Sunday, November 18, 2012

Making a World of Difference



Did you know that in 2011-12, CCA worked in 22 countries with 32 partner organizations to reduce poverty and create prosperity? Not many people do. That's one of the reasons for our educational study mission to Uganda - to raise public awareness and appreciation for the ways in which CCA is working side by side with co-operative and credit union leaders around the world to make a world of difference for their members, their families and their communities.

With this in mind, I offer you this brief background on CCA's initiatives in Africa to  bring democracy, and a life with dignity, to people in need.

CCA’s development mission is to establish and grow co-operatives, credit unions and community-based organizations to reduce poverty, build sustainable livelihoods and improve civil society in less developed countries.

The organization has a long history of  helping people in need around the world, dating back to the the late 1940s when CCA, as the Canadian arm of the CARE program, provided relief to Europe.

At a time when many African countries were gaining their independence, CCA was there supporting their efforts to become self-sufficient by helping them to start-up and expand their co-operatives and credit unions. The results of their development efforts are paying off.

Studies show that in Africa, co-operatives have re-emerged successfully from the pre-liberalization period, and are today contributing to the continent’s poverty reduction, employment creation and social integration. This renewal is no doubt largely due to the ongoing work of Africa’s co-operative organizations and their international partners like the Canadian Co-operative Association (CCA).


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