There will be a dramatic change in the lives of the people who work at the Belmont Estate and the residents of the nearby communities.

President of the Grenada Co-operative League, Pastor Stanford Simon made this observation at the official opening of the Belmont Estate branch of the Grenville Cooperative Credit Union.

Clearly pleased with this positive development, Simon said it has always been the philosophy of the credit union movement that the development of the people lies in the strength of the people and he was generous in his congratulations to the both the Grenville Credit Union and the management of the Belmont Estate.

Simon described the rural communities as having for many years served hundreds of individuals and families who had pooled their resources together over the years to achieve a common goal.

He said today the Belmont Estate continues on that path, not only looking at how it can develop the soil and impact the lives of others by feeding them but now deciding its people must be further developed and teaming up with the Grenville Credit Union to achieve that goal.

The League president believes that it is not the intention of the Grenville Credit Union to die and that together with the Belmont Estate; as long as the community exists and the estate exists there will be a dramatic change in the lives of the people.

He admonished however that the realization of that development will take the efforts and contribution of every individual within the community and within the estate. Members and potential members were warned that they cannot develop the credit union which has been brought to them by staying away from it. Simon went on to stress that the League gives full support to the idea because it believes that every community in the country needs to be served by a credit union.

The president sought to emphasize the growth of the credit union movement in Grenada by pointing out that the movement now has a membership of over 30,000, a number that is continuing to grow. He said that the projection of the League is that by the year 2010 there should be 50,000 members in what he described as “this great movement here in Grenada”.

This kind of growth can only be achieved Simon, a building contractor and owner/manager of One Call Construction said, if all credit unions in the North of the island for example consider pooling their resources together and joining to ensure the success of the community and the movement.

The veteran credit unionist reminded the principals of both organizations (Grenville Credit Union and Belmont Estate) along with credit union staff and members that GARFIN is now a reality and this underlines the need for accountability, transparency and trustworthiness.

To people who are and will be part of the Belmont Estate he told them that in addition to the accessibility which they will share by joining the Grenville Credit Union they must also understand the importance of looking at regulations, by-laws and understand that the standards that are set are there for all to achieve a common goal.

Clearly a passionate credit unionist, Simon told the gathering “there is no way you will be successful and no way that the credit union movement will be successful if we do not pool our resources together to achieve that common goal.

He said the cooperation between the Grenville Credit Union and the Belmont Estate is a great step in the right direction which the league endorses and will continue to do its best to support in whatever way it can.