Our parish cooperative, the SimBaNa Credit Cooperative, has achieved, albeit unexpectedly, a remarkable milestone by being able to release more than ₱ 10 million in loans in just over a year. To many, ten million pesos may seem insignificant, but to a poor community like us here in Barangay Napsan, it can be nothing short of a miracle—bringing hope, opportunity, and the chance for a better future. Behind this “miraculous” figure are not only financial transactions but also untold stories of hope. These loans have helped small entrepreneurs expand their businesses, helped parents pay for their children’s education, helped farmers and fishermen improve their living conditions, and helped families meet urgent needs with dignity instead of desperation. This is not the victory of a few but of all the members who believed that together we are stronger than when we are alone. Every peso saved, every loan responsibly repaid, and every act of trust extended to one another has strengthened our cooperative’s mission.
One Sunday morning, after Mass, a fisherman hung back as the crowd dispersed. He paused before speaking. “Father,” he said, “if only there was a place where borrowing would not mean losing dignity.” The sentence was simple, but it carried the weight of many lived experiences. Too many working families find credit to be a chain of worry, instead of a tool of growth. The desire is not to escape responsibility though, but to find a system where trust is possible. This is where the story of our parish cooperative becomes more than economic—it becomes moral, even pastoral.
Needless to say, the Church has long affirmed that economic activity must always serve the human person. A cooperative embodies this social teaching because it places people before profit. It recognizes that success is measured not only by financial growth but also by transformed lives, stronger families, and communities that care for one another. As what proclaims a church document Populorum Progressio, “development cannot be limited to mere economic growth” (# 14) but must be understood as the “fullness of human development.” Growth that excludes the poor is not development at all; it is distortion. Utterly evil when the poor ones are themselves marginalized and exploited.
More often than not, poverty is not simply the absence of money. It is the absence of opportunity. Many hardworking people are willing to labor from sunrise to sunset, but they remain trapped because the only credit available to them comes with burdensome interest or humiliating conditions. They do not seek charity. They seek fairness. They seek a chance. That is why every time I hear of a cooperative helping ordinary people stand on their own feet, I see more than financial transactions. I see the Gospel quietly at work.
Furthermore, a cooperative would become a concrete expression of what the Church has long envisioned since 1991 with PCP-2 (Second Plenary Council of the Philippines)—the Church of the Poor. The poor are not objects of our charity; they are partners in building God’s Kingdom. They possess gifts, talents, and dreams that deserve opportunities to flourish. A cooperative does precisely that. It transforms compassion into participation and charity into shared responsibility. It empowers people to stand on their own feet while walking together as one community.
In a world and time where peace seems elusive, the theme of this year’s International Day for Cooperatives reminds us that hope is found in people who choose solidarity over division and cooperation over conflict. This vision reflects again Populorum Progressio, where Pope Paul VI teaches that true peace is inseparable from justice, human dignity, and the integral development of every person. His famous statement that “development is the new name for peace” calls us to create societies where everyone has the opportunity to flourish. Evidently, cooperatives become instruments of peace because they create pathways for peoples and families to rise above poverty while nurturing mutual respect and social responsibility.
As International Cooperative Day is observed, we are reminded that the future of development does not lie solely in large institutions or distant policies but also in local communities choosing a different way of relating to money, to risk, and to one another. The challenge now is perseverance: to sustain integrity, deepen participation, and ensure that growth remains anchored in the dignity of every member. For in the end, the true measure of a cooperative is not how much it releases loans but how much life it restores.
On a personal note, I am deeply grateful, and amazed, to the people behind our parish cooperative. Our office staff may not possess formal degrees in finance or business administration, yet they have shown that commitment, honesty, diligence, and a willingness to learn can accomplish extraordinary things. Day after day, they serve our members with efficiency, patience, and genuine concern. Their work reminds us that competence is formed not only in classrooms but also in faithful service and love for the community. Their example is a lesson for all of us. God often accomplishes His work through ordinary people who offer their talents wholeheartedly.
For us all here in SimBaNa Credit Cooperative, the journey has only begun. The first ₱10 million released is not simply a number to celebrate; it is a promise of what can still be accomplished when faith, trust, and cooperation work hand in hand. Let us then continue to save faithfully, borrow responsibly, repay conscientiously, and support one another generously. In doing so, we build not only a stronger cooperative but also a stronger community where no one is left behind.
