World Council of Churches - News Release
Contact: +41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org For immediate release - 16/10/2006 11:09:14 AM
WCC CONGRATULATES MUHAMMAD YUNUS, SAYS GENUINE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT MUST "GROW FROM BELOW"
The Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Grameen Bank's creator Muhammad Yunus not only recognizes his "creative genius in promoting his concept of microcredit, but also testifies to the fact that genuine economic and social development has to grow from below if it is to be accessible for the people," the World Council of Churches (WCC) said today in a congratulatory message.
Mr Yunus' "efforts and hard work" are "bringing hope to the poor and economically and socially marginalised" and therefore are "in keeping with the aims and purposes of the ecumenical movement," the message affirms. Within the ecumenical movement, the concept of microcredit has given birth to initiatives like Oikocredit and the Ecumenical Church Loan Fund (ECLOF).
In sending its "hearty congratulations" to Mr Yunus, the WCC thanks him for his "painstaking endeavours to give hope to people's aspirations".
The full text of the WCC message is available at: http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?id=2550
More information on Oikocredit:
http://www.oikocredit.org ( http://www.oikocredit.org/ )
More information on the Ecumenical Church Loan Fund (ECLOF): http://www.eclof.org ( http://www.eclof.org/ )
Additional information: Juan Michel, +41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org
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The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 348 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 million Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, from the Methodist Church in Kenya. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.