The latest Credit Union Development Education (DE) Project undertaken by Brent Rempe, AVP of Credit Union Development at WEOKIE Federal Credit Union and DE Association Advisory Trustee for the Cornerstone Credit Union Foundation, crowdfunded over $10,000 USD to build a three classroom addition at Don Bosco Special School in Likuyani, Kenya. Don Bosco serves students with physical disabilities, children of small-scale farmers. Over twenty-five Credit Union Development Educators (CUDEs) from across the United States contributed financially to the project.
The project began in June 2017 when Rempe was one of sixteen U.S. CUDEs who were guests of the African Confederation of Co-operative Savings and Credit Associations (ACCOSCA, the continental credit union trade association in Africa) for the first International DE Workshop in Lake Naivasha, Kenya. After visiting Don Bosco Special School on this trip and seeing firsthand the need for additional resources and upgraded facilities, Rempe felt called to action and confident he could mobilize the DE Network to achieve the fundraising goal.
A significant partner in this DE project is Mount St. Mary (MSM) High School in Oklahoma City. In addition to managing donations, MSM started the Rehema Na Vitendo Project, Swahili for Mercy in Action, to establish a partnership with Don Bosco that extends beyond classroom walls. MSM intends to bring a small group of rising and graduating seniors to Don Bosco in 2019 to enhance the global citizenship and intercultural competence of its graduates. Groundwork for this will be laid when three MSM teachers serve as part of a team of six Oklahoma educators hosted by ACCOSCA to spend two weeks at Don Bosco this summer. The team will work with students on reading and mathematics, provide teachers professional development, and assist the school in setting strategic goals to fill identified gaps. Learn more about Rehema Na Vitendo here: https://www.mountstmary.org/pa
ACCOSCA held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Don Bosco classroom addition on May 1 and footings were poured on May 3. The building project will be completed in time for a ribbon cutting during the MSM teacher visit this summer.