Sri Lanka Credit Unions Begin Rebuilding Effort

Madison, WI—Just two months after Sri Lanka suffered a devastating tsunami, credit union reconstruction is already underway thanks to the generous support of credit unions around the world. To date nearly $600,000 has been raised through the efforts of the World Council of Credit Unions' Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions and the National Credit Union Foundation. Funds raised by these groups will be dispersed in accordance with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) recently signed by the Credit Cooperative Societies Sri Lanka (SANASA) and Worldwide Foundation.

Using a damage assessment form created by WOCCU, SANASA began to evaluate damage and prioritize reconstruction in January. Five of the 10 affected districts have been assessed and preliminary reports indicate that 154 societies were completely destroyed. An assessment of societies that were damaged but not completely destroyed is still underway.

To aid reconstruction efforts SANASA created an architectural plan—estimated at roughly $14,000—and determined the quantities and costs of basic items such as furniture, accounting books and office supplies needed to reopen the primary societies.

According to the current plan, societies will be rebuilt in groups of 10-20, and it will take two to three months to rebuild each group. WOCCU estimates that the entire rebuilding process will take roughly two years, though a shortage of building materials is likely to slow construction. Reconstruction started with the signing of the MOU, and first quarter efforts will help to determine the accuracy of estimated costs and timelines.

Brian Branch, WOCCU president and CEO (Interim) shared, "World Council is proud of the generous support credit unions around the world have supplied to a member movement in need. Because of this support the credit union system in Sri Lanka will be rebuilt and will play an crucial role in rebuilding the country's economy." The MOU calls for Worldwide Foundation to disperse funds quarterly to SANASA recommend societies for rebuilding. SANASA will make its recommendations at the beginning of each quarter and provide reports and before/after pictures at the end of each quarter. The World Council of Credit Unions will provide on-location monitoring twice a year and has already identified local resources for this role.

For more information on the Tsunami Disaster Relief efforts visit World Council's website at www.woccu.org.

El Consejo Mundial de Cooperativas de Ahorro y Crédito es la asociación gremial y agencia de desarrollo para el sistema internacional de cooperativas de ahorro y crédito. El Consejo Mundial promueve el crecimiento sustentable de las cooperativas de ahorro y crédito y otras cooperativas financieras en todo el mundo a fin de facultar a las personas para que mejoren su calidad de vida a través del acceso a servicios financieros asequibles y de alta calidad. El Consejo Mundial realiza esfuerzos de defensa activa en representación del sistema global de las cooperativas de ahorro y crédito ante organizaciones internacionales y trabaja con gobiernos nacionales para mejorar la legislación y la regulación. Sus programas de asistencia técnica introducen nuevas herramientas y tecnologías para fortalecer el desempeño financiero de las cooperativas de ahorro y crédito y profundizar su alcance comunitario.

El Consejo Mundial ha implementado 290 programas de asistencia técnica en 71 países. A nivel mundial, 51,000 cooperativas de ahorro y crédito en 100 países atienden a 196 millones de personas. Obtenga más información sobre el impacto global del Consejo Mundial en www.woccu.org.