Kenyan CU Leaders Visit Mass.

BROCKTON, Mass. -- A delegation of Kenyan credit union leaders found their U.S. visit uplifting on two fronts. First they got to see cooperative partnerships at work at the Multi-Cultural Banking Center of HarborOne CU, and they celebrated the achievement of a native son, President-elect Barack Obama.
"I'd say they were pretty excited about Obama's election," declared Dan Egan, president/CEO of the Massachusetts Credit Union League, whose Boston facilities were part of the U.S. tour.
During the cadre's weeklong stay, arranged by the World Council of Credit Unions and the Massachusetts league, the group of nine spent a day at the HarbrOne center, a year-old community facility aimed at helping low-income people.
At HarborOne, the Kenyans met with CU management and heard from representatives of two Boston nonprofits, Neighborhood Housing Services of the South Shore and South Shore Housing. regarding the free office space they were provided by the center to offer their services to local residents.
The Kenyan group, which represented the Kenya Union of Savings & Credit Cooperatives, was impressed by the collaboration between HarborOne and the local agencies and hoped to take back ideas to the African nation, according to league officials.
--jrubenstein@cutimes.com