Community

Bank Rakyat sponsors social welfare programmes and contributes financially to a variety of causes. The amount set aside for these activities increases every year.

Almost all programmes involve the participation of the local branch. A lot of thought goes into the planning to ensure that the activities and contributions benefit a cross-section of the population, with a focus on rural areas.

A core activity is the hosting of examination seminars for students sitting the UPSR, PMR and SPM, in collaboration with Berita Harian. This programme is in line with the Bank’s objective of enhancing the economic status of its members. Places are offered to children of the Bank’s members and those from the school co-operatives.
In 2005, a total of 30 seminars were held at 30 locations throughout the country. More than RM300,000.00 was spent on this programme in 2005.

Further assistance for educational advancement was given in the form of scholarships to children of members to pursue their studies up to diploma and first degree levels.

In addition, the Bank pays an annual business tithe. A sum of RM12.0 million was paid in all states in 2004. Students from several schools all over the country received support from this Islamic obligation.

The Bank also acts as a tithing agent which means that it plays a role in
encouraging the payment of tithes and thus, helping to increase the amount collected, while also spreading further the services it offers to the Islamic community at large.

As part of the ‘duit saku.com’ programme initiated by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), the Bank has so far adopted 184 schools in order to promote financial awareness and thrift. Activities held include organising relevant discussions and briefings at these schools, as well as participation in exhibitions organised by BNM to promote the programme.

In line with this effort, the Bank also plays an active role in the distribution of ‘Buku Wang Saku’ (BWS) to students. BWS, published by BNM, emphasises accounting and financial education for secondary students. To ensure that this programme succeeds, the Bank has allocated a substantial budget for 2006.

Bank staff take part in the Community Service Programme held at eight locations in the country. The activities carried out included the cleaning of cemeteries and repainting of orphanages and mosques.

Community

Gender awareness in Kuapa aims to enhance the active and effective participation of women in decision making throughout the organisation. Measures have been introduced to ensure that a minimum number of members of the various councils and committees are women. Further special seminars and workshops are organised for women on a wide range of issues, for example nutrition, child care, health and credit facilities.

Kuapa has also supported income generating activities to supplement their incomes and to make them less dependent on their men as well as provide money for the family during the off season whilst the cocoa is growing. For example they have set up a project making soap from the potash produced from burnt cocoa husks. This soap is then sold, generating additional income from the waste cocoa materials. They have also provided women with machines for cracking palm kernels for cooking oil, this is far faster than the traditional method of using stones to crack the kernels.

Kuapa supports other community projects through the Kuapa Kokoo Farmers’
Trust fund.

The Co-operative Group was one of the first major UK retailers to sell Fairtrade products and in 2002 converted all of its own brand chocolate to Fairtrade. All the cocoa was bought from Kuapa Kokoo in Ghana and processed through The Day Chocolate Company. This doubled the amount of Fairtrade chocolate in the UK overnight and demonstrated successful co-operation between the organisations.

Community

COOPEAGROPAL RL has helped to make drinking water, housing, health programs and fairs available for the community, including a clinic that offers medical services to its members. It has worked with the Ministry of Education and the national universities to improve the population’s level of education.

At the same time, with its own resources, the co-operative is in charge of the
maintenance of 300 km of roads, more than 250 canals and 65 concrete bridges.

The region of Coto Sur has experienced an improvement in employment, income, and the quality of life of the families in the community. Many of those who were simply workers in the banana plantations have become the owners of oil palm farms.

80% of Coto Sur’s employment is directly or indirectly generated by the co-operative.

COOPEAGROPAL also operates a store where members can source the products and services needed to develop the palm industry.

Members have access to financial assistance via the co-operative.

Community

Coop Adriatica collaborates with the Food Bank Foundation that
carries out, on the last Saturday of November, a collection of non perishable food products. These are donated by customers and given to organisations that assist needy persons locally. In 2005 the collection was carried out at 97 Coop Adriatica stores and produced a total of 195.918 kilograms of foods, with a value of approximately €657.000.

Coop Lombardy has developed with the Caritas Ambrosiana a service ‘due mani in più (two hands more)’ to deliver shopping and company to the homes of the elderly, invalids and handicapped people.

Coop Adriatica publishes an annual list of voluntary service associations and social co-operatives, the ‘C’Entro Anch’io’. The aim is to identify and to support projects in favour of infants and youth.

The project ‘Agua Para dois Irmãos’ assists in the construction of approximately 1.000 family cisterns for rainwater capture in the municipality of Dois Irmãos, Brazil. Financed by the ANCC/Coop Italy and undertaken by ONG Toscaza UCODEP, the project was started in September 2005 and will achieve a total number of 1.000 cisterns by the end of 2007.

Coop Adriatica has provided assistance for co-operatives damaged by the Tsunami in Sri Lanka, with a focus on the Districts of Hambantota and Kalutara. Partners in this intervention are the ONG UCODEP of d’Arezzo and GVC of Bologna. The project was started in May 2005; the date planned for completion is June 2007.

Coop Adriatica and its associates have become active in the international campaign ‘Make Poverty History’, selling the campaign’s white bracelets in all its hypermarkets and in approximately fifty supermarkets. To date more than €25,000 has been raised for this cause.

Over the past two years, many thousands of members of Coop Adriatica have supported, a health centre build by ‘Médecins sans Frontières’ (MSF) in Cuemba/Angola (Africa). Altogether the members of the co-operative have distributed the equivalent of €800,000. When added to the donations from the members of the ‘Coop Consumatori Nordest’ and the ‘Coop Estense’, the total raised comes to €1.3 million.

Community

Healthcare Education: In order to assist in the fight against obesity, which is at the root of numerous diseases including hypertension, certain cardiovascular problems and diabetes, they offer CAD 500,000 in financial support to the Chair on obesity research and CAD 600,000 to the Bertrand-Fradet cardiology Chair at Université Laval.

Grand Tournée: In order to build bridges between the French-speaking, English-speaking and Mohawk communities in their region, the Châteauguay, Christ-Roi de Châteauguay, Kahnawake and Mercier – Saint-Isidore Desjardins caisses granted CAD 15,000 in financial aid to organize the Grande Tournée 2005 des jeunes de Châteauguay et de Kahnawake bike tour.

Mutual Assistance: Desjardins Mutual Assistance Funds, which originated from a collaborative effort between a group of caisses and various budget consulting organizations, help people in financial difficulty that have no access to credit by offering budget management advisory services and emergency loans, if needed.

The Desjardins Jeunes au travail program, started in 1996, consists of young people between 15 and 18 enjoying paid, supervised 180-hour summer internships in a business, including job search and interview training, in order to enhance their employability.

Community

Healthcare: During 2005 the group’s Natexis Banque began to support efforts to combat malaria, something of a forgotten disease in the developed world but which kills over two million people every year. To this end, it began by pledging its support to the Franco-African day of action against malaria, which was organized by the ‘Plan France’ NGO. In addition, two projects to combat malaria led by other NGOs received the support of Natexis Banque.

Culture: The Banque Populaire Foundation’s activities are focused in three areas:

• Culture - by supporting young musicians in the early stage of their career;
• Social Action - by helping young disabled people to pursue a life-changing project or to join the business world;
• Maritime preservation - see Environment, above.

Almost 300 prizes and bursaries have been awarded since the Foundation was set-up in 1992.

Community

Rabobank’s sponsoring initiatives set the tone: In November 2005, Rabobank was awarded the SponsorRing Prize for their comprehensive sponsorship policy, as well as two awards for the Museum Bus. In addition, the ReSpons Kids Events Monitor showed that they were the most active sponsor of children’s events.

The Reading and Writing Foundation: The Foundation helps
solve the problem of low literacy. One and a half million people in the Netherlands have difficulty with reading and writing. The Reading & Writing Foundation works with partners such as Rabobank to gain recognition for this social-economic problem and to reduce it.

Rabobank International

• Ghana: In 2005, Rabobank International financed the construction of 93 bridges in Ghana in collaboration with Rabobank Westland, helping to improve local infrastructures, and hence access to markets, schools and hospitals.
• Schretlen & Co is supporting, amongst others, Habitat for Humanity (building affordable and safe houses for families in need), the Lizo Nobanda Day Care Centre in Cape Town, South Africa and the Spieren voor Spieren foundation, which promotes the interests of people with a muscular disease.
• Terra Fina (launching as Amrep) was established in 2005 as an alliance of the Rabobank Foundation, ICCO and Oikokredit. Terra Fina’s objective is to identify the need for micro-credit and combat poverty more effectively. The alliance is preparing loans in four African countries: Mali, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia and Rwanda.

‘World in Your Hands’ communication programme: The programme serves to highlight the activities of the Rabobank Development Program (RDP) to its staff, members and clients. In the framework of the programme, 27 members and employees travelled to Honduras, India, China, Tanzania or Egypt in late 2004 and early 2005.

Community

Mondragon Unibertsitatea aims to develop knowledge, skills and values. Education is trilingual enabling students to communicate in Basque, Spanish and English. The university offers 7 degree course to some 3,500 students.

Politeknika Ikastegia Txorierri: 435 students were enrolled in formal education during the 2004/5 year. 40 courses in occupational and lifelong training.

The Lea Artibai Ikastetxea catered for around 2,000 students. In addition to formal education (Secondary Education and Occupational Training Courses) the school offered classes in Polymer Engineering, in co-operation with the London Metropolitan University.

MIK: A Business and Organisational Management Research Centre, has been endorsed by the Ministries of Industry and Education as a CIT (Technology Research Centre) and as an OTRI (Office for the Transfer of Research Results), being the first and only one of its kind in Spain.

The Garaia Innovation Park is involved in the promotion of innovation and technology linking the work of Technology Centres, businesses and higher education. Managed by MCC, its aim is to create a sphere of excellence, fostering the introduction of new technologies.
Arizmendi: Reinforced its project as a vital training centre. A recent highlight was the opening of the crèche, or ‘Umezaintza’, for children up to the age of six.

Distributing earnings: Between 5 and 10% of the surplus generated by MCC is allocated to a Cooperative Education and Development Fund (FEPC). Over the 2002-2005 investment in community schemes has amounted to €112.7m.

Community

The Migros Cultural Percentage provides over CHF 100 million every year to support cultural and social projects, promote talent and offers reduced price tickets for events.

• Supporting Education: Every year half a million people attend the more than 600 different courses and training events at the Migros Club Schools.
• Vocational Training: Migros currently has 2,717 young women and men learning one of 35 different trades.
• Promoting the Family: Low-income families receive family allowances at six Migros Cooperatives and enterprises.
• Artists: Artistic sponsorship has a long tradition at the Migros Culture Percentage, and study prizes are awarded in music, dancing, acting and singing.
• Music: The national pop music festival m4music, which takes place every spring in Zurich, has become established as one of the most important events on the Swiss pop music calendar.
• Museum: The Migros Museum of Contemporary Art is a modern museum, whose focus and meaning lies in identifying new trends.

Community

‘Love Our Farming Villages’ campaign

NACF has launched a campaign for mutual prosperity of cities and farming villages to improve the quality of life of urbanites and farmers alike, and to make farming villages more vibrant places to live in.

Traditional culture

NACF plays a key role in preserving the unique, local traditional culture of every region in Korea. Nong-hyup supports many local events. One of NACF’s important activities is ‘Root Finding’ in which people can find historic remains like Jang-seung, Sot-dae, and pavillon tree, and trace across cultural remains.

Sponsoring regional culture events

The NACF sponsors traditional regional events like the Yeo-ju Rice Festival, the Kum-san Ginseng Feast, the Choon-cheon Noodle Feast, and the Red Pepper Feast as well as ‘Sun-nong-je’, a ceremony praying for an ample harvest. These events combine the regions’ unique colors and spices.

NACF Hyo Awards and Children’s Competitions

On Parent’s Day, NACF holds the Hyo Awards which are awarded to the sons or daughters showing devotion to their parents and for the youth who have taken care of the elderly. The National Children’s Painting and Composition Competition and Exhibition also gives children a chance to understand the value of agriculture.