Destiny Management Group in partnership with TJH Business Solutions, and MUFG Bank offer a free financial literacy course in Eldorado Park. The course is aimed at educating and empowering at least 20 unemployed youth from the community.
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Dr Cynthia Oliphant is the founder and facilitator of the programme. “I designed our programme with an African context. MUFG is a multi-national company and I wanted to add our African context into the programme because we have things such as black tax and stokvels, so our saving methods are a bit different to what the rest of the world is doing,” explained Oliphant.
She has also incorporated a self-mastering programme that is focused on individuals finding out who they are in different areas in their lives. “We found that many of the youth have very traumatic pasts and due to lack of finances, when they do start experiencing money, it controls them and then they turn into something else. In the financial literacy programme, we teach them about budgeting, long term investments and so forth,” added Oliphant.
A work readiness course is also included in the programme targeting matriculants who would like to find jobs after school. In this section of the course, they will learn how to do research, create a CV, apply for jobs and prepare for interviews.
The financial literacy programme has a few courses in it, including an entrepreneurship course which is NQF level 4 accredited. When the students graduate after six months, they will receive the certificate for entrepreneurship.
Students who are part of this programme need to volunteer their time in the Meraki Projects Vegetable Garden to give back to the community but also for them to see how they can create an income through gardening.
Lee Griek is one of the students who hope that she will be able to start her own business after this course so that she can create employment opportunities for the many unemployed youth in the community. 56-year-old Gail Samson is also a student in the programme.
She shared that she is excited about learning about how to run a business and how to spend money wisely as she described herself as someone to likes to spend money. According to Oliphant, the final presentation of the students will be to a panel of people where they will present their business concept and see if they can get investors.
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