Victims of the earthquakes that have devastated Nepal in recentweeks are receiving help from the global credit union movementthanks to efforts by the World Council of Credit Unions and one of its memberorganizations.

World Council is working with the Nepal Federation of Savings& Cooperative Credit Unions (NEFSCUN), a member organization ofthe Association of Asian Confederation of Credit Unions (ACCU), toprovide relief to staff and members of Nepalese credit unions,known as savings and credit cooperative societies or SACCOs. TheMadison, Wis.-based international trade association will be joinedby the Irish League of Credit Unions Foundation (ILCUF) in its reliefefforts, according to Calyn Ostrowski, executive director of theWorldwide Foundation for Credit Unions, World Council's fundraisingarm.

“We will partner with ILCUF to combine resources, but are stillin the very early stages of planning,” Ostrowski said. “TheCanadian and Australian credit union systems have decided to pursuetheir own development efforts.”

After donating $15,000 from its own reserves, World Council onApril 28 issued a call for donations through the WorldwideFoundation. Funds will be used to help stabilize and strengthenNepal's SACCOs so that they, in turn, can step forward to helptheir members recover from the devastation. The call has attractedresponse and support from the global credit union movement,according to World Council President/CEO Brian Branch.

To date, the Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions hasraised $40,000 toward the effort in addition to World Council's$15,000.

“Credit unions from around the world have expressed the desireto help our Nepalese colleagues affected by the earthquake,” Branchsaid. “As we have seen so many times in the past, part of whatmakes us a global community is our commitment to help each other intimes of need.”

The current death toll from the April 25 7.8-magnitudeearthquake and the May 12 7.3-magnitude quake are estimated to haveclaimed 8,583 lives, making it the deadliest quake in Nepalhistory, according to various news reports. The previous deadliestearthquake in 1934 killed 8,519 Nepalese, and took thousands morelives in neighboring India.

World Council's plan is to rehabilitate destroyed SACCOinfrastructure, furniture and office equipment to get theinstitutions back up and running, Ostrowski said. World Councilwill provide guidance while ACCU facilitates thereconstruction.

The initiative is similar to efforts mounted to aid victims ofTyphoon Haiyan, which struck the Philippines in November 2013.For that disaster, World Council worked with ILCUF and the CreditUnion Foundation Australia, raising more than $260,000 to rebuildnine credit unions and two cooperatives affiliated with VisayasCooperative Development Centre.

The damaged financial cooperatives, located in the provinces ofLeyte and Tacloban City, used project funds to repair criticallydamaged building structures, equipment and furniture, andreestablish savings and credit functions for members, Ostrowskisaid.

Prior to the earthquakes, World Council was helping NEFCUN takeits first steps in developing its own payment network to providetransaction clearing and processing, card issuance, mobile bankingand other information exchange services, Ostrowski said. WorldCouncil also provided advocacy and regulatory consulting advice toNEFSCUN in preparation for discussions with lawmakers regarding aproposed Credit Union Act last year.

In addition, the Global Women's Leadership Network, part ofWorld Council, has established Nepal's first ”Sister Society,” orlocal chapter in Bhaktapur. It is the network's second chapter inAsia, following one developed in the Philippines.