Stories
I had the privilege of training women in business, particularly entrepreneurs. It was a remarkable experience to find myself in a room filled with individuals of various age groups, ranging from the youthful to the old. The modules covered during the training were Module 1, 5, and 9. We delved into the difficulties of managing and creating budgets. One of the participants expressed that crafting a budget is often a challenging task, yet a crucial one as it fosters awareness and mindfulness in expenditure, instilling a sense of confidence and peace of mind. The presence of Sanlam advisors further enriched the sessions, helping participants their investments such as stocks,bonds and insurances. The final module sparked a flurry of inquiries and discussions, leaving the participants eager for additional sessions. Thank you Avocado Vision for empowering our communities.
A while ago i attended an event that had Traditional Leaders and i was speaking about the work I do with Avocado Vision, the intention was to creat new pipelines for community trainings. One of the Chiefs from Qumbu asked me to contact him when i had trainings lined up. He called a month ago to check if there was anything as he would like his committee and co-operatives in his area to be trained. I was reluctant as Qumbu is a bit far especially if you have to steal go to administrative areas. He assured me that they were about 3km's from town, i took the bait. The distance was almost 40 kms on gravel (he apologised for the untruth and said he really wanted me to come and train his people), at this point i did not care, the training was one of the most enjoyable ones that i have done in a while. It was one of those trainings that you leave knowing that you have made a difference, the conversations on both days were enlightening for me and for them. One of the participants said that he used to work in the mines and his church (ZCC) had taught them about saving and he did that and was able to buy bakkies (to transport people to and from town) he also opened a Spaza in his location and it pains him now because he failed to give his children the same gift of teaching them about the importance of taking care of these business and saving money because his business is dying because of his sons who are reckless with money. The chief, who could not attend any of the sessions due to his brother passing away a day before, send a VN thanking me and Avocado Vision, he said on the VN that the participants were so greatful for this training and some have made commitments to do better in terms of saving. I have also been invited by neighboring villages to also train them, which i plan to do regardless of the distance.
I was honored with an invitation to facilitate a session at the women empowerment event on the 14th of September 2024 to empower them with financial skills and financial knowledge. We had an impactful session with women in business. The level of participation was heartwarming and the tools we used helped participants to understand the content better. The module we did that day was teaching children about money.Learning to teach children about money early sets them on a path to lifelong financial success .We all agreed that a teaching them young is so important for building a solid foundation for financial independence. Also had an opportunity to facilitate a session for Botshabelo community. Participants enjoyed the training and requested that we must at least come once a month, it was a really great session! Participants received certificates at the end of the session and one can say they were so excited to have received them.
What an honour to facilitate and train participants for one of the game changers and leading social and environmental organizations around our country. In 2021, unemployment in South Africa reached 34.4 percent, and the South African government initiated the Social Employment Fund project to strengthen the agricultural sector. Solidaridad was an implementing partner in the project, which was managed by Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa. Between the 03rd to 12th September 2024 I trained on the Absa Project Financial Literacy Training with Solidaridad Network on Money Fo'sho in the city of Johannesburg, Randfontein and Sedibeng Municipality. Overall a total of almost 120 young people were impacted in the process. The participants are contracted for a period of 10 months and are given skills and development on farming, agricultural and entrepreneurial development. Therefore the financial skills training would not have come at the right moment. What I enjoyed the most is the enthusiasm, the professionalism and the hunger to learn from the participant of Solidaridad. The young people are definitely on their way to making a positive change within the agricultural and economic development landscape. Avocado Vision and Absa are truly making waves and shaping the future of our young people one life and one organization at a time.
BRICK UPON BRICK BUILDING IN SYFERBULT COMMUNITY Brick upon Brick and one layer upon another is how the financial skills has been applied in Syferbult community. In 2023 we had our 3 first money fo’sho trainings in this village of the Rustenburg municipality. Now in August 2024 we have made a return with some intense money modular training to continue where we started the year before. Syferbult is a farmland community almost 80km outside platinum city of Rustenburg , it is almost an economically disadvantage and forgotten place. The people survive from getting jobs in the nearby farms and the mills company that operates near the area. The children and youth have no recreational activities to enjoy . our training organizer Ms Molly Kadiaka is a dedicated community activist who connected us to this area and other nearby communities. She is involved in community development on various levels and is a self employed business women. Ms Kadiaka is the first to attest to the difference she has seen since attending the first our introductory modulars. Her budgeting skills has improved and is financially savvy due to these financial skills training. This year together with many others in her village, they cannot wait to experience what else is in store for them with our Money modulars such as boosting your income, risky businesses, my money and tax and many more as and when they are available to train thus far in their side of the world. There is light and hope shone in their direction because of the Sanlam sponsorship and the impact Avocado is making within the forgotten communities of North West Province and South Africa. We surely shall be back again in this community to continue building brick upon brick until the whole community is skilled and developed all round. Thanks to all our beautiful participant as well for their eagerness and passion to see change within their lives.
I had the opportunity to train in 3 towns around Free State this previous week. The encounter in all was amazing as I never did any recruitment process, the poster I put on social networks as part of marketing made interested participants approach me, organise their dates and book their own safespace. The most delivered module was "funerals and finance" and the interesting part was when they learned about underwriters and their work on policies and funeral undertakers. The Bethlehem group had 3 participants working for the government and towards the end of the session we highlighted the 2 pot system and can confidently say they were satisfied with how they received the information as they now know better and how to decide on the policy. The Fezile Dabi District session also approached me and the interested candidates number was almost double we had to group into 2 sessions also the participants were excited to learn about financial issues/discipline ways to manage their situations especially they are in a working environment with lots of engineering firms having members of the families earning better salaries however they are unable to manage it often misuse it. The motivation part is Financial literacy is important to everyone. It does not choose age, gender or individual according to the Income category. Trainees are looking forward to more sessions
This time, I had the privilege of conducting training sessions for residents of Mangaung and Dihlabeng, spanning across various age groups. Additionally, I was granted the opportunity to host a financial segment on our local radio station every Tuesday, commencing next month. One of the participants stated that "our current educational system falls short in adequately equipping individuals with the necessary skills to effectively manage their finances and cultivate wealth, resulting in widespread financial struggles". He furthermore explained on how the training session served as an eye-opener, emphasizing the significance of actively seeking financial knowledge to make well-informed decisions regarding one's personal finances. The modules that garnered the most appreciation were those money modular 5, 9, 13, and 4. In light of the escalating unemployment rates, Avocado is playing a pivotal role in bridging the gap and empowering our community, simultaneously nurturing us as facilitators. It is truly remarkable to reflect on the journey that has led to the realization that I'll hosting a radio segment. Gratitude is extended to Avocado Vision for this enriching opportunity.
I had the privilege to train disabled entrepreneurs from SEDA who are experiencing a lot of challenges in their businesses. And they raised multiple issues surrounding their businesses including fraud and scams, personal debts and procurement challenges. One of the participants Mr Mntambo who is blind shared his experience as follows, he once got a call from SASSA to supply 50000 Cards for Grant beneficiaries and the deadline was in week's time. He organised a friend to assist in finding the service providers who supply cards and they found one and the service providers were requesting an upfront payment and as he was about to make that payment,he contacted someone from the branch to verify the information regarding the call. But the consultant told him that SASSA has its own service providers who are appointed nationally to supply the cards,he then contacted the number of the person who requested the cards and it was closed for several days. He also indicated that as a blind entrepreneur he faces challenges when trying to get credit as other credit providers treat him with disrespect due to his condition and some have taking clothing on his account and denied the allegation when he lays charges against them. Other lady from the different group shared her experience when it comes to online purchases,she shared that she orders things online and sell them to her customers who bought clothing from her. But she once experienced a cyber scam people were trying to deduct money from account as if she ordered something and she approached the bank she was advised not to orders using her personal account but rather use virtual account as most scammers will try to deduct money from her account and virtual account ccv number charges every hour so it's not easy for scammers to track. I had a wonderful experience and exciting sessions with full participation.
Training was energetic and participants were also engaging on a number of challenges that they are facing when it comes to their personal finances. Wow moments was when Mapaseka Ramatsebe discussed how been a single mother has made her to focus on making her kids learn the basics of saving money for their schooling activities projects by saving every R2 they got. Now that she attended the session about young people and money she will practicing what she learned today to improve her financial goal for her family
