February 12, 2010
Pierre Gauthier and Marie-Claude Lépine, grand prize winners in the DoingMyPart.Coop contest held by Développement international Desjardins
In May, both winners will travel to Burkina Faso for an international development awareness tour
Lévis, February 12, 2010 – Développement international Desjardins (DID) is pleased to announce the names of the two grand prize winners in the fourth annual DoingMyPart.Coop contest, held August 13 to November 16, 2009. Valued at $15,000, the prize won by Pierre Gauthier from Saint-Bruno-de-Guigues (Abitibi-Témiscamingue) and Marie-Claude Lépine from Boucherville (Montérégie), will enable them to travel to Burkina Faso in May for an awareness tour focused on international development and the microfinance sector.
Organized in collaboration with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and partners such as the Fédération des coopératives québécoises en milieu scolaire (under the Coopsco banner) and Jobboom, the DoingMyPart.Coop contest (www.doingmypart.Coop) seeks to increase awareness among young Canadians between the age of 18 and 30 regarding international development, cooperative values, and the realities of the microfinance sector which makes an important contribution to the socio-economic well-being of disadvantaged communities in developing countries.
In Burkina Faso, a French-speaking country in West Africa, the first financial cooperatives were set up in 1972 thanks to support from Développement international Desjardins (DID).
Today, the Réseau des caisses populaires du Burkina (RCPB) has attained a level of maturity that makes it a leader in the country's microfinance sector. The RCPB numbers 152 cooperatives and service outlets, reaches 1,230,000 members and clients (8% of the population), employs over 800 people, and can count on the participation of 1,545 volunteer directors who sit on the boards of directors of the individual cooperatives. Together, the cooperatives mobilize over CAN $135 million in savings deposits and their loan portfolio is over CAN $115 million, with women accounting for 20% of the loans. The majority of the RCPB cooperatives are computerized and several offer financial products such as loan life insurance, specialized credit for agricultural producers and housing credit for members with low or irregular income.
Pierre Gauthier and Marie-Claude Lépine will be welcomed by the DID project director in Burkina Faso, Réal Deschêsnes. "During their stay, the winners will visit cooperatives in the capital, Ouagadougou, and in rural areas. They will be able to see for themselves the different needs of the members, which can vary according to the milieu in which they live, and how the local financial cooperatives adapt the financial products they offer. Above all, they will discover how the cooperatives play an essential role in the socio-economic life of the communities in which they operate."
The two grand prize winners were chosen by a jury charged with evaluating the answers given by the 40 young finalists to the last question in the contest. For that question they were asked to write about the subjects and topics that aroused their curiosity and which they would discuss with locals in Burkina, if they were designated grand prize winners in the contest. Originality, strength and clarity of message, and quality of language were among the main criteria in evaluating the answers. The 40 finalists, whose names are listed at www.Jefaismapart.Coop, will receive gift prizes provided by DID and the contest partners.
About DID
Celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2010, Développement international Desjardins (DID) is a component of the Desjardins Group and provides support for the set up, development and strengthening of financial institutions in over twenty countries in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and Central and Eastern Europe.
Specialized in technical support and investment in the community finance sector, DID can count on the wealth and diversity of the experienced acquired by the Desjardins Group, the largest cooperative financial group in Canada.
DID is a partner of the Canadian International Development Agency, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the World Bank, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other multilateral organizations.
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Source:
Karina Lehoux
Communications Advisor
Développement international Desjardins
Telephone: (418) 835-2401, extension 5796
Email: klehoux@did.qc.ca
www.did.qc.ca
