This month we were fortunate to have our staff take part in some vital Financial Literacy training.
The training was sponsored by GKEPF (Greater Kruger Environmental Protection Foundation) and provided by the ASISA Foundation. We hosted this training in the Ingwelala Conference Room over 2 days, during which time staff from most of the Umbabat PNR attended.
The training was provided in isiZulu and English by Zain Khan and Siyanda Ngcobo from ASISA Foundation, supported and translated to xiTsonga by Tebogo Mtungwa from GKEPF. The programme presented is designed specifically for the South African workforce, aiming to equip employees with the necessary tools, knowledge, and skills to effectively manage their finances.
During training, staff were educated on key financial literacy concepts that will help improve financial well-being, including the essentials of budgeting, saving, prioritising spending, planning for emergencies, and making better daily and long-term decisions when it comes to financial matters. Staff were also given take-home resources and assisted with readily available resources to use for information and assistance.
The training was also filled with fun, interactive activities for all to enjoy, and staff received one-on-one assistance when requested as well. The Q&A session was particularly helpful too, allowing everyone to broaden their scope and understanding of Financial Literacy.
Financial Literacy Training by Zain from ASISA Foundation
A fun icebreaker where staff drew pictures of their goals in their books, on top of their heads, to show the others
The outcome from the training was very positive, and the staff have requested more training and assistance from GKEPF and ASISA Foundation for various other fields as well, including Pensions, Providence Funds, SARS, and the Two-pot system due to be implemented in South Africa in September. We would be delighted to host the training again, and plan to get the team back here soon to assist the staff with these various other skills they want to learn about. This course was part 1 of the module - part 2 will be coming soon.
We’d like to thank GKEPF for sponsoring this training across the Greater Kruger area. If you are not familiar with GKEPF, it is a registered not-for-profit organisation focusing on combating environmental crime. The biggest focus area is poaching of various species, and this is combated through various channels - one of which is education and training. As a thank you for the training and services they provide to us for free, we’d like to share their website with you, where you can read about them and share their work. We’d also like thank the ASISA Foundation for providing such excellent initiatives and training to our staff. They are also a non-profit organisation focused on facilitating change in the lives of ordinary people through education, transferring knowledge, developing skills and shifting attitudes, all in the interest of enabling greater economic participation in our country. Together, they are making a big impact!
We are incredibly impressed by the level of training provided to all our staff and are incredibly grateful to GKEPF and ASISA Foundation. We would highly encourage all other reserves to partake in this amazing initiative - it is well worth it! We cannot wait for the next training session to kick off - it is bound to be spectacular!
A one-on-one session
Take-home resources
Dreaming big with training
Joy after a training session successfully completed!
Words by Tess Woollgar, images courtesy of Tess Woollgar.