LOCATED in West Africa and with a population of over two million people, there are over 70,000 credit union members in The Gambia.
Poverty rates are very high with over 60 per cent of the population living on less than €3 a day.
For over 20 years the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) Foundation has been providing financial and technical support to the National Association of Cooperatives and Credit Unions (NACCUG), the representative body for all the credit unions in The Gambia.
The work of the ILCU Foundation in The Gambia to ensure strong, secure and sustainable credit unions throughout the country would not be possible without the support of credit unions across the world, including that of the local Newington Credit Union.
Newington Credit Union Manager Rosaleen Bradley has just returned home after travelling to the African country to help credit unions in the spirit of ‘cooperation among cooperatives’.
Now in her second year of volunteering, Rosaleen participated in the ILCU Foundation Volunteer Coaching Programme, to help with the development of credit unions in The Gambia.
Rosaleen undertook a two-week volunteering programme to share her expertise, knowledge and skills with her credit union colleagues in The Gambia.
She was accompanied by three other Irish credit union personnel – Alan Duff, Health Services Staff Credit Union; Pauline Tourish, B&S Credit Union; and Michael Byrne, Core Credit Union.
During her time in The Gambia, Rosaleen and Michael worked together to visit a number of credit unions both in the capital Banjul and also in rural areas. They visited a mix of work-based credit unions and community credit unions to provide much-needed technical assistance, especially in rural districts of the Bwiam region.
The technical assistance provided by Rosaleen and the coaches included providing support to Gambian credit union staff on day-to-day operations, loan management and credit control.
Following each credit union visit Rosaleen and Michael had the opportunity to meet with their Boards and put forward recommendations on how to further develop their credit union (one such Board meeting took place under a tree in over 30-degree heat). Rosaleen and the coaches also organised for a meeting with local taxi drivers to discuss the potential of them setting up their own credit union. At the end of the visits the coaches hosted a two-day workshop for credit union personnel in Banjul. This allowed for the coaches to discuss credit union issues and share their knowledge with the participants. Rosaleen presented on the topic of governance to the participants. Throughout the two weeks Rosaleen and her fellow volunteers were able to share their skills and knowledge to build the capacity of the credit union personnel in The Gambia and empower them to further strengthen their movement.
Rosaleen also had the opportunity to meet credit union members and hear about how the credit union is making a real difference in their lives. The Irish credit union movement is highly regarded across the world and the visit by the Irish coaches was hugely appreciated by the credit union movement in The Gambia.
Speaking about her visit, Rosaleen said: “I would like to take the opportunity to thank the members of Newington Credit Union who have supported the ILCU Foundation for many years.
“To be able to visit one of the countries which benefit from our support and come back and share my experience enables me to highlight the needs of small rural communities who live in abject poverty.
“In facing such conditions the people remain cheerful and are always smiling – hence the name given to The Gambia: the Smiling Coast of Africa. The Gambian credit union volunteers and staff are so keen to enhance their knowledge and skills to develop their credit unions and I hope in the coming years they go from strength to strength.
“I would like to thank my fellow coaches, the ILCU Foundation and NACCUG who helped make the trip so successful. ”
Baboucarr Jeng, General Manager NACCUG, expressed his thanks to Rosaleen and the coaches for giving their time to help the credit unions in The Gambia and he emphasised the need for the participants “to use the education from the training to develop their skills and the credit unions they represent”.
Alan Moore, CEO ILCU Foundation, added: “It has been great to have Rosaleen on board for our coaching programme for the past two years, she has been a fantastic ambassador for the ILCU Foundation and indeed the wider Irish credit union movement.
“Throughout the course of her time in The Gambia, our partner credit unions have learnt a great deal from Rosaleen and her fellow coaches.
“We are very grateful to Rosaleen for giving up her time to volunteer to help our partners, who, like Rosaleen, know the value of having a credit union and what it means for the members.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Newington Credit Union who supported Rosaleen to participate in the Coaching Programme and for their continued support to the ILCU Foundation’s work.”
Newington Credit Union.
239-247 Duncairn Gardens,
Belfast,
BT15 2GF.
Tel: 028 9035 1040
