Today is being observed as World Credit Union Day. These financial institutions, which are all registered co-operatives, have been known as the “Poor People’s Bank” for many years. The new regulations should not be a reason for credit unions to diminish their role of empowerment for the poor.

One of the earlier co-operative principles is that there should be cooperation among all types of co-operatives. All credit unions are co-operatives but there are also the service co-operatives where members equally own their businesses.

One achievement of credit unions in Jamaica seldom mentioned is that they have played a major part in the development of family life in Jamaica. Financing the building of houses by credit unions, which are necessary for good family life, has done this. But more assistance towards family life is needed than that. Credit unions could help and I will explain.

The story in the Gleaner last Sunday of lewd and promiscuous behaviour in the Half-Way-Tree Transportation Centre by high school students really should not surprise anyone. It was bound to happen if the correct measures were not put in place to stop it, so in 2008 when the centre was opened, I suggested the re-introduction of school buses.

Some say that the school bus system was tried already but failed. And I always answer that it was set up in the wrong way. School buses, if we should have them again, should not be a part of the Jamaica Urban Transit Corporation.

One should not blame the management of the JUTC. If there is a shortage of buses and it happens to be a weekend or school vacation and school buses are lying idle, they are bound to borrow some of them for regular service when under pressure.

And then when the next school term starts, or on Monday morning for that matter, it is almost impossible to get the school buses back to their correct use. This is the reason why the school bus system failed the last time.

So the only way to correct that is for the school buses to belong to a separate franchise. And if the school buses pick up the students at schools and are not routed through the transportation centre, then the whole problem of school children having sex in restrooms at the transportation centre would stop altogether.

If this method is used, there will be less risk of repeating the vicious circle of children being dysfunctional because their teenage parents never planned for them and could not be good parents. Perhaps the National Parent-Teachers’ Association should own the school bus franchise.

The school bus franchise should be a co-operative with the common bond being members of the National PTA. This would be one way of ensuring that the parents would have a monitoring effect on the children. And this co-operative should be financed out of the surplus of the credit unions by majority vote of members at the annual general meetings who are mostly parents anyway. This can be another connection between credit unions and good family life, apart from housing finance.

“What goes around comes around” is an adage that may be used to describe the original co-operative principles. It is like a mechanical water fountain such as the one in the middle of Emancipation Park. Similarly, co-operatives, including credit unions, strengthen families and vice-versa. Family bonds (read unity) strengthen co-operatives which in turn strengthens families by providing housing and employment.

And money earned from employment gained through co-operatives facilitates the enjoyment of good education, a healthy diet, medical care when necessary and good wholesome entertainment. For further information on efficiently run co-operatives energised by unity all over the world, please go on the internet and read about co-operatives, particularly the Kibbutzim in Israel and the Mondragon Co-operative in Spain.

The closest thing that we have to unity in Jamaica are the various football teams of men and boys who live almost like families. It is from there that co-operatives to provide employment should begin and then join with women’s organisations as well as other men’s organisations.

And it is the credit unions that should finance these co-operatives. This would be an example of cooperation among co-operatives. I am involved in a group that is in the pre-registered stage of a service co-operative that plans to work closely with the credit unions.

Two of our national heroes were instrumental in the formation of service co-operatives. One was Marcus Garvey and the other was Norman Manley. Garvey encouraged co-operatives worldwide through the Universal Negro Improvement Association that he founded.

Norman Manley formed Jamaica Welfare in 1937, which promoted service co-operatives. The Roman Catholic Church introduced credit unions to Jamaica. Both the service co-operatives and the credit unions have been under one umbrella since the Co-operative Act of 1950.

ekrubm765@yahoo.com