Teams from two World Council of Credit Unions’ programs are working together to keep frontline Ukrainian credit union workers safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions is providing a Project Storm Break grant to World Council’s Credit for Agriculture Producers (CAP) Project for the purchase of masks, gloves and other personal protective equipment (PPE) that will go to staff and members of CAP's partner credit unions in Ukraine.

Since credit unions in Ukraine do not provide any digital or remote services to their members, most transactions require face-to-face interactions between members and staff. This puts both parties at greater risk of infection from COVID-19 and can lead to more transmission of the virus in the communities these credit unions serve. Access to quality PPE will mitigate risks and keep credit unions in compliance with the COVID-19 regulations in place in Ukraine.

“The whole point of our Project Storm Break fundraising drive in 2019 was to ensure we could get ahead of the next disaster and provide support to credit unions as soon as it hit,” said Mike Reuter, executive director of the Worldwide Foundation. “While we may have been preparing for an earthquake or weather-related disaster, we believe it is vital to utilize this fund during the COVID-19 pandemic with such a global need to keep credit union employees safe.”

Funded by USAID, The CAP Project is building the capacity of 23 partner credit unions in Ukraine to increase access to finance for rural and agricultural micro, small and medium enterprises and expand outreach. All 23 credit unions will receive personal protective equipment as a result of this grant agreement.