MADISON, Wis.—The spread of Ebola in Liberia has the World Council of Credit Unions scaling back its model credit union building project.
WOCCU entered Liberia in 2013 to establish new credit union savings products, build credit union capacity and strengthen the Liberia Credit Union National Association’s (LCUNA) ability to establish and maintain a network of safe and sound credit unions in the country. WOCCU developed four regional model credit unions.
WOCCU is restricting project staff activities and movement within the West African country. Project activities have been postponed, including nationwide savings and member education campaigns, as well as credit union governance trainings.
With outside project oversight, World Council's deputy team leader has continued to administer daily operations.
World Council, in collaboration with the LCUNA, has sponsored Ebola prevention training for staff and credit union members. Members have continually received educational materials and information about the virus through dialogue, flyers, radio campaigns and community engagement activities. However, fear has caused many members to restrict their movements.
"World Council commits itself to long-term credit union development," said Brian Branch, World Council president and CEO. "This would not be possible without the efforts of our staff and credit union members, which is why we take measures necessary to protect their health."
World Council also recently made a contribution to UNICEF, which is on the ground in Liberia working to prevent the situation from worsening.
"Recent reports show a reduction in the number of people infected with Ebola," said Peter Graves, World Council SVP for technical services. "Our expectation is to ramp up the project as soon as we receive the go-ahead from health officials. Although project activities have been hampered, Liberian credit unions have remained open and World Council staff members continue to remain actively involved in helping credit union members."
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