By Ray Birch
DENTON, Texas–In one remote village in the Dominican Republic, people gather once a month to draw a name out of a wooden bucket so one family can head to town to buy something they have dreamed of purchasing.
It’s a practice that’s making a big difference in the village, and helping families get supplies they would normally not be able to afford, explained Deke Alexander.
The Dominican Republic consists of the eastern half of the island of Hispaniola, the western half is made up of Haiti.
Alexander is president of CU Evolution, a CUSO of the $24-million Living in Fulfillment Everyday Federal Credit Union (LiFE FCU), which provides consulting services to small credit unions.
“The villagers pool the money they make from the small jobs they have and put the money into one collective fund,” explained Alexander. “They wait eagerly each month to see if their name is the one drawn from among all the names of the families in the village. They know they may have to wait a while before it’s their turn, but they also know that patience, and the cooperative model, pays off.”
Clean Drinking Water
Alexander, who’s team has been on two missions to the Dominican Republic to install clean drinking water systems in a total of six villages, as CUToday.info reported, also talks about the cooperative model with the leaders of the small villages.
“When we are on our mission trip we find out other ways in which we can help,” said Alexander. “One of those ways is teaching the people how they can pool their money, much in the way credit unions were originally formed by a small group of members. With this system of saving money for large expenses, families are now able to afford a larger purchase that they would never be able to afford on their own. It’s changing their lives and that is one of the reasons we go on these trips.”
The First Trip
A group of 12 employees and members from LiFE FCU organized their first trip to the Dominican Republic for five days last year. And they are now on their second mission to the same country this month.
While in the Dominican Republic, the LiFE FCU team installed LifeStraw filters that now produce enough clean drinking water for 2,000 people in six villages. In addition, the team also outfitted 72 village residents with reading glasses donated by a business member of the credit union.
“This all began when I was on a mission trip with my wife Samantha when we were on a mission trip with my church in the Dominican Republic two years ago,” explained Alexander. “We saw the needs of the villages and especially the children who had potbellies from the amoebas in the drinking water that was not clean. We went home and thought about how we could help.”
Alexander said he talked with LiFE FCU CEO Dustin Fuller, who supported the idea of a mission to the Dominican Republic.
“We talked about how the credit union has a lot of local initiatives to help people and our communities, but that we had not made an impact beyond that,” Alexander explained. “We decided we wanted to extend our reach and affect more lives.”
Non-Profit Established
Alexander’s church has an affiliation with a pastor in the Dominican Republic, and the two groups worked closely to coordinate a trip.
“From there the credit union established our own non-profit 501(c)3, called Impact LiFE, and that is where we are today,” said Alexander, just before his team of CU employees and members left again this month for the Dominican Republic. Alexander is president of ImpactLiFE.
Alexander said the mission trips benefit both the lives of the villagers and the volunteers.
“Yes, you have a positive impact on these villages, which is what we set out to do,” said Alexander. “But you find that the relationships you develop in these villages positively impact your life, too. You take away a tremendous amount, you learn a great deal. Say you have a teller who sits behind a teller line every day. That can sometimes become a routine job. But going to the Dominican Republic can give someone an entirely new perspective on the organization they work for and new meaning to their job. It really emphasizes, I believe, what credit unions are about—helping people. And that does not mean just within your local communities.”
Looking to New Initiatives
Alexander said that one of the staff after the first trip decided to join the Cornerstone Credit Union League’s Young Professionals Network, which, among other purposes, is involved in national and local community outreach programs.
Alexander said on the current trip volunteers will look for more ways the cooperative business model can help the less fortunate. He hopes the trips can become annual events.
“If we continue to get the funding support we see this as a great way to grow awareness of what the cooperative model and credit union spirit are all about,” said Alexander. “It’s a great way to truly help people.”