Members and staff of the Weyburn Credit Union were urged to remember the spirit of the pioneers who established their institution, and to get involved with an international development project that could help out residents in less fortunate circumstances.

This was the message of Graham Mickleborough, who was involved in the Credit Union system for many years before taking on his current position as president of the Southeast Regional College in Weyburn. He was the guest speaker at the Weyburn Credit Union's annual meeting on Wednesday evening at the Legion Hall, and he shared details of an International Credit Union Development project he and his family were involved with in the Bahamas through the Canadian Co-operative Association.

As part of the project, Mickleborough worked with a credit union in Nassau, the capital city, which had assets totalling $5 million. He noted the Bahamas is particularly known for its off-shore banking services, with around 600 off-shore banks located in Nassau as they do not charge income tax on bank deposits.

Showing a photo of one impressive-looking bank a few blocks from where they lived, Mickleborough said he found out the minimum deposit to open an account there was $500,000.

The credit unions there are not as strong, he said, with each one tied directly to a union or profession, such as the teachers' credit union. The total assets of all the credit unions there would be around $100 million; by comparison, the Weyburn Credit Union members were told their facility will reach $200 million in assets early this year.

Characterizing the country as a "land of contrasts," Mickleborough noted the Bahamas is comprised of a string of 7,000 islands, 40 of which are inhabited, with a total population of around 300,000, close to Saskatoon's population.

"There are significant social issues there. One of the most significant issues is debt; they love conspicuous consumption. In their system you can take deductions from your paycheque to buy anything," said Mickleborough.

The contrasts are readily seen between the extremely rich and the very poor, which he exhibited with photos of some of the mansions that dot Nassau, including one with the address "007", the home of actor Sean Connery, and many gated communities guarded by armed security personnel. Nassau is also home to the Atlantis Hotel, one of the top 10 hotels in the world; the penthouse there can be had for $25,000 a night, with a minimum stay of seven nights required.

As expected with miles of pristine beaches and warm tropical waters, tourism is very big in the Bahamas, accounting for 40 per cent of their economy; this means when there's a slowdown in tourism, such as now when there is war going on, many part-time workers are suddenly without jobs, said Mickleborough.

On the other side of the Collins Wall, a lengthy high wall lining an old plantation owned by the Collins family, are the small shacks of the poor. One of the evident problems there is the extremely high level of debt of middle to low-income earners, with shiny new vehicles sitting outside of small homes; Mickleborough noted a common practice there is to sign over one's paycheque, with the situation that many times at the end of the month there is nothing left.

The Bahamas have other challenges too, he said, explaining, "They have the highest AIDS rate in the western hemisphere, and a lot of murders."

There is a high crime rate in the Bahamas, with a yearly average of 100 murders, compared to a comparable-sized city like Regina which might have five or six murders in a year, he said.

The challenge for the credit union project was to address some of the problems evident in their society, said Mickleborough, with the result they offer such programs as debt and family budgeting counselling, and youth credit unions where the young are taught to save, not to go into debt.

He noted Credit Unions like Weyburn's are already involved in helping out, as Credit Union Central donates 15 cents per member a year to international development projects like this one. Last year, that amounted to $80,000.

Saskatchewan Credit Unions also "provided more technical volunteers than any other province last year. You don't have to be a specialist to go," said Mickleborough, noting as Bahamian credit unions are about 50 years behind those here, a Credit Union employee would easily have expertise he or she could share there.

He said he was impressed with the level of giving from the Weyburn Credit Union, showing a copy of an ad that showed the institution's employees supported 121 community organizations in the Weyburn area last year, and their employees were volunteers for 100 of them in some way.

"I want to encourage you to think of the larger community, because we really are becoming more of a global village," said Mickleborough, adding that members or staff could go on a study tour to see what it would be like to help out an international project, or the Credit Union itself could link itself to one in a developing country.