No Financial Literacy = Multi- Generational Cycle Of Poverty.
Financial Literacy simply put is having an understanding of how money can be effectively handled to have a positive impact on one’s life or business.
The National Financial Educators Council defines Financial Literacy as
“Possessing the skills and knowledge on financial matters to confidently take effective action that best fulfill an individual’s personal, family and global community goals.”
A Multi-Generational Cycle of Poverty is a phenomenon to explain how poverty always causes repeated poverty over several generations. People are trapped in poverty for decades unless some sot of intervention is done to break the cycle.
The advice I heard most growing up was; read hard, make sure you get a good education. Getting a degree or diploma guaranteed a good job and thus financial independence. This was like the ultimate basic survival tool into adulthood.
Employers a few years back had a loyalty to employees that enriched their companies in terms of Labour and expertise. This created job security and in turn financial security. The work scene has since evolved.
With globalization in play many different aspects keep changing in most organization structures. Cut throat competition from rival companies and the general slump in world economies means there’s continued downsizing, change of marketing strategies or even complete rebranding. Only those employees that have certain skills can survive this.
As such people are continuously in and out of jobs.
This is when Financial Literacy comes in play. Even those with the best education from the most prestigious of institutions amount to nothing when they mismanage their finances.
Ideally financial literacy should be taught from an early age. Not many early learning institutions that I know teach financial literacy basics.
Rupert Scofield; President, CEO and Co-Founder at FINCA International emphasizes this in his article Preparing African youth: The importance of developing financial literacy at a young age. (Published on May 15, 2018)
“The decisions made by children and adolescents influence the development of societies, and that effect will only strengthen as they become fully-fledged social and economic actors. If societies are to flourish, young people must be prepared for success.”
These particular areas we are going to expound on below I believe would go along way in moulding our youth into more financially informed young adults and as such start to break the generations of poverty in their respective lineages.
Saving culture, credit and debt management, finally personal development.
Most households navigate through life with hardly enough to survive on. In the rural Ugandan context we may attribute this to illiteracy and thus no structured employment. However even when we move to the average Ugandan living in the numerous suburbs the story differs slightly. It’s literally a hand to mouth situation year round. All children hear in relation to money is either it’s unavilability or struggles to cover huge debts.
The first step that may seem taboo in our African culture is talking freely to our children about money. This will be for both the hard and good money situations in the home. Discussions(age appropriate) as a family yield a sense of understanding to financial management.
At the recently concluded World Saving Day(31,October) under the theme, “Save More, Achieve More” deputy Governor Bank of Uganda Dr Louis Kasekende explained the hand to mouth situation in detail.
“According to the latest demand-survey findings, 54% (10 million) of adult Ugandans save or put money aside for future use.” “On the other hand 46% of Ugandans who are not saving indicated that they are not doing so due to lack of enough money to cover their expenses.”
Income not being in tandem with the expenditure needs may be genuine in some instances thou it usually is a case of not having priorities set straight. We need to incorporate financial literacy teachings in whatever programs are done at the grass root levels. Most villages in Uganda have saving schemes and sadly all most do is meet to collect contributions or share profits at the end of the year.
Financial institutions should change strategy from deposit mobilization campaigns and rather target more friendly financial products for the un-banked Ugandans who are still very many. This new campaign to encourage more Ugandans save should tailor requirements for opening an account to fit those an average rural Ugandan can attain, bring services closer since distance to towns is an issue, and most importantly allow small transactions at frequent intervals with minimum costs.
Credit and debt management has in many ways hindered most households development prospects. Credit is an individual’s ability to take on debt. Debt on the other hand is how much the individual owes their creditors.
Uganda has experienced a rapid growth in the number of financial institutions. As such the market has become kind of saturated. Most Ugandans do not fully understand the terms once acquiring these loans. The fees and various clauses in the bank documents are not clearly explained. Not many people take the time to do market surveys to weigh their options. Most importantly is the borrowing cost reasonable or unreasonable? Are there alternative ways of sourcing this money you need badly?
Priorities differ but the question should be is it worthwhile to get a loan to finance project X? Will project X generate enough money to finance the loan or not?
Most young graduates in the Ugandan corporate world yearn to buy cars and other luxuries with their first salaries. Should they be looking to invest in more profitable ventures or are they still “too young” to save and invest.
Another interesting culture is banks offering credit for things that were traditionally meant to be saved for or done within the available means. Wedding loans for instance are a thing now in Uganda and in my opinion these weigh down the whole new marriage experience in worry about financing them.
As parents we need to live by example. It is said that the behavior and habits children are exposed to at an early age often get carried into their adulthood. We as parents are our children’s first financial mentors. Life doesn’t have to be smooth sailing to do this.
During financial hardships in the Ugandan context we have seen banks take over family assets like homes and businesses. This should be a learning curve whether it’s directly happening in your home or where the children know of. This can be a start to explain good and bad debt. How to get out of the bad debt. What sacrifices need to be made and for how long.
Personal development is what an individual does to improve themselves and their prospects in life. This mainly revolves around the mindset. How can one see their potential and go for it. Having a growth mindset. If a farmer on an acre of land in a different country can make massive profits what is the Ugandan on five acres doing wrong? How can they improve to match their counterpart or even do better?
As parents how do we set an example of being proactive? We need to teach our children from an early age to be strong willed and embrace opportunities life throws at them. Patience is another very important trait to master. Nothing comes easy so determination and perseverance are the foundations on which goals and results are built.
Most of the above once mastered will many times aid the road to financial literacy and thus shatter walls of the poverty cycle.
Nurture childhood passions into careers.
Growing up in the 1980s a meaningful career mainly meant being a doctor, engineer, teacher or something that run in the family.
The “White collar syndrome” was a big deal.
The business dictionary defines white collar as “employees whose job entails, largely or entirely, mental or clerical work, such as in an office. White collar work used to characterize non-manual workers, but now it refers to employees or professionals whose work is knowledge intensive, non-routine, and unstructured. Historically, in the West, clerical workers wore white shirt collars.”
This limited the scope of choices for most young adults finishing secondary school and making career choices for higher Education.
The stereotypical thinking that a family kind of fate alwaysfollowed lingered on for years. The lucky few from affluent families were pushed to work harder not to bring shame to their successful folks. The underprivileged who were sadly the majority needed hearts of steel to refuse the notion that bad luck and failure was their portion in life.
Interestingly extremes in life often yield surprising results depending on what the people in these situations decide to focus on.
Our mindset contributes a great deal to how situations ultimately affect our lives.
A positive and determined mind can overcome the hardest of situations yet an equally negative or dejected mind can be broken down by the most trivial of a situation.
Not much emphasis has been put to social and emotional development of children from an early age.
Social and economic development over the years has been clouded in debate over nature vs nurture.
In summary the debate centres on whether human beings are a sum of contributions from their genetic inheritance or environmental factors within which they live.
Speaking from the Ugandan experience, alot of emphasis is put on learning basic hygiene, household chores, farming, “respect” for elders (assertiveness is in most cases seen as disrespect) at an early age. Even this is done disproportionately still emphasising the girl child not the boy child.
Emotional and social development is rarely looked at. Family decisions are taken by the adults in the home,mainly the men without putting into consideration their impact on the rest of the family members.
When calamity befalls a family for instance the main issue is never the mental health or wellbeing of the children. Losing family members, divorce/separation of parents, illnesses, bankruptcy or family heads losing ability to fend for their families all ultimately affect emotional stability of a growing child.
Ideally the children in these situations need strong support systems to overcome them.
Can we one person at a time change this narrative. Can we spread some cheer and knowledge as far wide as our individual circles of influence? I strongly believe everyone of us has a group of people that look up to them and admire them. As such we all can cause positive impact if we put our minds to it.
With age comes beautiful realisations, the difference between you and the next person you look up to is not unachievably impossible. Peeping into the 4th floor with excitement!
We are not as inadequate as we have been made to believe all these years. We are simply blessed by God in different ways. We all have strong and weak points. Either of these that we focus on and nurture determine our destiny later in life.
Back to career path choices, we have been made to believe over the years by our parents(some sadly), peers, teachers and society in general that particular talents were a waste of time and focus should be on the “traditional” ones.
This mindset meant we have perpetually done rot learning and the child hasn’t developed as a whole.
Physical, emotional and other aspects have been neglected.
Exposure to other cultures or learning curricula different from our national curriculum has shown that the difference in learning outcomes is staggeringly wide.
Our parenting styles also in comparison with other cultures could also pick pointers here and there that are beneficial.
Of course we are different that’s what constitutes our identity. However with the ever evolving and globalised world we should be more open to borrowing and implementing ideas that will yield better outcomes for our children.
We are not sure for certain that our children will be stuck in the same environment they are born and raised in. Even so if they were to stay put they are bound to interact with more exposed and emotionally groomed peers.
Let us as parents and caring citizens of whichever community we live in encourage fluid development.
Let’s knock the walls of stereotypes down. Let us identify the strengths and weaknesses of the children in our midst and work around those.
No talent is lesser than the next.
I have with awe been mesmerized by what people in the developed world take on as careers.
Growing up in the letter writing era, stamp collection fascinated me. I was more amazed to learn that some people collected them as a talent and made a fortune off them.
Bird watching also amused me. To think people paid lots of money to travel across the world to come see Ugandan bird species. Can proudly say we have a Ugandan bird watching club interestingly.
The list is endless.Nothing cannot be nurtured into a career with research and encouragement from the right people.
With our national curriculum in the process of being revised therein lies the question, apart from the obvious subjects what else should it include?
Which of these subjects should be compulsory, which can be blocked up and options given on choices?
How much of a learners time should be in the classroom setting and how much should extra curricular activities take?
Pushing the point of holistic development of an adult, how many persons of influence have we seen fail to be articulate yet they are supposed to be a representation of a larger group of constituents?
Have we neglected the simple but important parts of school some of our school days emphasized?
Debates were a kind of fun activity and these sharpened public speaking skills and confidence at an early age. Compiling weekly news through reading newspapers and listening to news on radio/television encouraged an informed mind from an early age.
Can we teach the youth being informed about whatever they choose is the new cool.
Be it cars, animals, technology, coding or fashion/design. Being able to sustain an informed conversation in an area of their passion with facts.
Having a focus passion wise also boosts overall confidence and esteem. It shows a knowledge of one’s purpose in life.
Knowledge of one’s purpose in life is the first step towards excelling in that passion.
Encouraging and guiding these young adults around us in their various fields of passion will be a push into their career paths!
Climate change
#Change
Spreading love and hope in the Ugandan countryside
Today’s generation has lost the decency of even the simplest form of greeting when they meet a stranger.
Society as a whole has gotten so busy, self centred and thrown care to the wind. Nobody cares how the next person or atleast their immediate neighbour is fairing.
Meaningful conversations have a strong effect on either parties that engage in them. They create a sense of understanding and unknowingly yield a sense of calm which with time builds trust.
The past few years have seen me delve into a new passion; farming. This has broadened my perspective on various aspects of life. As such this has ignited a great passion to share the little knowledge I have.
The countryside where most of my Agriprenuership takes place is home to many wonderful people. Most of these people tend to think life has dealt them a blow and have thus lost all hope.
Surprisingly when I look at those i work with at the farm all i see is a vast sea of opportunities and greatness ahead of them. This hopelessness is dangerous and tricles down to those around them.
The lack of exposure coupled with the rural setting hardships makes it hard for an average teenage boy/girl to dream of ever making anything out of their lives. The people that would otherwise have served as role models live in the cities. They hardly associate with them when they come to see their relatives back home.
This is when me and you….yes …you can make a difference in that rural village that holds your roots.
Next time you travel, spare some time to walk not drive to that neighbouring relative you planned to visit. Watch or even participate in a soccer match with the locals for this is the most common form of entertainment on the weekends. Buy supplies from the local retail shop and boost their sales for the period you are around. Attend a local school function and speak to the children. The list is endless!
In Uganda, most people have a wrong misconception that those engaging with community harbour political ambitions. Any well meaning citizen I believe can add alot to their community by simply sharing the knowledge they have in any field of their expertise or passion.
Until you engage with a person you will never know how much impact the interaction has had on their lives.
Women and youth issues are an interesting field that government has played a great role in highlighting for most policies. However due to the illiteracy most of these women hardly know their rights and obligations.
This is a simple example of an area I try to casually make conversations about with my team. In the process I effortlessly gather information and asses what seems amiss to correct by passing on correct information where need be which is most of the time.
Impact can be as simple as letting a pregnant mother know she ought to attend her antenatal visits, a husband know domestic violence is barbaric and that there are better avenues of resolving conflicts or a young boy/girl know that when they have completed “A”level(High school) and their parents may not afford university fees there are lots of other opportunities in Tertiary institutions some of which now have government aid.
Let’s spread love and hope wherever we go.
“A kind gesture can reach a wound that only compassion can heal”- Steve Maraboli
Peace=life!
Is the surge in horrific child minder stories indicative of degenerating moral fabric?
Starting a family is an important dream for most young couples. However pregnancy and maternity are the hardest parts of this journey. Expectant mothers require adequate time to give birth, to recover, and to nurse their children. Most importantly they need to ensure that they will not lose their job simply because of the pregnancy or maternity leave.
International Labour Organization(ILO) in Convention C183- Maternity Protection Convention 2000(C183) states that;
“On production of a medical certificate or other appropriate certification, as determined by national law and practice, stating the presumed date of childbirth, a woman to whom this Convention applies shall be entitled to a period of maternity leave of not less than 14 weeks.”
However,very few African countries that have adopted the above convention have actually ratified it. The few that have also fall short of the required standards.
The Uganda Employment Act 2006, Part IV-Rights and Duties in Employment; Section 56:Maternity leave states that;
A female employee shall as a consequence of pregnancy have the right to a period of sixty working days leave from work on full wages hereafter referred to as “maternity leave” of which at least four weeks shall follow childbirth or miscarriage.(http://www.mglsd.go.ug/laws/employment%20Act%202006.pdf)
The legal instruments in place as shown above in some work places in Uganda are enforced and that is commendable but what next when it is time to get back to work?
Mothers on conquering the pregnancy and maternity leave battles begin an even bigger battle to find some one to care for their little ones as they get back to work.
The maternity leave privileges are not enjoyed by all mothers. Those in self employment or in informal sector employment have verbal agreements that’s if any. This increases the pressure to return to work soon after giving birth and therefore not much choice on who minds for the new born infant.
Uganda has few certified child minders/ nannies. Even the affluent households will attest to the fact that their child minders were got by word of mouth on recommendation of a friend,workmates or relatives.A search online led me to a few on AupairQuest.com; an online platform linking au pairs, babysitters and nannies to parents worldwide. A further search on the active social media pages in Uganda yielded more that I chose not to include in this article.
All the above available come at exorbitant fees an average Ugandan mother cannot afford.
Cost aside none have the basic skills a child minder ideally should have.
Little or no love for children, no experience in Early Childhood education, no basic first aid skills and most importantly no patience.
Most are hired on the basis of word of mouth reference. Not very many parents know the origin/homes of the people they entrust their children with.
Hard economic times do not leave most mothers the luxury so to speak of doing the thorough background checks on whomever avails themselves for the job.
Experience aside the question we seek to answer is what has brought about the surge in the horrible stories we see on television, social media or even in our immediate neighborhoods.
What has changed in the past few years that has eroded our society of compassion?
Is it just that back then society, specifically in Uganda was not as exposed so media coverage of such happenings was limited?
All print media, social media and television broadcasts today are awash with the release of a maid that tortured a baby and was sentenced to 4 years in jail.
The story in 2014 left the nation and world at large in shock. It got global news coverage and left parents who watched the horrible video footage wondering how safe their children are in the care of child minders.
Because of the graphic nature of the pictures and video the reader is at liberty to either open/not to the provided links below to further understand the case in question.
The situations on the day of her release is more of dissatisfaction from some people.Others claim she got off light while others argue with counseling in detention perhaps she is a reformed person.
http://www.newvision.co.ug/new_vision/news/1460517/maid-tortured-baby-released
Many similar cases that have occurred though the media coverage was not as extensive.
Is the way these “maids” (general common reference to child minders in Uganda) are treated mirrored onto the way they treat the infants/toddlers they care for?
Is the work load enormous thus the pressure to accomplish all tasks by day break yields a lack of compassion for the children?
Are our expectations as parents(Uganda) too high given the fact that most of these child minders are usually uneducated at most semi-literate middle age youth.
Not very many conclusive answers to all the above questions I ask sadly.
Growing up I remember at most 2 aunties (not blood relatives; just fond reference to the nannies) that helped my parents raise us.
They seemed blood relatives and were treated as such for most of what I can remember.
They shared and per took of everything/ event in our home.
The last eventually left at free will when we became of age and joined boarding school.
That above any Ugandan mother today will tell you is a dream.
Personally employed more than 10 in a span of 15 years until I chose to do away with the stay home help. Even those that seem perfect are eventually corrupted. Nothing seemed to do the trick in my journey; increased pay(Uganda has no minimum wage) so this is as per personal understanding, days off, provision of intimate care supplies, name it nothing worked.
Most people I have interacted with attribute the hostile behavior of these child minders to the way they are treated. The child minders are at times also living under hostile working conditions. This doesn’t justify their actions but sure does explain the root cause.
Because of no legislation on a minimum wage, most times their pay in comparison to the work load is unfair.
There are most often no contracts spelling out what exactly their job descriptions are.
A home has a multitude of chores and not even the most skilled person can efficiently do them as well as mind 1 or more children which is most often the case.
Exposure to lots of television(tele novellas with violent scenes) being aired on almost all free to air Tv stations has also corrupted these helpers minds.
The breakdown of the family unit as a whole. The old African concept of living with a few relatives thus some adult supervision is long gone due to hard economic times. Feeding extra people outside the immediate family is an expense everyone avoids.
The very value systems of what is right or wrong have changed.
Communal parenting is gone. A child is answerable to only their parents thus can do as they please without anyone setting them on the right path.
Society has also deviated away from the very norms that glued us together.
Ultimately once we as parents change and behave better(live by example), our children will be better adults. Children most often imitate and grow into characters that surround them.
These child minders do not fall from space but rather come from various disturbed home settings. They most often have experienced violence themselves so they let out all this bottled anger onto the little ones they mind.
Parents and the country as a whole need to push our legislators to advocate for the setting up of the minimum wage as this will clear out issues of underpayment that breeds dissatisfaction.
Parents need to also be more vigilant with who they leave their children with.
Finally if child minders are proving a problem for a parent then perhaps it’s time to explore alternative avenues like day care centers, or relatives helping out.
The safety of the children is very crucial and thus should be taken very seriously.
“Love and respect are the most important aspects of parenting, and of all relationships.”-Jodie Foster
World Peace
Maiden Entry
Hello and welcome to Lillyrwomblog.Very new to the whole process but will definitely learn a lot along the way.
There is always a first time for everything I guess.
I am passionate about a few things and will share with you my experiences, thoughts and events relating to these as they either happen or even just as my brain wishes they could happen.
Mother, wife, farmer, nature and International Relations enthusiast sums up who I see myself as.
I love family and have been blessed with a wonderful husband and 3adorable children. True growth in every sense begins when you not only have to cater for your personal needs but those of 4 other humans in my case. Not forgetting in the African sense that of other extended family members. Family is very important to me and always acts as a big influence in all major aspects of my life.
Parenting has evolved a lot whether for the better/worse is a point of debate. Things in my household are done very differently from the way they were 30+ years ago growing up in my parents house.
Many invaluable lessons stick with me though. Watching my parents growing up taught me that love, respect, honesty and faith in God among others are the bonding glue to any happy family.
“Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family.”- Anthony Brandt
Farming is a passion I have newly acquired and so to speak is bringing out a side of me I never would have known otherwise.
The comfort or assumed comfort of an 8-5 job can literally leave one boxed off from the realities of life out there.This comes with shielding off lots of other important aspects in life.
In the 21st century most working adults of course with the exception of those in casual/manual employment sit most of the time; sit in a vehicle(does not matter if personal or public service) then sit all day in office and crown it off with a good movie or Television program on the couch in the evening.
This desk bound lifestyle breeds lots of health complications.
Dr James Levine, Director of the Mayo Clinic-Arizona State University Obesity Solutions Initiative and Inventor of the Treadmill desk has done extensive research on the adverse effects of increasingly sedentary lifestyles for years. He sums his findings in two sentences;
“Sitting is more dangerous than smoking, kills more people than HIV and is more treacherous than parachuting. We are sitting ourselves to death.”
Farming has seen me more in touch with the countryside. This has come with vast experiences both pleasant and unpleasant. The things some people take for granted are a luxury others cannot even dare to dream of.
We know these situations exist, we have studied about them in class growing up maybe or even watched a documentary but had never contextualized them. Some leave me in shock but also give me a greater appreciation for what God has blessed me with this far. That in particular has been a good grounding experience.
Nature preservation is another major passion I have. With farming comes numerous trips to my farm or to other people’s farms either to learn or on invite by farming friends.
Uganda is experiencing a surge in the number of people engaged in nature preserving activities. Many trees especially Eucalyptus and Pine are being planted. Seeing these growing forests especially on previously bare lands is breathtaking!
Social media is equally awash with conservation groups, explaining different procedures from tree bed planning,planting all through to trimming when mature. The youth have discovered the gold in trees.
Homes owners have embraced new landscaping ideas, fruit tree growing. With this they benefit both shade and fruits. The juicing movement(juice therapy) has also exposed the fact that most of these fruit tree leaves can also be consumed in various ways with enormous health benefits.
I can proudly say I have also contributed to the nation’s forest cover.
Have planted quite some acres of trees in the past few years. My heart swells with joy every time I stand among them and continue to disappear from sight, a sign they are growing.
“Until you dig a hole, you plant a tree, water it and make it survive, you haven’t done a thing. You are just talking.” Wangari Maathai
Lastly International Relations keep me yearning to learn something new everyday. The changing dynamics of how different nations world over relate in regard to cultural, economic and political aspects in their respective countries fascinates me.
The various world issues be it security, economic welfare, health, food security, environmental conservation and cultural diversity all at various times create important focal points in news broadcasts, lecture rooms or even governmental agency boardrooms.
My brain is always eager to absorb something new everyday.
“The mind that opens to a new idea never returns to its original size.”-Albert Einstein
Embarking on this journey with much joy.
Lillyrwom’s Tales 