WCCN and CEPAD successfully close an era

In the Summer 1992 edition of WCCN’s newsletter, Sister State Update, an article entitled “WCCN Joins Hands with CEPAD” announced the beginning of a partnership between WCCN and the Nicaraguan Council of Protestant Churches (CEPAD). According to that article, “WCCN has agreed to serve as the US ‘marketing representative’ for a poor people’s loan fund administrated by CEPAD, Nicaragua’s largest non-profit aid and development organization.”

That partnership was the beginning of WCCN’s administration of loan funds. The original fund was called the Nicaraguan Community Development Loan Fund (NCDLF). Under the original model, all the funds raised by WCCN would be channeled directly to the NCDLF, CEPAD’s microcredit program, called PRESTANIC. The NCDLF overall was very successful, and reached its peak in 1996 when investments were at $2.7 million. For several reasons, in 1998, WCCN and CEPAD agreed to phase out the NCDLF and launch the NICA Fund. The last note from NCDLF’s investors was scheduled to mature on December 1st, 2007.

As the last NCDLF note was paid to investors, WCCN received a very generous and emotional thank-you letter (see below) from Armando Gutierrez, General Manager of CEPAD-PRESTANIC that we would like to share with our readers. WCCN also thanks CEPAD and all people involved in the inception and management of the NCDLF in the U.S. and Nicaragua.

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Esteemed Carlos, please receive my warm greetings.

Thank you for the information on the finalization of the NCDLF. We have been proud and honored to work on this project with WCCN. To speak of WCCN is to speak of our genesis, but it is also to speak of our development as an entity.

Thank you for your valuable contributions over these 16 years, the human touch you have shown us, and the friendship we have cultivated as we walk together.

We also thank you for the opportunity you have provided us with to learn and experiment, for the solidarity that inspired you to start this project, for the confidence you placed in us, for the risks you took on us back then, and for the hope we share.

Thanks be to God that as we close this project, we have fulfilled 100% of our obligations, demonstrating that this model of solidarity you started is possible, in spite of what the macroeconomic indicators, Country Risk, and other figures might say.
We thank the Board of Directors and staff of WCCN, and especially you and Francisco, for all the help you have given us.

A fraternal hug.

Armando Gutierrez
Managua, December 2007