The Network, as we like to fondly call it, is a platform that was developed by the Uhuru Institute for Social Development Ltd (TUI). The Coop360 Network was established with the intention of cultivating a breed of cooperatives that have a cooperative identity. Value-based cooperatives are ones that operate in accordance with the seven fundamental principles of cooperatives (voluntary and open membership, democratic member control, member economic participation, autonomy and independence, education, training, and information, cooperation among cooperatives, concern for the community), offering benefits to their members and having an effect on the communities that make it possible for their enterprises to prosper.
The network team, under the direction of Relationship Manager Mary Anyango, continued some of the training that TUI typically offers to its cooperative partners through the institute’s Skill Coop arm following the successful launch of the Coop360 Innovations Award series. The training took place in Gulu and Lira during the last week of September.
The first part of the week was spent in Lira with the Atiak Sugar Outgrowers Cooperative Limited, which was made up of teams from the nearby districts of Kitgum and Lamwo as well as those from Gulu. After that, the team spent the rest of the week in Lira with the Lira Diocese Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited. These training sessions served as a reminder of TUI’s purpose and dedication to fostering an environment in which Ugandans can work together to build wealth through their cooperatives.
At the conclusion of the training, several of the members of the cooperatives expressed feeling motivated and reiterating the need to collaborate, develop within their enterprises, and also be diligent in the process of rebuilding vibrant communities in their immediate surroundings.
