MCC and Ten Thousand Villages discuss new relationship

Winnipeg

Ten Thousand Villages and Mennonite Central Committee are seeking ways to improve Ten Thousand Villages' ability to help artisans in developing countries. This could result in Ten Thousand Villages becoming more independent.

The boards of Ten Thousand Villages Canada and US met Sept. 18-19 in Saskatoon for their first joint meeting, and recommended that a committee be appointed to study various options over the next year.

Doug Dirks, director of Ten Thousand Villages Canada, stressed, "We're not talking about leaving MCC, but how do we work at Ten Thousand Villages' mission as effectively as possible within MCC?"

"This is a recognition that Ten Thousand Villages is a business and therefore needs the latitude to make decisions based on business principles, " explained Marv Frey, executive director of MCC Canada. "We're saying we want to allow Ten Thousand Villages to do what they need to do, have freedom to solve their own problems, while still being a help to them."

Although volunteers would still serve in most of the stores, Dirks said, store managers would likely be paid a base salary with added incentive pay for store performance, something the current MCC pay structure doesn't allow. As well, in non-Mennonite areas the traditional MCC hiring requirements, such as church membership, might be too strict to find qualified people.

Ten Thousand Villages seeks to provide vital, fair income to Third World artists by selling their handicrafts and telling their stories in North America. Last year, about 12,000 full-time equivalent jobs were created in 35 countries through the sale of these crafts. Ten Thousand Villages is a nonprofit program of MCC. New stores will be opening in Halifax and Victoria this fall.--MCC Canada

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