Teach 15,000 rural kids to save and invest

In partnership with Citi Philippines, the National Confederation of Cooperatives and the Komisyon sa Wikang Pilipino (Commission on Filipino Languages) inked on July 25 a Memorandum of Agreement to translate Aflatoun materials from English into four major languages: Tagalog, Hiligaynon, Cebuano, and Ilokano.

The program is funded by Citi Foundation in line with its global commitment to promoting financial education across ages in support of financial inclusion.

NATCCO Chief Operating Officer, Raul Calayan, welcomed the guests, saying: “Translating our Aflatoun materials will reach a greater number of kids! This early, I am confident that our partnership will accelerate the Aflatoun Program. More schools will get involved. More teachers will be trained. More children will know their United Nations Rights, how to handle money, and be responsible for their future.”

Dr. Virgilio Almario, Chairman of the Komisyon sa Wikang Pilipino, said: “When I was first approached about this project, I at once thought it was a nice project and that the Komisyon sa Wikang Pilipino should be involved in it. I like the spirit of cooperatives and I like the idea of Aflatoun!” he added.

Citi Philippines CEO Batara Sianturi and Corporate Affairs Director Aneth Ng-Lim witnessed the signing ceremony. Addressing the stakeholders, Sianturi related that Citi has initiated partnerships with various institutions around the world to promote financial literacy. In the Philippines, their array of partners has included a children’s museum for a traveling exhibit on money matters, an education-focused non-profit to design, produce and broadcast shows on personal finance and entrepreneurship, and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in providing workbooks and textbooks on financial literacy to public school students in Cebu. Citi’s audiences have also covered a wide spectrum of ages, lifestyles, education and income backgrounds.

“This is not the first time that Citi and Aflatoun have come together to improve access to financial education. It is never too early to start saving, as well as to learn the value of saving. As such, we are delighted to drive this initiative 

that aims to empower at least 7,200 Filipino children ages 6-9 in public schools across the country to be positive change agents in their communities through strong social awareness and practice of positive financial behavior.”

Under the Aflatoun Program, (qualified) NATCCO member cooperatives partner with local schools to train teachers to include in the curriculum financial literacy and the United Nations Children’s Rights. A collector visits the schools weekly to collect the kids’ savings which is placed in a special account in the cooperative.

Aflatoun began to be implemented in 2006. Today, there are 81 co-ops in the program partnering with 545 schools to reach 137,000 children – teaching them to save and invest for a better future.