My journey with Opportunity started in 2004. My husband Peter and I were invited to hear David Bussau, Opportunity's founder, speak at a function. We were very attracted to the business model Opportunity used, the way donations were recycled again and again. We loved the model and were enthusiastic to support Opportunity financially. But like most business people, we were cynical enough to keep an eye out for potential flaws. Four years on, after meeting many of Opportunity’s clients, partner organizations and Board members in countries such as Indonesia, the Philippines, and India, I still haven’t found them.

As part of the Elevation Tour arranged by Women’s Opportunity, I visited Delhi. There we went to a slum where about 6,000 people lived. Usually I find being with the entrepreneurial poor very uplifting and inspiring, but to be honest, this particular visit was just distressing. The people were overwhelmed with the brutality of their day-to-day existence. At the train station, an eight-year-old boy was begging with a baby on his hip. One of the women in our group felt a dog keep pushing at her leg, but when she looked down she realized that it was a handicapped child. I had a boy – the same age as my eldest son – stare desperately into my eyes, begging me for something, anything to eat. These experiences created a pain in my chest that I started to believe would never go away.

Three days later, we were at the International Women’s Day celebrations in Chennai. It was like stepping from darkness into sunlight. Close to 12,000 Opportunity International clients were championing each other for their roles as women – business women. They were confident, dressed in brilliant colours – laughing, chatting, and standing proud.

I had attended the same celebrations in 2007, where 6,000 clients attended. This year, in 2008, there were 12,000. It hit me that many of these clients were now using their businesses to reach out to others in need, passing on the opportunity they had been given to transform their lives.

It is experiences and outcomes like these that keep my engagement and passion for the work of Opportunity International constant and alive.