Around 7,500 members of the Seychelles Credit Union (SCU) will be celebrating the International Credit Union Day, being marked Thursday.

This year's theme is "Building A Better Tomorrow," and together with over 112 million credit union members worldwide, the SCU members will reflect on ways to use their ownership capabilities to determine and better build the future of their communities.

The International Credit Union Day is celebrated every third Thursday of October and the theme is normally chosen by the World Credit Union Council.

Activities to mark this year's event kicked off Thursday afternoon with a church service at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. The main activity organised to celebrate today's event is the launching of the SCU's website, which can be accessed at www.creditunion.sc and the SCU's newsletter. Members of the public wishing to know more about the local credit union can pay a visit to SCU's office at the Cooperative House on Huteau Lane, where the organisation's staff will be distributing the newsletters, leaflets and stickers made specially for the occasion.

The activities will culminate with a one-day workshop focusing on "Strengthening Relationship" to take place at the Seychelles Institute of Management (SIM) on Saturday. All members, staff and SCU's partners are invited to participate in the workshop. The aim of the training session, according to Mrs Dora Ernesta, the chairperson of the Education and Promotion committee, is to evaluate work being done to further strengthen the existing relations with various partners, mainly the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) at national and regional levels and to find ways to improve on existing exchanges. The participants will also discuss a new strategy for the credit union to guide its work over the coming years.

SCU has been in operation for the past 32 years, and according to Mrs Ernesta there is a need for members to draft a new action plan in conformity with developments taking place in the 21st Century.  Participants at the workshop will also assess the work and progress made by the branch on Praslin, which is this year celebrating its 15th anniversary.

The SCU is the only savings and credit cooperative society in Seychelles and its main function is to provide financial assistance and help develop a saving culture amongst its members. Mrs Ernesta said one of the objectives of the credit union is to launch an educational and sensitisation campaign to attract more youths who have just entered the world of work but who are unable to open a bank account with the required R500. 

A youth can find his or her way into the credit society with a minimum R10, but less than that is also accepted.

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