Teach 15,000 rural kids to save and invest

When the novel coronavirus strucked the world, almost everything was put on hold. The same happened with our organization here in the Philippines. To prioritize the safety and health of our cooperative partners and as well as our team, we in NATCCO had to cancel our planned activities for the year. 

We are still currently adjusting to this new setup and we are convinced that we may not be able to do our usual activities such as trainings and big events the same as before. It might take months, maybe a year, before we can go back to our old practices. 

With this in mind and the fear that we might not be able to serve our members, especially the Youth, we made the decision to turn things around and took the challenge to finally make use of existing and more modern technology. With a few adjustments along the way, our team was able to develop and transform training modules into relevant webinar topics.

For the past month, we had been busy conducting online seminars and workshop thru our official Facebook Page, Aflatoun Philippines. Our aim was to further develop the skills of our young leaders and make sure to provide an avenue for learning even during these time while we are all on lockdown.

Last April 22, we had the free webinar about Social Media Literacy. We believed that this was helpful most especially because almost eveyone on the Philippines, even children as young as 9 years old, have access and uses various social media platforms. We also had the free Basic Video Editing Webinar and Workshop which just showed, thru the number of participants, how some of our educators are preparing for the major adjustment in our education system—online classes.

Though some faced inconveniences with their internet connection, we were still able to cater to a total of 102 participants coming from different parts of the region. These participants were a mix of Youth leaders, educators, trainers, coordinators and advocates.

We are planning to continue offering these free webinars until such time that we can go back to our normal ways. Hope you'll still be with us through this tough and dark times. Thank you for your support!

Till next update!

Inspiring a child to save a single peso a day is an investment. Aflatoun is not just a program, it is an influencer. It only did not inspire children but motivate them to become champions in their own capacity. For seven years of building partnerships with school and the community, Perpertual Help Community Cooperative (PHCCI) in Dumaguete CIty has put an indelible mark in the hearts of the Aflatoun Savers and their parents. The strong bond of PHCCI and the partner schools has created a community that has built bridges of strong relationship between the cooperative, the school and the parents.

PHCCI and Aflatoun Program has always received with warm welcome from the school administration, teachers, parents and the pupils. The co-op also emphasizes on the role of the schools and the parents as their participation in the program. It is a shared responsibility as everybody has a role to play. Their support is vital because teachers are encouraged to have the lesson in inclusion of Aflatoun learnings and values in their classroom plan.

In 2019, PHCCI has inked an agreement with six Elementary Schools in Cebu and Bohol provinces. We officially launched the Aflatoun Program last August 6-9, 2019 to the following schools: Mandaue Central Elementary School in Mandaue City; Can-asujan Elementary School, Valladolid Elementary School, Mainit Elementary School and Ocaña Central Elementary School in Carcar City, Cebu while Danao Elementary School and Panglao Central Elementary School in Bohol Province.

Last July 6-7, 2019, PHCCI Dumaguete trained 40 teachers during the Aflatoun Teachers Training held in Dumaguete City. It was full of new insights and fun, engaging activities for the new Aflatoun implementers. Equipped with the right knowledge and skills, they are now ready to implement the program in their respective classrooms.

Aside from the Aflatoun, PHCCI also aims to develop holistic development to its youth members through exposure. These opportunities will hone the skills and talents of the Youth and eventually discover their own gift. The PHCCI Youth members are engaged in study tours, team building activities, various Financial Literacy Training, Recollection, and Youth Congress. They are also exposed to volunteering works like feeding programs, coastal clean-up drive, tree growing activities among others.

PHCCI Aflatoun and Youth program believes in an innate dynamism of each members who are the future game changers and affect better transformation in the community they belong to.