YAK GBKP and RDIS jointly discussed community empowerment programs through organizing community initiatives with Credit Union entrances ( CU) especially in rural areas. The CU strategy is dedicated to the five Dioceses of the Anglican Church in Rwanda, namely: BUTARE, CYANGUGU, KIGEME, NYARUGURU and SHYOGWE. The overall goal of this collaboration is to empower the community in the context of services in Rwanda and in Indonesia so that the community is self-sufficient and able to improve their Spiritual, Social, Economic and Environmental well-being in a sustainable manner.
GBKP’s experience through services carried out by Pelpem, Deparpem, Bureau of Parpem, and finally with the name Ate Keleng Foundation of GBKP has started its service activities since 1971-1972 and was then accepted as a service unit at GBKP in 1974-1975. The form of service provided at that time was a service with a participatory approach in agriculture and infrastructure development through a labor-intensive program. The initiator, thinker and implementer of this community empowerment service is Rev. Selamat Barus in the field of agriculture and community organizing, Rev. Borong Tarigan as the executor of infrastructure development in rural areas with work-related strategies such as the development of Drinking Water Facilities (SAM) and Micro Hydro Power Plants (PLTMH) and microfinance. Rev. Borong Tarigan and Rev. Selamat Barus thought of a strategy for the continuation of development works on community participation in improving the quality of life, so the idea of community organizing was born with the entrance to CU. The purpose of CU is as an entry point for implementing community empowerment programs. Previously, the desire of these two figures was to establish a bank owned by the people, such as the Bank for the Poor, style Muhamad Yunus, in Bangladesh. However, due to the difficulty in setting up a bank due to government regulations, a CU was finally established as a prospective BPR. The dream of establishing a bank finally came true when the Ate Keleng Foundation of GBKP was registered as a prospective owner in 1988. BPR Pijer Podi Kekelengen (BPR PPK) was officially established in 1993 with an initial capital of tens of millions. Praise God, currently CU and BPR PPK are growing, developing and being able to change the living conditions of the beneficiary communities together.
That experience is the best learning process shared at this meeting. It was a difficult process, but because of the persistence and consistency of the initiators, the dream finally came true. In fact what happened more than dreamed. Making CU as an entry point for community empowerment is very interesting because most people in Indonesia and also in Rwanda understand CU as an activity that only collects money like a bank or cooperative. Even though the Bank was established with full authority by the government and the cooperative was established on the authorization of the institution where its members work. But CU stands on the authorization of all its members. CU is about people claiming to trust each other, not just about money. YAK GBKP said that the true meaning of CU comes from its 2 words, namely “credo” which means I believe and “union” which means union/alliance. Credit Union means association/union of people who claim to trust each other. This fellowship is about cooperation, kinship, strong fellowship, and solidarity based on the beliefs of each member. It’s about the common good. The aim is to reduce poverty and close inequality in a region which is currently the 10th SDG goal. Savings and loan activities in CU are only a small part. There are so many other activities within CU, namely agriculture in harmony with nature, animal husbandry, fisheries, making Village Regulation for environmental protection, Village Regulation for protecting marginal groups, permaculture (building 5 zones as permanent living spaces), marketing organic products, cultivating organic coffee, building community criticality for conducting social analysis and using the village budget, assisting PLWHA peer groups, women’s political groups, assisting disaster victims and victims of the land mafia, as well as many other activities within CU. So CU is an “entry point” to facilitate the people so that their awareness and knowledge increase. Various reinforcements through education and training are carried out so that they are able to respond to important issues in the context of their lives. With empowered citizens, it is hoped that they will be able to fight for their civil, social, social, social and environmental rights so that an independent society that is sovereign, just and peaceful is created.
In several important meetings: Board of Director RDIS Meeting as well as Retreat for Bishops, Rt. Rev. Dr. KALIMBA, Jered who is the Bishop of Shyogwe Diocese and at the same time also conveyed to the representatives of RDIS and the Chairperson of the RDIS Board (Executive), he invited participants to actively pay attention and never stop or be silent. On the contrary, he said “give thoughts, and look for certain ways so that the “RDIS” organization as an institution can still be maintained and for that all requires the involvement of the entire extended family of RDIS. Bishop Jered in his sermon underlined the importance of unity which is illuminated by the Word of God which was appointed as the basis of the sermon namely Genesis 11: 1-9 “The Tower of Babel”. Now the whole earth has one language and the same words. He invited the participants at the two meetings to remain faithful, walk and work with God’s guidance so that the RDIS organization could move forward. He said “celebration of what we have accomplished should not make us complacent, instead we need to move forward and make even greater achievements. Our goal is not to become famous, but to ensure that what we have accomplished is solely due to God’s grace. Bishop thanks God for bringing back what was lost all along. In Acts 2:4, they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages when the Spirit enabled them. On the day of Pentecost, people who could not understand one another re-experienced what was lost at the Tower of Babel “both Jews and Gentiles; the Cretans and Arabs, they say “We heard them declaring the wonders of God in our own language!” Amazed and confused, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” Acts 2:11. The Bishop gave thanks and thanked God for the Unity in the Five Diocese which stood up to represent the members of their respective Dioceses to support the ministry of RDIS and asked each participant to strive for common prosperity.
YAK GBKP and RDIS entered into a cooperation agreement starting in 2019. The Directors of the Two Institutions met during the International Master of Art Diakonia Management (IMADM) Program initiated by the United Evangelical Mission (UEM). The partnership was later expanded into the collaboration of the two churches namely: the Rwandan Anglican Church-SHYOGWE Diocese with the BATAK KARO PROTESTANT CHURCH (GBKP) from Indonesia-North Sumatra which jointly signed an MoU at the 2022 UEM General Assembly moment in Germany which was facilitated by UEM. This partnership between the two Churches and institutions aims to: share the best learning processes and learn from each other. Supporting each other in protecting institutions and the Church, working together by imitating the best practices from each institution, then contextualizing each institution and institution to respond to the needs of the context in which the institution and institution are located.
The situation of the congregation in the ministry of the Rwandan Anglican Church, especially that faced by RDIS, focuses on rural communities where most of the people’s work is farmers with difficult economic conditions. The Gini ratio (level of inequality) in Rwanda is around 43.7 (official national data 2016). This indicates that the distance between the rich and the poor is very far. As a comparison, Indonesia is currently at point 38. The community is experiencing difficulties because the price of agricultural products is very cheap (due to market monopoly), even though natural and human resources are very rich and large. It is very necessary to create an alternative economic movement that can maintain the price of these agricultural products. On the other hand, many people at the grassroots level do not receive adequate education, so they do not have the creativity to manage existing resources. Awareness to respond to climate change is also low and people still depend on the use of firewood to carry out their daily activities. This is very threatening forest sustainability and landslides due to uncontrolled cutting of trees, because most of the land in Rwanda is hilly. Rwanda is known as the thousand hills country. Communities at grassroots are also sometimes forced to give up their children to work in mineral mines because they have no education. Even though labor wages here are very cheap and the risk of working in a mine is very high. According to the statement of the executive director of RDIS, many young people who work in the mines become victims in mining activities (die). This could threaten a generation in Rwanda. This condition is what the RDIS service and the community organizing strategy (CU) want to answer, based on the concept and principle it feels appropriate as the entry point.
For this purpose, Rev. Yusuf Tarigan (Executive Director of YAYASAN ATE KELENG GBKP) together with Leader Tarigan (staff from the Environment Division as well as YAK GBKP infrastructure consultant) visited RDIS with the aim of sharing experiences regarding community empowerment programs, especially the ups and downs of establishing a CU in the context of the ATE KELENG FOUNDATION, GBKP, North Sumatra. Strategically, this was done to increase the awareness of decision makers in RDIS through:
- Meeting with the RDIS Project Coordinator, November 28, 2022
- RDIS Board of Director (Management) Meeting, November 30, 2022
- Meeting with Anglican Church Bishops from Butare, Cyangugu, Kigeme, Nyaruguru and Shyogwe Diocese, together with the Executive Director of RDIS, December 1, 2022
Furthermore, the two Executive Directors (Rev. Yusuf Tarigan and Pastor NTARINDWA Viateur) – who are members of the International Community of Diaconic Management (ICDM) – shared experiences in terms of Leadership and Management in respective institutions to learn more from each other and improve several things that need to be optimized.
The experience shared by Rev. Yusuf Tarigan to the decision-making body of the RDIS is as follows:
- Introduction to oneself, family, formal education and information about service experiences on the importance of social analysis.
- The initial explanation about the importance of the community-based economic movement, the call to diakonia is based on deep reflection on the texts of Luke 4:18-19 and Matthew 25:40 and Psalm 112:5.
- History of Credit Unions (CU): The Credit Union Movement, Early Credit Union ideas and principles and values.
- CU as an Alternative Economic Movement, reasons for choosing CU; benefits for the urban and rural poor as well as the five pillars of CU.
- Steps to establish and start the CU movement: organization, administration, bookkeeping and technology development that helps credit unions grow innovatively
- CU movement and the continuation of YAK GBKP: a brief description of the progress made by CU, its financial contribution that supports YAK GBKP services.
- Obstacles and Solutions in the CU Movement.
The CU movement has the potential to break the chain of dependency on donors such as the YAK GBKP. For that we need a system or a new concept as a standard such as NIFEA (new international on financial and economic architecture). This activity is also the RTL of the GEMS School 2022 in Berlin which was attended by the Director of YAK GBKP. One day, it is hoped that YAK GBKP will become a donor to support community empowerment programs in various countries
Highlights and Discussion:
Rev. Yusuf Tarigan highlighted specific reasons for establishing CU because it has proven successful in bringing about change in society, including:
- Free from being fooled and impoverished for many reasons.
- Overcoming economic difficulties in poor rural communities and urban poor
- Free themselves from the capitalist system (Banks) which are only interested in maximizing profits
- Improving the socio-economic welfare of member households
- Capital is formed jointly and loaned in rotation so as to form a strong and sustainable financial system
- Become owners of financial institutions themselves.
Pillars of Credit Union
Credit Union starts from Education, grows with Education, develops with Education, and depends on Education (formal and informal). Education is the breath of CU. Independence: CU originates from members, is managed by members and for members. Solidarity: All CU members must prioritize shared values with MOTTO: You need my help; I need you help. Innovation: Innovation is needed as a path to sustainable progress to better meet the demands of the times. Fellowship:is a joint network of CU groups, so that there is a greater shared strength, mutualism and productivity.
Reactions and feedback
From the first meeting with the RDIS Project Coordinators; then a meeting with the Management of RDIS; as well as the Retreat of the Bishops of the Rwandan Anglican Church which included the Dioceses of Butare, Cyangugu, Kigeme, Nyaruguru and Shyogwe as founders and members of the RDIS organization together with the Executive Director of RDIS which were held successively in Kivumu Village, Gitarama, Nyamabuye Sector in Muhanga District and at the RDIS office, confirmed as follows:
- We are ready to start and run CU with and for group members in our five Dioceses.
- We are committed to continuing the process, drafting the necessary leadership and management; mobilization tools and other needs; study tour to successful SACCOS and nearby financial institutions, and we will start in early 2023.
- We are committed to seek approval from the National Bank of Rwanda or the Rwandan Cooperative Board to step up to build the commitment of members and the seriousness of building a legal financial institution as part of the activity CU.
- We acknowledge, value and commit to continuing the inherent partnership with YAK GBKP to be better prepared to start SACCOS in the context of Rwanda (similar to CU in Context of YAK GBKP, Indonesia) or financial institutions. Further study to find out what group members can implement, realize and reach in Five Dioceses: BUTARE, CYAGUGU, KIGEME, NYARUGURU and SHYOGWE and RDIS in the Rwandan Context.
This commitment will be carried out starting January 2023.
God bless this commitment, bless both institutions and both churches.
SOLI DEO GLORIA
Rev. Yusuf Tarigan, Pastor Viateur Ntarindwa dan Hendrik Zeimann.
