Stories
Most of my trainees were young people of Mangaungging ,90% of them did not see a necessity to save or invest. They were appreciative about the training and most mentioned that they've been taken a lot especially when it comes to money for granted. The training really changed their mindset, eight of the trainees decided that they going to open up a stockvel. "They said the training made them realise the importance of saving money". And investing which allows one to enjoy greater security in life. And again if one have cash set aside for emergencies, one can have a fallback should something unexpected happen.
Plot 41 was a home for a white woman called Dinie that is why it is called Dinie Estate. She was rich and did not have children. All her workers were her children. Lawyers were looking after her assets. After her death lawyers paid all workers then Land affairs bought the plot and hand it over to municipality for development The victims of evictions from were allocated together with those that did not have homes like orphans and old people from farm etc. They then applied for RDPs and that is how the Location or formal settlement was formed In total 2 groups of 32 each were trained. One trained in the Money Fo Sho and Money Modular Courses and another one in just only Money Fo Sho. The local and ward committee leadership who organized the people appreciated and welcomed the initiative. They connected us to two more wards outside their area to be trained. A community riddled with poverty and political instability is being positively impacted with money matters and new paradigm shift on how to handle their money affairs. The participants also expressed their gratitude and thanks.
Avocado Vision in partnership with Coronation we have managed to reach out different communities in the financial life skills training program. Participants show enthusiasm towards the program and interested to learn more, what I noticed that many South Africa's are stacked in their finances due to lack of financial managing skills. They have learned more about different models including tax, Insurance, money and believes, black tax, youth people and money, children and money, buying a big ticket of which most learners it was a new information. All participants engage fruitful in their groups and ask questions another youth said "I wish all this information could be implemented as a subject in schools so that as we grow up we will carefully manage money better and safety. The mistakes it will have been avoided if we were told before". Many learners share their views and enthusiasm towards the program. I could say this Session arrived in a right time to right people to manage their better and safety.
Making A Positive Mark In Bethanie North West Bethanie is a village near Brits in Madison, about 60km within the rustenburg mining belt. The area is mainly depended on farming and mining for its sustainability. The people however feel excluded from the economic gains and infrastructure investment. Making a mark is about having an important effect on something. Born Fire Ministries made a lasting effect by welcoming us and Coronation Money Modular Training. They offered their church space and resources to have 32 young people impacted for almost 3 full days. The church has never worked in community before and through this intervention they managed to recruit the youth in the community. Here are some of the Youth stories from the field. Gomolemo Musi Story I had a computer and printer and wanted to start a business in my parents house of which they refused but during the course especially after doing boosting my income and young people and money I had courage to Kickstart the idea and I see some changes in my life. Charity Baloi Story The course has boosted my self confidence. I am an existing self employed entrepreneur and get skilled with boosting my income and managing my money has changed my life and business outlook. I look forward to learning more as I practice this skills on a daily basis. More such stories are told in the field and practical gains and young people are moved to action and grow their financial base. More stories will be published later. I am looking forward to more young lives being positively affected. Since this training took place a church branch belonging to Born Fire Ministries in another North West Location has agreed to host us in the Month of May 2023. Thanks a million to all dedicated to making a mark that cannot be erased within communities of South Africa.
Making A Positive Mark Within Potchefstroom Making a Mark is about having a positive or important effect on something. At the beginning of this year I vowed to travel to Parts of North West Province I have not trained in before and one of those place is in Potchefstroom. Therefore when Avocado Vision announced in February with the start of Trainings my heart leaped. Immediately I tried connecting with the Potchefstroom community. This led to me traveling two full days looking for training opportunities. All the responses at that time were negative and all doors shut, until I met A dedicated councilor of Ward 1 in Potchefstroom who agreed to my proposal to come train in His Area. For almost 3 weeks nothing happened and I was getting frustrated until eventually the door opened. Councilor David and the Ikageng community welcomed us with the Sanlam Money Modular Program for 3 Days leading up to Easter. All the beneficiaries and participants were mainly unemployed out of school youth who were hopeless and negatively impacted by life. Modules such as youth and money, money and beliefs, boosting my income, budgeting, and savings and investments made a lasting positive impact to those in attendance. The community is looking forward to having Avocado Vision and its partners return on an entrepreneurial Development space. Thanks a million to all involved in changing young lives and making a mark that cannot be erased within South Africa.
Sanlam project- the training kickstarted on 24 March with so much energy and enthusiasm. The training took place in an area called Lusaka and Luzuko. On Money fo Sho all participants were actively involved. They enjoyed the training in so much that they wanted more of CFE trainings. They did testimonials that they did know the importance of making a budget and prioritizing needs vs wants. What I also noted was the fire that they had on Will and that was discussed abased on their experiences. On MM the savings and investing was outstanding for them, the saving methods and their interests. I have not faced any challenges in terms of the venue as well as the training in overall. Branding will be appropriate for these trainings. Pop-up banners as well as table cloths.
Coronation project- the project kickstarted on 15 February 2023. I trained different communities around Cape Flats with the help of community leaders. The feedback from the community has been amazing. Participants shared that the information that they got from the sessions they shared it with their families and that made a huge positive impact in their household. They also shared that these trainings help on their businesses as well. I must say seeing people using these methods of managing their finances makes me see that indeed Avocado Vision is an agent of change.
I had an opportunity to train the youth from Kuyenzeka youth center in Phola. They were appreciative about the training and most mentioned that that’s are a lot of things when it comes to money that are being taken for granted. As young students/interns they get a lot of offers that can make end up in debt but after the session now they know what is good debt & bad debt. They shared their stories about their relationship with money and the would like to have future follow up so they can learn best practices from one another and to see if there is improvement on their relationship with money.
We had a great time with the Sanlam staff on the 28 of March 2023 at Rustenburg, North West of RSA. We were talking about a very interesting topic : Managing Debt. We had some heated debates and fruitful discussions. I also learnt a lot from them I must say. The purpose was to share and show them what we do in our communities as far as financial skills training progamme is concerned. We agreed that Debt can be useful financial tool. It can help you buy a car or home. If you use credit cards, there can be added benefits like travel points or extended warranties. But, if you have too much debt, it can limit your financial options. Participation was great with lots of insight. We concluded by saying that Debt can either help or hurt your financial future, depending on how you use it. If you borrow money wisely, debt can be a valuable tool that helps you manage expenses over a period of time. But if you use debt carelessly, it can threaten your financial future. At the end of the session all participants were awarded with a certificate.
