TANZANIA (MEATU) CHILD SOCIAL AND FINANCIAL EDUCATION

For more information:

Jonathan Kifunda Program Area Manager Tanzania

PO - Northern Tanzania Meatu Majengo Street, Mwanhunzi P.O.Box 156 Meatu-Shinyanga, Mwanhunzi Tanzania Ofce: +255 28 279 5052 Mobile: +255 786 254 200 E-mail: jonathan.kifunda@icsafrica.org Skype: jonathan.kifunda

Talitha Hammer Project Ofcer Social Business

Smallepad 32 3811 MG Amersfoort The Netherlands Ofce: + 31 33 303 0250 Mobile: + 316 48 48 64 38 E-mail: talitha.hammer@ics.nl Skype: ics.talitha.kotterink

Check our website for all our activities: www.ics.nl

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TANZANIA (MEATU) CHILD SOCIAL AND FINANCIAL EDUCATION

ICS (Investing in Children and their Societies) strives towards a better future for children in rural Africa and Asia. Through its projects and programs, it builds on a sustainable growth in welfare and wellbeing by simultaneously investing in economic and social opportunities and needs. The central building blocks of the work of ICS are social business, child protection and skillful parenting. Child Social and Financial Education Meatu The overall goal of the project is to socially and financially empower children and enable them to become economically self-reliant citizens thereby breaking the cycle of poverty in Meatu district, Shinyanga region, Tanzania. The project purpose is to build capacities of children on their rights and responsibilities and give children access to the financial tools they need to realize these rights. Childrens Rights and Responsibilities In order to make informed decisions about their own participation within communities , children must first understand their rights and responsibilities. Specifically, the rights are those identified in UNs Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Without rights economic resources lose value, children who understand and exercise their rights are in best position to maximize their resources and opportunities and to do so in a socially just way. Complimentary to teaching children about their rights helps them to understand their responsibilities as citizens because rights and responsibilities are necessarily interdependent. The recognition of personal and communal responsibility is especially important when children are being equipped with skills and knowledge to increase their own wealth, power and future opportunities. Financial Education Once children have begun to internalize their rights and responsibilities, they will be taught the knowledge and skills needed to maximize economic resources and initiated into practice of saving money. The financial education component of the proposed project encapsulates the concepts and skills required by children to manage ones personal assets which includes earning, saving, planning, spending and idea of exchanging value as well as entrepreneurial skills. In addition to classroom learning, children will be engaged in extracurricular activities to which they can apply their knowledge and exercise their money management skills. Not only because application reinforces learning, but more importantly, so that they develop responsible savings and spending habits that they will carry with them into childhood. These child savings activities will be as simple as contributing to a class piggy bank or as or as sophisticated as managing a small business. Additionally, children will open and run their individual bank accounts through a village saving schemes model.

Aflatoun Concept Aflatoun concept is about balance of social and financial education and the curriculum is inspired by this thought. The concept is further broken down into five recurring pedagogical themes referred to as the Five Core Elements: Personal understanding and exploration Through a participatory process, children will be facilitated by trained teachers as supported by ICS to investigate their own personal values through exploration of citizenship ideas and ongoing interaction with peers. They will also explore financial ethics and learn the importance of balancing financial skills with the judgment to use these skills responsibly. Rights and responsibilities Through a participatory process, children will be trained by trained teachers as supported by ICS to learn about interdependent rights outlined in the UNs CRC (1990). They will learn how responsibilities compliment rights and what their responsibilities are towards themselves, others, their community and the environment. Under this component, parents, teachers, school management committees will also be trained so that they are able

to create enabling environment for realization of child rights to social and financial education. Savings and spending Financial empowerment hinges not only on constructive personal value systems, but also on specific, practical skills. Under this component, children will be trained by trained teachers as supported by ICS to learn the basics of saving and spending money in a responsible manner. Planning and budgeting Financial empowerment is achieved when children use their knowledge and skills to maximize their economic choices. Children will therefore be taught how to plan their savings and spending and how to budget their money. Child enterprise Under this component, children will be taught to learn and view themselves as active participants in and shapers of their community. Through managing community activities or entrepreneurial ventures children will experience how they can increase their wealth while having a positive impact on their community.

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