One day can indeed make a difference.
Some 80 grade-school students from Baseco in Tondo, Manila, whose families belong to the 70 percent of the population that remains unbanked, can attest to this truth after spending a day learning lessons on earning, spending and saving money.
Through an unconventional financial literacy program, Dutch financial institution ING Bank gave a “crash course” on banking and saving for the young participants, many of whom have never entered an actual bank branch.
Inspired by ING Singapore’s “Money on My Mind,” a workshop designed for children from low- to middle-income families, 45 staff volunteers from ING Manila branch and ING Global Services & Operations Inc. (GSO) mounted the workshop in partnership with World Vision. The workshop was conducted on Nov. 8 and Nov. 22, 2014, with 40 children participating in each session.
To add variety to the workshop, organizers from ING Manila and ING GSO introduced a fictional story of a fourth-grader, who was constantly pressured by his classmates to buy new, expensive, and unnecessary things. In the story, a magical lion watched the boy from a distance and eventually turned him into an adult to teach him a lesson.
Wise spending
To make the children in Tondo excited about money matters, the activity involved teaching them how to earn money by selling loom bands at the beginning of the workshop.
With the money that they earned, the children were encouraged to open a mock bank account with ING bankers, who took the opportunity to explain the concept of saving money and earning interest in simple terms. The children also learned more about other banking services and how they can spend their “earnings” wisely.
“The learning curve was very steep. Upon entering the ‘stores’ we created, the children’s initial reaction was to buy as many things as they can, for example buying a lot of candies and chocolates,” said ING Manila financial markets trader Ryan Uy, who served as project ambassador.
The children’s awakening came when they were required to spend on necessities, as well as emergency house repairs and medicine for sick family members, as part of the game.
During the process, ING volunteers guided the children and taught them proper budgeting using the 50-30-20 rule, which means spending 50 percent of their income on needs, 30 percent on wants, and 20 percent on savings.
As their mock buying behavior changed for the better, the children also learned the value of giving or donating for causes. ING volunteers found it heartwarming to see that many of the children chose to give a significant amount to charity.
Starting them young
The organizers recognized that these workshops work best for children aged 9 and 10.
“This is the time when they have adequate self-awareness to understand the learnings that they receive. At the same time, their traits are malleable enough for these lessons to be effective,” Uy said.
The timing of the workshops was appropriate—November was the month for ING’s Global Challenge, during which all ING branches in more than 40 countries around the world initiated projects to make a difference in children’s lives.
“The workshop summed up what we do at ING: Banking is all about helping people to stay a step ahead in life and in business, and empowering them to make sound financial decisions,” said ING Bank country manager Consuelo Garcia.