Raker Tours Two New CUs In Rural Cambodia

CAMBODIA - Bill Raker, president and CEO of US Federal Credit Union in Minnesota, has returned from Cambodia where he was assessing prospective credit unions as part of the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU)-Credit Union Foundation of Australia (CUFA) collaborative effort to foster credit union growth in the country.

According to WOCCU, one-third of Cambodia's 14-million people live below the country's poverty level of $0.50 per day. Raker visited credit unions in two villages in the rural rice farming area 100 kilometers from the capital city of Phnom Penh, and found most were living in very primitive conditions.

WOCCU said Raker was one of the first foreigners to visit the remote village of Krang Ampil Village Bank credit union. First organized in 2001, the credit union has 47 members from a village of about 125 families. Members pool their savings to provide loans for fellow members to buy chickens for raising and selling, fertilizer and rice for planting, and goods for selling in the market.

Founded just last year, Takeo Farmers Credit Union has 1,402 members from 26 village associations. Village members elect volunteer "directors," who oversee the CU by receiving and accounting for the deposits and administering loans. Takeo Farmers' loans are primarily for agriculture and retail commerce

The WOCCU-CUFA development program will support credit unions with solid growth potential so they can construct buildings and generate confidence in their communities to attract new members.