Bridges
The quarterly newsletter of WFYR
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SECOURS SPECIAUX - supporting Ex YMCA Secretaries throughout the world, who have retired with no pension and no medical insurance.
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The Secours Speciaux committee, working on your behalf have made it their duty to consult as widely as possible in order to establish how funding could be raised and properly distributed for those who retire from YMCA work with no pension, state or otherwise. Recipients will have served the YMCA for more than 7 years.
Secours Speciaux Fund - for crisis situations
The present funds are raised in order to provide financial support to YMCA staff and dependants in crisis situations. This in itself is truly lifesaving and Bonnie shared some examples with us.
Every day, political unrest, conflict and natural disaster destroy the livelihoods, homes of communities all over the world.
In many areas of the world where the YMCA is active, basic healthcare or medical insurance is not a right for those who have spent many years, or indeed their lives committed to the Movement. In such cases, former YMCA staff may find themselves in need, without sufficient resources to obtain medical treatment. Beneficiaries of the fund have come from Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Secours Speciaux Fund - for pension provision
Inequality around our world is not diminishing. There are still many countries in which the YMCA operates where there is virtually no retirement or medical provision.
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What should we or can we do to seriously correct this situation?
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Could we not ask our National YMCA Movements in the developed world to support this element of the fund?
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Should financial support be part of a refundable loan?
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Should individual urban YMCAs adopt a person (s) and their future pension needs?
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Are we not losing bright young YMCA secretaries to NGO’s who provide pension facilities, thereby damaging the expansion future of YMCAs in developing countries?
The committee recognise it will take time for resources to grow but the need for this additional fund to start is now.
Many of our colleagues leave the YMCA family after 20-30-40-50 years of services, with no superannuation scheme and no state pension.
Put yourself in this situation at the age of 70? How would you provide for your loved ones without any pension provision, state or otherwise?