Alumni Impact: Finance Education for Students in Botswana
The Study of the U.S. Institute (SUSI) on Civic Engagement is a program of the U.S Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. This institute is hosted by FIUTS in Seattle each year for 20 undergraduates from southern Africa who spend five weeks developing leadership skills, learning about civic engagement, and preparing to implement projects that benefit their home communities once they return home. Read on for a post by Pelinah about her SUSI project!
My name is Pelinah Gorata Pinaemang, from Botswana. I participated in the SUSI on Civic Engagement in 2018.
Through this program I have grown tremendously as a leader and have learned more about community development, student leadership and power. I have improved a lot in terms of my leadership style and interpersonal skills which has led to a success in my SUSI project entitled PERSONAL FINANCE AND SKILLS TRAINING FOR SECONDARY STUDENTS. Personal Finance Education is a planned programme of learning opportunities and experiences designed to increase the financial capability of all students from every social and cultural background.
Pelinah delivering a training session
Personal Finance and Skills Training Project for Secondary Students aims at teaching students in junior and secondary schools about personal finance. This project is designed to help assist the students improve their academic performance in business-related subjects and broaden their understanding about financial markets and instruments. The project also aims at developing young people’s financial capability from an early age to help them to gain an understanding of money and to be better prepared to meet some of the risks they will encounter when they leave school. In particular, it is designed to help them understand the advantages of saving and the risks of borrowing, as well as the costs they will face when studying or living on their own.
Personal finance education is particularly important in the current economic climate. It can also enable students to develop not only an understanding and awareness of money, but also the skills, critical judgement and resolve to manage money more effectively. Therefore, as a SUSI participant I have gained a lot from the program and the skills and knowledge absorbed has helped me to plan and implement the project successfully.
The Study of the U.S. Institutes (SUSI), sponsored by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, promote a better understanding of the people, institutions, and culture of the United States among foreign students, teachers, and scholars. Study of the U.S. Institutes are short-term academic programs for groups of undergraduate leaders, educators, and scholars from around the world.
The SUSI on Civic Engagement with students from Southern Africa is coordinated by the Foundation for International Understanding Through Students (FIUTS), a local non-profit organization affiliated with the University of Washington that promotes international friendship and cross-cultural understanding in the region.
Guest posts on the FIUTS blog represent the experiences and views of individual writers. They do not necessarily reflect the views of FIUTS or any organizations or institutions affiliated with our programs.