Mt Kilimanjaro, TZ – Shop manager teaching her daughter to start saving early – 24 Mar 2017

Sessi showing off her birthday presents: new school notebooks.

Lishe Bora garden shop manager Mary Shayo celebrated her daughter’s birthday by teaching her personal finance habits. Mary and her daughter, Sessi, broke open Sessi’s piggy bank and deposited 29,000 TZS (US $13.00) into a “Starter Account” at a local bank. The “Starter Account” is designed for children to help them learn good financial habits.

Mary grew up very poor and did not learn financial management skills growing up. By necessity, her family spent almost all of their money as soon as they received it. When Mary began earning a steady income she saved money but did not do so strategically. At the end of 2015 Mary helped start two VICOBAs for families in Lishe Bora’s garden program. This experience taught her the value of saving strategically.

Mary’s famous birthday cake cooked over an open fire.

VICOBAs teach families to save a fixed amount of money every week. Many families are surprised to see how much these small savings deposits can add up to by the end of the year. Mary felt this was an important lesson and habit for her daughter to earn early in life. She had a small box built as a piggy bank and told Sessi to put money in it every time she could.

Sessi turned six on February 27^th and, after a small party with her friends, she broke open her piggy bank and counted out 29,000 TZS (US $13.00). Mary hopes to continue this tradition until Sessi is ready to do something important with the money, like put it towards continuing education or starting a business when she is older.