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Oikocredit (Investing In People) in Something Directory

 

The roots of Oikocredit lie in the social gospel of the World Council of Churches. In 1968, when the General Assembly of the World Council of Churches conveded in Uppsala, Sweden, the Western world was experiencing unsettled times. The unease of that period was also felt within the churches. Young and politically engaged church members cried out at the General Assembly: We preach love in our church, telling people to be good and not to fight. But why do churches invest without scruples in banks that might channel their investments to industries that support Vietnam War and Apartheid? Cant we invest our funds in a better way; something that is more in line with the social teaching of the church Even after this dramatic request, it still took seven years to establish such a fund. It was only in 1975 that the Oikocredit Ecumenical Development Cooperative Society U.A. was established to provide churches and church-related organisations with an alternative investment instrument, to serve the interests of the poor. The aim was to encourage social justice by giving credit to productive enterprises run by disadvantaged people.

 

Address: P.O. Box 2136 3800 CC Amersfoort The Netherlands
Telephone: 31 33 422 40 40
Fax: 31 33 465 03 36
Website: http://www.oikocredit.org/