A total of 41 workers from local non-governmental organisations and a nearby farm graduated from a financial life skills course last week. The graduates received certificates from GBS Mutual Bank, the course facilitator, at a ceremony last Tuesday.
A total of 41 workers from local non-governmental organisations and a nearby farm graduated from a financial life skills course last week. The graduates received certificates from GBS Mutual Bank, the course facilitator, at a ceremony last Tuesday.
Part of the bank's social corporate responsibility initiative, it offered the 20-hour training course to educate adults about essential financial and life skills. This year's beneficiaries were workers from the Gadra Commercial Centre, Nutwood Farm and the Raphael Aids Centre.
The course required participants to complete a number of practical assignments and attend weekly classes over a month or five weeks. A number of courses were held throughout the year, and each one's times were adjusted to fit in with the working hours of the particular group.
GBS course facilitator Mfuzo Dyira explained that the course focused on five main areas to teach people how to best manage their personal finances. They are goals, budgeting, debt management, savings and banking and ATMs, he said.
Each session is done for four hours, and participants learn theory and do practical work in the form of assignments, Dyira said. He added that the course has been running for four years now.
We have awarded plus-minus 600 certificates to people who have done the course. We have also received positive feedback from participants saying that they have gained a lot of knowledge from it, Dyira said.
An example of the kind of important life skills that participants learn is how to approach contracts when buying expensive items like furniture. Dyira said many people in the community sign contracts without knowing exactly what is written in them. The course covers all of this kind of information, he said.
GBS executive director Patrick Hornby congratulated the group on their achievements and said he was happy that the course benefitted the community.
