I made my way to Mzuzu today, in the north. Three years ago the Malawi team dreamt about bringing our operation up here. They put a plan together. We shared that plan with some special friends of Opportunity who backed it with their generous support. The Mzuzu hub opened in March 2008.
It was wonderful to see it in action. Our target was to be serving 20,000 clients by the end of 2010 and that was reached two months ago. 9 months early.
From that hub the team has pushed out satellite operations to Livingstonia, Nkhata Bay and Karonga. The pioneering bank-on-wheels has been a triumph too. It’s helped us to reach even more remote areas and decide which communities can justify a kiosk of their own. The overall impact in the region is hard to describe. The numbers are impressive but, as they say, not everything that counts can be counted. The attitude and passion of our team is hard to describe. They are so committed to the poor clients they serve and they do that by building caring and respectful relationships.
It’s impossible to measure dignity too but it’s evident that poor people’s dignity and self esteem has been boosted by the “Hand Up” that Opportunity has given them.
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