Youth from the Campbell River Christian School are presenting an Opportunity International Canada MarketDay today.
They are raising awareness and funds for microfinance programs in the developing world to help eradicate world poverty.
Microfinance is a concept developed to alleviate chronic world poverty through lending to the poor. In 2006, the Nobel Peace Prize was given to an organization in Bangladesh using the microfinance model. Opportunity International has been using this model successfully in almost 30 countries since 1971.
Participants in the Opportunity MarketDay will set up shops, like a city or country market, selling their creative products and services. The profit they make will be donated to Opportunity International Canada to create small loans for the entrepreneurial poor.
The youth learn the valuable lessons of the challenges of building a business with limited start-up funds – effectively demonstrating the almost hopeless challenge 600 million poor but creative entrepreneurs face every day.
The Campbell River Christian School Opportunity MarketDay will be held 10 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. in the school gym.
For more information about Opportunity International Canada, visit www.opportunityinternational.ca and to find out how to get involved with an Opportunity Market Day, e-mail Leona Marks at lmarks@opportunityinternational.ca.