Financial Literacy Activity Guide for Adolescent Girls in Haiti: Facilitator's Guide (2011)- Torres

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Financial Literacy Activity Guide forAdolescent Girls in Haiti

Facilitator’s Guide





Financial Literacy Activity Guide for

Adolescent Girls in Haiti


Version 1.0

July 2011






Financial Literacy Activity Guide for Adolescent Girls in Haiti 1

About the Partners

About Making Cents International: Making Cents International (www.makingcents.com) is a small,

women-owned social enterprise based in Washington, D.C. that offers specialized technical services ineconomic growth, agriculture, and workforce development to improve the livelihoods of youth, women,

and vulnerable populations worldwide. Making Cents also builds and strengthens the youth economic

opportunities sector by creating learning opportunities and networks that result in stronger

partnerships, programs, and policies supporting young entrepreneurs. Since 1999, Making Cents has

partnered with more than 4,000 organizations in over 50 countries. Our global reach includes

programmatic work in Africa, the Americas and Caribbean, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

About The Haiti Adolescent Girls Network (HAGN): The Haiti Adolescent Girls Network is empowering

the most vulnerable Haitian girls, ages 10-19, in the wake of the devastating earthquake, through a

program to help girls gain access to education, health services, financial literacy, and counseling forgender-based violence and other traumas. The program is rooted in protective girl-only spaces, locally

named “Espas Pa Mwen (EPM),” and will help break the cycle of poverty and violence for an initial 1,000

girls and 80 peer mentors. The Network will reach many more girls as the EPM programs take root in

camps, earthquake affected areas and poor urban and rural communities.

About AmeriCares: AmeriCares is a nonprofit global health and disaster relief organization that delivers

medicines, medical supplies and aid to people in crisis around the world. Since it was established in

1982, AmeriCares has provided medical and emergency aid valued at more than $10 billion to 147

countries. AmeriCares specializes in the provision of medicine and medical supplies and health care

infrastructure to health care institutions and health workers responding to emergencies on the ground.Our operational approach is to fill critical resource gaps during the relief and recovery phases of a

disaster, as well as to provide ongoing aid for under-resourced health care institutions and health care

providers in over 40 countries. AmeriCares responded to the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti and

continues to be actively engaged in recovery efforts.

About Save the Children: Save the Children is the world’s leading independent organization for children.

Our mission is to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children, and to achieve immediate

and lasting change in their lives. Save the Children is recognized for its capacity to mobilize communities,

reach disadvantaged children and families, and foster effective communication between stakeholders in

the areas of education, child protection, health and nutrition, livelihoods, HIV/AIDS, and emergency

humanitarian response. Supporting girls to become successful adults and mothers is central to our

mission of saving children and we have a special focus on early adolescence as a transitional opportunity

to influence the life trajectory of millions of marginalized girls. Save the Children has worked in Haiti for

30 years, generally in partnership with local Haitian government and nongovernmental entities to help

strengthen their capacity to sustain efforts in the long term.





About this Activity Guide: This open source activity guide provides adolescent girls 10-19 years of age

with the opportunity to reflect on their current financial practices, to put terminology and economic

meaning to what they already do and to explore alternative organization and use of resources at their

disposal. To arrive at this version of the guide, the Making Cents curriculum development team

undertook an assessment with girls in Port-au-Prince, identifying key adaptations for contextualization

to the Haitian adolescent girl audience. Activities were then either drafted or adapted for testing. The

activity guide was then tested and revised with adolescent girls in Leogane and Jacmel. It is a result of

observations made by the Making Cents curriculum development team and feedback gained from both

mentors and adolescent girls.

About the Author: Veronica Torres is the Director of Youth Economic Opportunities at Making Cents

International. She has developed financial literacy materials for young people in Asia, Africa and Latin

America. She is an experienced curriculum specialist with over 15 years’ experience bridging financial

inclusion and financial literacy of young people. She has placed emphasis on building capacity of

financial institutions to provide appropriate financial services and those of non-financial organizations to

support girls to make informed choices about financial spending and investment options. The authordraws on a number of financial literacy resources developed for young people, particularly Save the

Children’s Market-Based Decision-Making Activities Module and Microfinance Opportunities’ “Young

People, Your Future, Your Money”.

About the Testing and Review Team: Julia Smith-Brake is a financial literacy consultant for Making

Cents International with experience working with young people in Cambodia, Canada and Haiti. She co-

led the testing of the draft activities with Veronica Torres and made the significant revisions to finalize

the material in both English and French. Save the Children’s program managers – Jean-Buteau

Remarque and Serginiow Rogene - and coordinators – Emmanuelle Jerome and Chantal Auguste - in

both Jacmel and Leogane were key supporters in the testing of the material, ensuring the team couldtest the activities with mentors and girls.

Special thanks: To the girls and mentors of the Save the Children, APROSIFA and YWCA programs who

were open to trying new activities and whose feedback was invaluable to drafting and finalizing this

material. The curriculum development team is also grateful for the support from Margarett Lubin, SC

Child Protection Advisor, Lisa Laumann, SC Program Director, Gary Shaye, SC Country Director, Jessica

Nieradka and Judith Bruce of the Population Council, and Brian Hoyer and Sandra Jean-Gilles of

AmeriCares and HAGN. The development of this activity guide, including focus groups, activity testing

with girls, refinement of the guide, and making it user ready were made possible with the generoussupport of UNFPA and Save the Children Italy.





ContentsAbout the Partners ........................................................................................................................................ 1

Financial Literacy- Managing Cash for the Present and Future .................................................................... 4

Welcome Mentors and Group Facilitators ................................................................................................... 6

1.2 Where does my money come from and where does it go?................................................................ 8

1.3 Financial Choices ............................................................................................................................... 11

1.4 Needs and Wants .............................................................................................................................. 13

1.5 Developing a Basic Budget ................................................................................................................ 17

1.6 Saving and Borrowing in the Community ......................................................................................... 23

1.7 Saving and Borrowing at a Financial Institution ............................................................................... 271.8 Planning for an Emergency ............................................................................................................... 30

1.9 Developing a Financial Diary ............................................................................................................. 32

References .............................................................................................................................................. 33





Financial Literacy- Managing Cash for the Present and FutureMoney passes through the hands of girls in Haiti on a daily basis. This may come from parents, from a

part time activity or from older brothers and sisters. This can be very little money but knowing how to

spend it is crucial for girls, especially those who find themselves in precarious earning situations. Girls

also put money away, often in small purses they keep with them or use informal services like the Sol, a

type of group savings and support mechanism in schools.

There are nine activities in this session including:

Activity # Activity Name What to Prepare Before Workshops

1.1 Welcome and Ice Breaker Bring following materials:

Soft ball

Notebooks and pens

Markers

Flip chart paper1.2 Where Does My Money Come From

and Where Does It Go?

Bring following materials:

Soft ball

Markers

Flip chart paper

Chips or beans (counting items)

Sticky notes

1.3 Financial Choices Bring following materials:

Copy of Berline’s Story

Markers

Flip chart paper

Paper

1.4 Needs and Wants Bring following materials:

Paper

Pencils

Flip chart paper

Markers

Sticky notes

Recreate chart of Berline’s Needs and Wants

on flipchart paper (Chart 1)

1.5 Developing a Basic Budget Bring following materials:

Paper

Pencils

Flip chart paper

Markers

Calculators





Recreate chart for girls to fill in Berline’s

Income and Expenses (Chart 2)

Recreate Berline’s sample budget on flipchart

paper (Chart 3)

1.6 Saving and Borrowing in the

Community


Paper

Pencils

Flip chart paper

Markers

Sticky notes

Scenario cards

Recreate both Benefits/Draw Backs charts on

flipchart paper (Charts 4 & 5)

1.7 Saving and Borrowing at a Financial

Institution


Paper

Pencils

Flip chart paper

Markers

Sticky notes

Make two signs on paper: one that says

Strongly Agree and the other, Strongly

Disagree

1.8 Planning for an Emergency Bring following materials:

Paper

Pencils

Flip chart paper

Markers

Stickers

1.9 Developing a Financial Diary Bring following materials:

Paper

Pencils

Flip chart paper

Markers





Welcome Mentors and Group Facilitators

If this Financial Activities Guide is in your hands you are invited to work with groups of girls ondeveloping their skills and knowledge to better manage their money and identify ways of doing so. As a

way of helping you to succeed in using this guide, we have some suggestions about what we found

works well with girls.

Develop Girls’ Positive Sense of Self : We have found that girls are generally shy when they begin a

group activity yet eager to learn something new and engage with other girls in the group. They seek

acknowledgement and feedback from the mentor or facilitator. Ways of supporting girls to participate

more freely include using eye contact, using girls’ names, thanking girls for their ideas and responses. It

is important to let girls try ideas and ways of doing things without falling in the temptation of saying

something is “wrong”. Rather, invite girls to try something again and coach them individually on a

difficult or challenging task. Also, when girls provide a response you should avoid laughing at the

response or interrupting the girl who is responding.

Create Space for Exchange: Girls wish to hear each other’s voices and ideas. In order for this to

happen, girls can be invited to sit in a circle on the ground (a carp can be put on the floor) and the

mentor/facilitator sit with them. Girls can then see each other and are not just facing the

mentor/facilitator as if they were in a classroom. A mentor/facilitator can also build on the response of

one girl by asking “Does someone else have another idea?” Allow girls to brainstorm, express

themselves and help each other out.

Foster a Safe Space for Dialogue: While girls wish to share ideas, they should be able to do so freely.

Observation and listening by community members and parents can inhibit girls’ participation. It will be

important for you to negotiate this with adults before starting group activities. Let them know that girls

will do better if they have their own space to do this.

Address Different Skills and Abilities: You will find that some girls will be able to read and write while

others will face more difficulty with letters and numbers. In order to help girls who find reading and

math a challenge, you may be able to pair them with girls who can read and write or take more time

with these girls individually.

Learn to Feel Comfortable with Not Knowing: Most of you are giving of your time to support girls

groups since you want the situation of girls to improve whether they are in a camp or living in your

community. You may also be learning about budgeting and financial services. This is nothing to be

embarrassed about. You have an opportunity to learn with the girls and maybe from them.





1.1 Welcome and Ice-Breaker

1. Invite the participants to form a circle and have a soft ball and notebooks in hand for the activity.

2. Say to participants:

∆ Welcome to our activity today! It is great to have all of you here to participate in story sharing,

games and activities with friends. During our time together we will explore sources of money

for girls like you, how girls can prioritize use of money, and how money can be saved and

borrowed. We will explore planning for emergencies and tracking our money. In order for us to

work well together we will have some materials to help us, including a notebook and a pencil.

This is a notebook in which you will help track learning and what happens with money you may

have. It is your own personal diary to use during key learning activities. Always bring your

notebook with you to these sessions so you can write in it. I am going to introduce this soft ball

which can be used to helps us get to know each other.


∆ We are going to play a game to get to know each other with this soft ball. I am going to throw

the ball to someone and each person will introduce themselves and share a favorite fruit or

food. I will go first.


∆ Now that we know each other, we are going to sit together to do the next activity.

Mentor’s Box

Activity # 1.1Activity Name Welcome and Introductions

Achievement based

objectives

Participants are familiar with the purpose of the session

Participants introduce themselves.

Time required 25 minutes

Materials Soft ball

Notebooks and pens

Markers

Flip chart paper





1.2 Where does my money come from and where does it go?

1. Say to the participants:

Δ Let’s form a circle together.

Sit with the girls around a sheet of flip chart paper placed on the floor.

2. Say:

Δ I invite a volunteer to draw a typical girl, your age, from your community in the middle of the

paper. One person will draw the girl and others can add decorations.

Note: Be patient, it may take a while for someone to volunteer to do the drawing. This is not a test,

so it is important the group feel at ease about the drawing and that they all feel they can contribute

to decorating the drawing.

3. Say to the participants:

∆ This is a young girl, who is in the same age range (between 10 and 15 years of age) as you and

living in your community. This young person has some money. Where does this money come

from?

4. Invite girls to use one color of sticky notes to write down their responses. Say:

Δ Please put one response per sticky note. If you know of more than one place where this girl

could get her money from, use more than one sticky note.

Mentor’s Box

Activity # 1.2

Activity Name Where does my money come from and where does it go?Achievement based

objectives

Participants are introduced to concept of cash flow

Participants practice concept of cash flow


Materials Soft ball

Notebook

Markers

Flip chart paper

Chips or bean counting items

This activity provides girls with an opportunity to surface sources of money for girls as well as the use of

this money. It is the first step in enabling girls to discuss use of resources, even if limited, available to

them.





Place their sticky notes to the left of the drawing. Once you have 8-12 different sources of money

you can thank the group for their answers. Invite group

members to help you group same source of money sticky

notes if need be. Make sure you do not group things

together for the sake of grouping. Ensure what is written

on the cards is clear and if not do ask young people for

clarification.

5. Probe for examples and explanations by using "how", "tell

me more about that", "please give me an example so I can

understand more", "what would other young people say

about that?"


∆ Now that we know where young people like you, from your community, obtain money, tell uswhere does the money go?

7. Invite girls to write these down on sticky notes (different to the color used for sources). Say:

Δ Please put one response per sticky note. If you have more than one idea of where this girl’s

money could go, use more than one sticky note.

Place their cards to the right of the drawing. Once you have 8-12 different sources of money you can

thank the group for their answers. Invite group members to help you group same use of money

cards if need be. Make sure you do not group things together for the sake of grouping. Ensure what

is written on the cards is clear and if not do ask girls for clarification.

8. Probe for examples and explanations by using "how", "tell me more about that", "please give me an

example so I can understand more", "what would other girls say about that?" For example, if

someone says "put money away", ask them to give examples of where they put money away. Do not

group all "ways to put money away” or “savings” together as the differentiation is important for

further discussion on preferences or priorities.

Where Money Comes From Where Money Goes




Financial Literacy Activity Guide for Adolescent Girls in Haiti

10

9. Ask participants:

Δ Do girls always spend all the money they have? If they don’t spend it, where can it go?

Note: We usually assume girls don't have money left over or that girls don't save, but we do find

that some girls can save so this step helps surface this.


Δ If girls had very little money, what would they choose to spend it on first? I will give you

some beads and you will place one bead on the first choice, 2 beads on the second choice, 3

beads of the third choice, 4 beads on the fourth choice, and 5 beads on the fifth choice. But

before I give you the beads, you have to all agree as a group where to place the beads.

There are only enough beads for five choices made by the group. This is a group decision.


Δ We have now completed an exercise to understand where money comes from and where

money goes for a typical girl in your community. In the notebooks you have, I invite you to

do this exercise for yourselves. On one page of the notebook, list how you get money during

one week. In the following page, write down where the money goes for you in one week.

Take 15 minutes to do this.

12. Ask girls the following question:

Δ Is there anything on your lists that is different from the lists we made for the girl in the

drawing?


Δ We are now going to the next activity which has a story of a girl who needs to decide how to

spend her money.

Summary – Say to girls:

Δ We’ll soon see why it is important to understand where our money comes from and where

it goes.





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1.3 Financial Choices

1. Invite the participants to form a circle to listen to the story of “Berline.”

2. Read the story of Berline below:

Berline’s Story

Berline is a young woman who is 14 years old and lives in Port-au-Prince. She goes to school and works

part-time with her mother after school and on weekends. For her contribution she receives about 10

Gourde a week. She already had 60 Gourde from this. She has good friends at school and wants to lookgood. She likes to get her hair done and buy cosmetics. Getting a permanent would cost her about 50

Gourde. Her friends told her she should try to get a phone so they can call her. A phone would cost

1,000 Gourde and a card for the phone about 5 Gourdes.

One day her mother let her know that she would have to buy her own sandals once the others break.

This was a surprise to Berline as she did not have the 300 gourdes needed to buy the sandals and there

were other expenses she had. She hoped her sandals would last another year.

Berline had joined a Sol at school and had saved a total of 100 gourde so far. She put in 5 Gourde a

week into the group savings. Her turn to receive the savings from the group was going to happen in 6

months. She also had to take care of her grandmother and buy medicine for her every month for 20

Gourdes. Every month, Berline’s sister Helene sent her 200 Gourde. She had 200 gourde from her

sister.

Mentor’s Box

Activity # 1.3

Activity Name Financial Choices

Achievement based

objectives

Participants are introduced to concept of financial choices


Materials Copy of Berline’s Story

Markers

Flip chart paper

Paper

This activity introduces girls to the story of Berline, a young girl who needs to make decisions about

ways of spending the little cash she has. Choices about expenses are very real for girls.





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3. Ask participants:

Δ What did you think of the story?

Δ What do you think of what happened to Berline?

Δ What do you think are some of the challenges she faces?

Note down responses on a flip chart and acknowledge girls’ responses and observation.

Some possible answers include:

Berline’s mother expects too much of her

Berline has a lot of expenses and not enough income to cover all her expenses

Berline is good to save

Berline may become a thief or do bad things to get more money to cover her expenses

4. Invite the participants to form groups of 3 girls.


Δ Each group needs to come up with a piece of advice for Berline. What would you suggest

she do? Each group can draw the suggestion made.

6. Give the groups 10 minutes to draw their ideas.

7. Say to the group:

Δ Could one or two girls share their group’s ideas with everyone?

Summary – Say to participants:

Δ Financial decisions are not easy and especially when decisions involve friends or family.

However, we can be better prepared to make these decisions when we have planning

options for our money.





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1.4 Needs and Wants

1. Invite girls to recall Berline’s story. Say:

Δ Let’s list all the places Berline’s money could go.

As the girls recall the items from the story, write each one down on a sticky note.


Δ Let’s help Berline determine what expenses she must make and which items she can wait to

purchase. Those expenses she must make we will call “Needs” and those she decides towait to make are “Wants”.

Mentor’s Box

Activity # 1.4

Activity Name Needs and Wants

Achievement based

objectives

Participants are introduced to concept of prioritizing expenses

Participants practice determining needs and wants in expenses


Materials Paper

Pencils

Flip chart paper

Markers

Sticky notes

Flip chart version of Needs and Wants chart prepared ahead of time Sample version of Needs and Wants chart on regular paper

This activity can help girls explore how they decide to buy things and think about whether something is

a “must” purchase or not. Personal items linked to personal presentation are sometimes a “must” but

how often or how many may be hard choices. At the same time girls need to cover regular personal

costs or have money on hand for such things as medicine or going to the hospital which they

themselves note are important. This activity can be used to help girls reflect on must have expenses

(Needs) and those that can be postponed (Wants). In some cases what may appear to us to be wants

may be needs for girls so we need to be aware of this and not judge the way that girls identify their

needs and wants but rather guide their prioritization and planning skills.





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3. Place the flip chart version of the “Needs” and “Wants” sheet on a wall or on the ground.

Chart 1. Berline's Needs and Wants

Berline’s Must Have Expenses

Amount Things that BerlineCan Buy Later

Amount

4. Hand all the sticky notes to the girls and invite them to decide together which column to place each

item in. Invite girls to decide together which items to place in each side. Give the group 15 minutes

to do the exercise.

5. Ask girls:

Δ How did you decide to put items where you placed them?

Δ

Were there disagreements in the group about where items were placed? How did you cometo a consensus on those items?

6. Say to girls:

Δ Now we are going to make our own list of expenses. Write down in your notebooks a list of

all your wants and needs in a month.

Invite girls to make a list of their typical expenses in a month. Give them 10 minutes for this and

support them individually as they think through these.

7. Show girls the sample chart of Needs and Wants at the end of this module and say:

Δ Now we are going to divide our expenses between wants and needs. Please recreate this

chart in your notebooks. Take all the expenses from the list you just made and place each

item in one of the columns of the chart.





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Invite girls to create a “Needs and Wants” chart in their notebooks and identify which of their listed

expenses would go into the Needs column and into the Wants column. This should take no more

than 20 minutes.

8. Ask girls:

Δ Was there anything you had a hard time deciding whether it was a need or a want?

Δ How could this chart help you on an ongoing basis?

Δ How would you explain this chart to other members of your family?


Δ It is normal for financial decisions to be challenging. Take some time to reflect on your lists

of needs and wants since they will help make better decisions later on.





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Sample Needs and Wants Chart

MY NEEDS AND WANTS

What I need to buy Amount What I can buy later Amount





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1.5 Developing a Basic Budget

1. Invite girls to list sources of money for Berline along with amounts on one half of a flipchart paper.

Say:

Δ Let’s make a list of where Berline’s money comes from and the amounts she receives. Then

we will calculate how much Berline has in total.

The list should be similar to this:

Money Berlin Has

- Sister: 200 Gourde per

month

- Work with mother: 10

gourde per week and she

has 60 total

- Savings: 100 Gourde

TOTAL = 360 Gourdes

Mentor’s Box

Activity # 1.5

Activity Name Developing a Basic Budget

Achievement based

objectives

Participants are introduced to concept of budgeting

Participants practice using a budget


Materials Paper

Pencils

Flip chart paper

Markers

Calculators

Flip chart version of a budget prepared ahead of time

Planning expenses is not easy. This can be facilitated by a simple tool called a budget. Developing aweekly budget will help young people understand that day to day decisions have longer term results.

Reactive decision-making can turn to proactive and planned use of resources with the use of a budget.

This activity builds on Activity 1.3: Identifying Needs and Wants and bases the budget work on the story

of Berline.





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2. Invite girls to list all expenses or savings items possible in a month for Berline on the other half of

flipchart paper. Say:

Δ Now let’s make a list of where Berline’s money could be spent or saved in a month.

The flipchart should look like this:

Money Berlin Has Potential Uses of Money

- Sister: 200 Gourdes per

month

- Work with mother: 10

gourdes per week and she

has 60 total

- Savings: 100 Gourdes

TOTAL = 360 Gourdes

- Getting hair done: 50

gourdes

- Buying a phone: 1,000

Gourde

- Phone card: 5 gourdes for

a month

- Sandals: 200 gourdes

- Grandmother’s medicine:

20 gourdes every month

- Savings: 5 gourdes per

week

Say:

Δ This activity will help Berline organize the money that Berline has and how she spends it.


Δ Please form pairs to do the following exercise of organizing Berline’s wants and needs as

well as the amount of money she receives. Please recreate this chart of the piece of paper

you receive.

This should take 10 minutes.





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Chart 2. Berline's Income and Expenses

Money Berline Has 360

Needs/Wants She Could Spend on

-

-

-

-

-

-

4. Say:

Δ In your pairs decide on which of these items Berline will spend her money based on the

amount she has.

This should take 5 minutes. Invite one or two pairs to share their decisions.

5. Say to girls:

Δ Berline’s money spending decisions are called a budget.

6. Have the sample budget chart ready and show it to the girls. Say:

Δ This is an example of Berline’s budget. We call the money she receives Income and what she

spends, Expenses. The Income minus the Expenses is the remaining money.







21

8. Invite girls to create their own weekly budgets based on their income and expenses during one week.

Show them the blank budget attached at the end of this module and say:

Δ Now we are going to create our own budgets. Recreate this chart in your notebooks and fill

it in with your own income and expenses. Remember to do this for yourself now and later

we will think about including family income and expenses. Remember that the amounts you

write down for income and expenses do not have to be equal.

This should take 20 minutes. Girls may need coaching on breaking down income and expenses to a one

week period. For some girls they may prefer to do a monthly budget.

9. Offer to help girls calculate their budgets with calculators.

10. Say:

Δ I invite two girls to share their budgets.

If any of the girls’ budgets have higher amounts for expenses that income, ask:

Δ What should you do if your expenses exceed your income?

Δ Would you change anything in your budget to change your income or expenses? What

would you change?

Δ How would you add income to meet your

expenses?

Some answers may include:

My parents could cover some of my

expenses

I could make a list of needs and wants andspend only on needs for now

Save in Sol to make a wanted purchase

later

Could ask other relatives for some money

11. Ask girls to take a blank sheet of paper home and work

with their parents to do a weekly budget for their households. Ask the girls:

Δ How would you explain this exercise to your family?


Δ Having a weekly budget will help organize your income and expenses and track your decisions

on use of income. Many adults are often not able to do these calculations, resulting in poorly

made decisions. Being able to control use of money can lead to improving one’s savings and

understanding of different costs.





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Blank Budget

MY BUDGET

My name: __________________________________________________________________________

Budget Amounts

Income

Expenses:

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Total Expenses

Income – Expenses =





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1.6 Saving and Borrowing in the Community

1. Invite two groups of 2-3 volunteers to perform a role play together.

2. Provide each group with a scenario card which she reads or is read to her. The scenario cards are

indicated below:

3. Indicate to the two volunteer groups that each one will have a turn with the role play. Say:

Mentor’s Box

Activity # 1.6Activity Name Saving and Borrowing in the Community

Achievement based

objectives

Participants surface experiences with informal financial services in their

communities

Participants distinguish the purpose, advantages and disadvantages of

these practices


Materials Paper

Pencils

Flip chart paper

Markers

Sticky notes

Scenario cards

Girls are often familiar with informal financial services that exist in their communities. It is important to

explore what makes these viable or challenging for girls. Informal financial services are services and

methods to manage money that exist in the community, and not necessarily a bank. For example,

borrowing from a money lender, or saving money in a box or under a mattress.

Helene lives in a Haitian community

with her aunt and sister. Certain

times of the year she receives some

cash from an older sister living in the

Santo Domingo.

Act out the ways that Helene keeps

this cash in the community.

Natalie lives in a Haitian community

with her two young children. At

different times of the year she needs

to borrow money to cover cash

needs.

Act out the ways that Natalie

borrows money.





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Some Ways Girls Keep Money in the

Community

-In a box at home

-In a pocket in clothes

-In a hole in the ground

-With older family member

-In a merry go round

Some Ways Girls Borrow Money in

the Community

-Borrow from a friend

-Borrow from a family member

-In an asset such as livestock, land

-From a money lender

-Borrow from family they work for

Δ What would you do if you were in this scenario? One of you in Helene in the saving scenario and

one of you in Natalie in the borrowing scenario.

4. Invite the young woman playing Helene to go first and let her and the group know that other girls can

help her by suggesting ways Helene can keep the cash in the community.

5. Ask girls to share the ideas they came up with for Helene to keep cash in the community. Write each

idea down on a sticky note to insert in the chart for the next exercise. If girls are quiet for a long time

and have not shared any ideas, then take one of the suggested ways from the box and say:

"Can Helene keep her money in a box at home? Is this possible in your community? What are other

ways for Helene to keep money in the community?"

6. Invite the girl playing Natalie to do her role play and let her and the group know that other girls can

help her by suggesting ways Natalie can borrow cash in her community.

7. Ask girls to share the ideas they came up with about ways to borrow cash in the community. Write

each idea down on a sticky note to insert in the chart for the next exercise. If girls are quiet for a long

time and have not shared any ideas, then take one of the suggested ways from the box and say:

"Can Natalie borrow money from a friend? Is this possible in your community? What are other ways for

Natalie to borrow money in the community?"





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8. Take the two flip charts prepared like the charts below. Insert the savings sticky notes on one chart

and the borrowing sticky notes on the other charts.

Chart 5. Saving in the Community Benefits/Challenges

Ways to Put Money Awayin the Community

Benefits Possible Challenges

Chart 5. Borrowing in the Community Benefits/Challenges

Ways to Borrow Money in

the Community

Benefits Drawbacks

9. Give each of the girls with marker and let them as a group brainstorm and write down the advantages

and disadvantages into the charts. When they are done, and have given all possible responses, ask:

Δ Which of these options is the safest?

Δ Which one is the closest?

Δ Which one can be easiest to access cash?

See sample charts at the end of the module for examples of answers for each chart.





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Δ When thinking about where to place money, one needs to think about how safe it will be, what

distance it will be from one's home and how easy it will be to access or turn into cash. These

informal ways to put money away or ways to save as well as ways to borrow money are

important to be aware of.

Sample Advantages/Disadvantages Charts

Ways to Put Money Away

in the Community


- In a box at home Close by, no intermediary

person

At-risk of theft, more

tempting to spend

- Under the bed Close by, secret Could be eaten by mice

- In a cupboard Safe from flooding Tempting to spend

Ways to Borrow Money in

the Community


- A friend Knows you and trusts you Could lose the friend if

cannot pay him/her back

- A money lender Readily accessible Charges high interest rate





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1.7 Saving and Borrowing at a Financial Institution

1. Say to the girls:

Δ Sometimes, a certain group of people or a type of institution develops a reputation, something

that is widely believed to be true even though it is not. For example, many people believe that

everyone in the United States is rich. Actually, we know this is not true, it is a myth, not a fact.

Now, let’s look at myths and facts related to banks.

2. Tell participants that there is an imaginary line across the room and ask them to stand anywhere

along it. Designate one end of the line as the Strongly Agree end, and the other end as the Strongly

Disagree end. Mark each end with a sign to remind participants which end is which.

3. Explain to girls:

Δ I will read a statement and each of you will decide if you agree or disagree with it, and move to

the place on the imaginary line that best represents your position. If you strongly disagree, you

will move all the way to this end.

4. Point to the end marked Strongly Disagree and say:

Δ But if you only disagree slightly with the statement, you might choose to stand closer to the

middle. If you strongly agree, you will stand at the opposite end.

Mentor’s Box

Activity # 1.7

Activity Name Saving and Borrowing at a Financial Institution

Achievement based

objectives

Participants surface perceptions of formal financial services

Participants develop questions to ask at a formal financial institution


Materials Paper

Pencils

Flip chart paper

Markers

Sticky notes

Two signs for Agree/Disagree exercise

For girls living in very poor communities, formal financial services may appear very distant andinaccessible. Some of the actual terms and conditions of formal banks may make this true. However,

girls should have the opportunity to test their perceptions and make a visit to a formal financial

institution.





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5. Point to the end marked Strongly Agree. Then say:

Δ Let’s practice with 2 statements:

o Boys who show their emotions are weak

o Women who have professional jobs such as teachers or doctors are not good mothers

6. Explain that now they will do the same thing but with statements related to banks.

7. Read each of the statements below allowing time for participants to move along the imaginary

agree/disagree line. After each of the statements, ask a few volunteers to explain their positions,

allowing 1 –2 minutes for the discussion.

Δ You must be rich to use a bank [Myth: Even though many banks do require a minimum amount

of money to open an account, it is often possible for people who do not have a lot of money to

open an account and benefit from banking services.]

Δ Banks are a safe place to keep your money [True: Banks are often the most secure place to keep

money. Many have secure premises and insurance to cover losses due to robbery.]

Δ Going to the bank to deposit or withdraw money takes a lot of time [True—Sometimes: The

queues inside banks can be very long.]

Δ Banks lend you money so they can take your TV when you fail to pay [Myth: Banks do make

loans and sometimes the borrower may offer something of value to guarantee the loan in the

case that he is unable to repay. But banks do not want the hassle of taking their clients’ valuable

things. They much prefer that their clients repay their loans.]

Δ If a bank is robbed, you will lose your money [Myth: Banks usually have insurance to cover

losses of this kind.]

8. After participants move to each statement, ask 1 or 2 volunteers to explain their moves. Clarify which

statements are myths and which are true.

9. Say to girls:

Δ Even though we can correct some of the common myths about banks, we still need to gather

information about their specific products and services to know more about how a bank works.

10. Ask girls to form 4 groups of three and say:

Δ Some of you may not be ready for a bank account. You might not be old enough to have one or

you may not have enough money now to need one. But as you get older and start earning your

own income, you may find that a bank account can help you to reach your long-term goals and

to keep your money safe. So far, we have talked about how banks work in a very general way. In

reality, each bank has its own policies, and it will be important for you to find out what these are







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1.8 Planning for an Emergency

1. Ask the girls:

Δ What kinds of emergencies do families in your community encounter?

Write them down on the flip chart. Be sure to write down all of the examples provided. If the girls

only offer a certain type of emergency (e.g. human emergencies, such as sickness or an accident) ask

them to think of other types of emergencies, such as incidents related to their house, their property,their animals, etc.

2. Say to girls:

Δ I will give each of you three stickers and you will each get to choose three emergencies that you

think are the most important.

If there is a tie between two items for third place, ask for a consensus between these two items.

3. Ask girls to break into three groups. Assign one of the three most important emergencies to each

group and each group will discuss each of the following questions for their assigned emergencies:

Δ What are the costs associated with this emergency? What are all the things a family would have

to spend money on in this emergency?

Δ What sources of funds do these families turn to when these emergencies happen?

Δ How long can it take a family to repay money used for an emergency when they borrow the

money?

Mentor’s Box

Activity # 1.8

Activity Name Planning for an Emergency

Achievement based

objectives

Participants list emergencies families in their communities usually face

Participants determine costs associated with these emergencies

Participants articulate plans for dealing with emergencies


Materials Paper

Pencils

Flip chart paper

Markers

Stickers (can use beads instead of stickers)

Often an emergency results in the need for a family to delve into whatever savings they have or to

borrow from elsewhere to pay for the costs. This could be a medical emergency, drought or loss of a

family member.





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4. Invite girls to share responses from their small group work. Ask girls:

Δ What happens to young people and their families when they are not prepared for

emergencies?

5. Ask girls:

Δ What kinds of plans could you help your families put in place in order to avoid surprise costs

as a result of emergencies?

6. Say:

Δ Each group will come up with a plan for how to deal with your emergency. Then each group

will present a short role play to show us their plan.


Δ An emergency cannot be avoided. They happen and often they are costly. Not only are

young people and their families having to face emotional distress but also dealing with the

costs of the emergency. Developing plans to address the costs associated with possible

emergencies can help a family recover more quickly. Young people can play a role in helping

develop a financial plan.





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1.9 Developing a Financial Diary

11. Invite girls to listen to the story of Nadia's Diary and read the story below to the group.

Nadias’ Diary

Nadia was 12 years old and she lived in a camp in Port au Prince. She was a very resilient girl who had to

deal with the daily challenges of continuing her learning and staying safe. She wanted to be able to

confide what happened to her each day with her older sister who now lived outside Port au Prince. Her

sister was working and sometimes she received some money from her and sometimes from her mother.

One day, as Nadia was walking to her friend's tent, she was approached by a large man she did not

recognize. The man told her that he knew she had money and that she needed to hand it over to her or

he would hurt her. Nadia was afraid and gave the man the money and ran.

Once home, Nadia wanted to share her feelings and ideas so she began to draw pictures of what had

happened. She also remembered her mother telling her to think of ways of staying safe and keeping her

valuables safe. Her drawings showed her keeping her money at home in a safe place and taking it to

school so she could join a Sol and that way she would not have money at home or with her.

Nadia realized that she could share ideas about her goals and aspirations in her diary and when she read

it she remembered her good ideas and that she could be very creative.

2. Invite girls to think about the story and ask them:

Δ What did you like about the story?

Δ What helped Nadia share her feelings and actions?

Mentor’s Box

Activity # 1.9

Activity Name Developing a Financial Diary

Achievement based

objectives

Participants surface perceptions of formal financial services

Participants develop questions to ask at a formal financial institution


Materials Paper

Pencils

Flip chart paper

Markers





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3. Ask the girls:

Δ How can a diary help you track what you do with money?

Write down their responses on a flip chart paper. Some ideas they may share are: see where

money is going, keep information about places one can keep money, keep information about what

some things cost.

4. Tell girls they can use their notebooks as their first financial diaries and invite girls to write down their

first entry into the diary.

5. Invite one or two girls to share what they wrote down.


Δ Your experiences are very important to share and your opinions are important to express. Your

financial diaries can also help you find positive ways to spend their money and keep it safe.




References

Veronica Torres, Naile Salima and Luwiza Soko, Market-Based Decision-Making Activity Book for

Adolescent Girls, Save the Children, Malawi, 2008.

Microfinance Opportunities and Freedom from Hunger, Young People: Your Future, Your

Money, the author, 2008.

Documents

Financial Literacy Activity Guide for Adolescent Girls in Haiti: Facilitator's Guide (2011)- Torres