From The Field: These Girls Mean Business
Thank you for your continued support of girls' education. Recently one of the Develop Africa Sierra Leone (DASL) team attended a girls' mentoring session on financial literacy and shared the report below.
Promoting financial education and a positive financial culture in children and youth is essential to ensuring a financially literate population capable of making informed decisions." (Excerpt from UNICEF’s publication on Child Social and Financial Education). Twenty years from now, the girls who attended the financial literacy workshop organized by us at Develop Africa in Sierra Leone would still be reaping the benefits of the knowledge they gained. In addition to the many life lessons, they learn from our other mentorship programs here, we are confident of the life-changing benefits for the girls, and how it will shape their financial decisions and attitudes towards money.
Self-awareness is always a starting point from which anyone can maximize their strengths and work on their weaknesses. It was therefore refreshing that when our speaker, Adama B.(a certified member of the Institute of Accountants in Sierra Leone) explained what the two main categories of money users are, the girls at the session were able to tell which of the users they are. This allowed them to understand that being a saver had more advantages.
In Sierra Leone, many children lack basic financial literacy skills and girls are particularly vulnerable as they are often denied access to education and financial resources. However, the recent workshop held by Develop Africa may have a significant impact on a group of young girls who participated. They had the opportunity to learn about budgeting, saving, and investing. For many of these girls, this was their first time learning about financial concepts, and they were eager to apply their newfound knowledge to their own lives.
More girls, their families, and communities could be reaping the benefits of the financial literacy lessons they learned today.
Together, we can continue to empower girls and young women with education including mentoring.
