From Tullamore to Ethiopia: A bond forged in hope for the future

ONE of the most exciting initiatives proposed to the Board of Directors of Tullamore Credit Union by their Business Development team, as part of the Tullamore Credit Union 60th anniversary celebrations in 2023, was to bring the credit union message to a wider audience. The Board agreed and a partnership between Tullamore Credit Union and an Irish development charity Self Help Africa was forged.

This partnership has given scores of women, across Africa and especially in some of Ethiopia’s most remote districts, access to savings and credit for the first time through local savings and credit cooperatives. Low-interest loans, supported by a donation on behalf of the members of Tullamore Credit Union, are helping mothers in rural Ethiopia feed their families, grow their farms and send their children to school.

Within months, an initial ‘revolving fund’ of €10,000 (600l,000 Ethiopian Birr) provided by Tullamore CU has helped women cooperatives grow by more than 60 per cent, with families predominantly led by young people and women generating more than 1.3 million Ethiopian Birr in income. With new access to funds, they have been able to buy hundreds of sheep as well as cows, boosting their income potential and resilience.

“Sometimes, all someone needs is a chance,” says Clara-man Ronan Scully, who works with Self Help Africa. “This partnership has offered that chance to be seen, to be supported, to be self-reliant and it is a bond forged in hope from Tullamore to Ethiopia.”

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Participants were selected carefully, prioritising female-headed households, young people, and those living in poverty. Almost all were already members of local credit and savings cooperatives, and the majority (85 per cent) had previously taken loans for business activity.

The aim is now to expand the partnership to improve more people’s market access and create a sustainable system for the farming families’ economic independence.

For Tullamore Credit Union, the partnership is not about charity but investing in ambition.

“At the heart of the credit union movement is a belief in people helping people,” says Caroline Collins Murphy, Deputy CEO of Tullamore Credit Union. “We are proud to stand beside these communities, not as donors, but as partners in progress. It’s humbling to see how our small support can unlock such strength and dignity.”

This is only the beginning. With continued support and improved training, the vision is to expand this model and to deepen the impact, improve market access, and create lasting systems for economic independence.

Together, Self Help Africa and Tullamore Credit Union are not only helping people save and grow. They’re restoring dignity, sparking entrepreneurship, and cultivating a legacy of resilience and self-belief in places the world too often forgets.

If you would like to support the work of Self Help Africa and for further details of the charity's work go to www.selfhelpafrica.org also see details of the work of Tullamore Credit union at www.tulamorecu.ie

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