On Thursday, April 26, WCCN hosted its Annual Meeting at the United Way Building in Madison where it welcomed three special guests from Nicaragua—Ruben Poveda, Manager of the April 20th Cooperative in Quilalí; Armando Ramirez, Manager of the San Antonio Cooperative in Nueva Guinea; and Imelda Peralta, Manager of the Hand to Hand Cooperative in Waslala. The meeting offered WCCN members the opportunity to hear firsthand accounts the successes, struggles and goals of the cooperatives.

In the last five years, WCCN has begun to place greater emphasis on lending to cooperatives. Through the NICA Fund, WCCN started lending to the April 20th Cooperative in 2002 and the San Antonio Cooperative in 2004. It was just this year that WCCN began supporting the Hand to Hand Cooperative in Waslala. The Hand to Hand Cooperative is a small, well-managed cooperative started and run by women, many of whom are family members of Contra War victims.

WCCN believes its relationship with cooperatives is important for several reasons. First, cooperatives provide savings services for their clients, which, for regulatory reasons, non-profit microfinance organizations are not allowed to do. Secondly, cooperatives offer a democratic structure in which the clients are also decision-makers. Finally, they generate employment at the local level, which is particularly helpful because the cooperatives WCCN lends to are located in underserved and remote areas of the country.

The visit to Madison also provided the managers the opportunity to exchange experiences and ideas with each other. The three had never met, as Quilalí, Nueva Guinea, and particularly Waslala are towns that are not easily accessible due to their remoteness and lack of transportation infrastructure. During their visit, the cooperative managers also had the opportunity to meet with the World Council on Credit Unions and take part in a panel at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where they were able to share their experiences and interact with the University community.

WCCN would like to thank those members that attended the annual meeting for their hospitality toward our visitors and for making the event a success. Additionally, we want to thank all our members for their on-going support, which has made our relationship with the cooperatives mentioned above possible.