Philanthropy, Alberta

One woman who has made a firm impression on my life and who I would consider a mentor is the author Anne Lamott.  It’s been over 10 years since I began reading her work, and It’s weird to think that someone you have never met in person can literally speak in to your life.  Through her writings, I have indeed been challenged, inspired, encouraged and changed, and I am grateful for her vulnerable and raw writing ability. 

Kim Parker, Writer

The most inspiring, influential woman in my life is my Mum, Robyn Ware. She left school at 15, married at 20, had her first baby at 25, and after she had selflessly given herself to be a present, attentive and involved parent, took herself to university at the age of 60. Her motivation, she said at the time, was that by this point, the only person with less education than her was the cat. But this is not why she inspires me. She inspires me because she notices people. She is the only person I know who will see another woman trying on a dress in a shop and will go in and say “I was walking by and noticed you in that dress. You looked so lovely I had to come in and tell you.” Check-out ladies will hug her after the briefest of exchanges. She asks questions. She empathizes, and she always, always leaves people with the sense that she believes in them. Through a lifetime of giving herself, I think she has impacted more lives than any of us will be able to measure. I’m incredibly thankful for her and thankful she is speaking into the lives of my own daughters now also.

Martha Arias, Program Director, Latin America

The most inspiring women in my life is my mom.  She taught me the value of hard work, to think of the marginalized by giving them opportunities, and most importantly, unconditional love.  My mom will always go out of her way to support those without opportunities. My favourite story was when she taught an unemployed person how to paint. She allowed that person to paint the back of our house 3 times. She paid him and this allowed him to get enough practice to paint the front of our house 3 times. After over 6 times trying, he was able to do a good enough job as a painter to get jobs in the neighbourhood. I love how my mom saw the potential in a person who had not been given an opportunity.