Prudence Foundation, the community investment arm of Prudential plc in Asia and Africa with ChildFund in Laos on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with The National Commission for Advancement of Women, Mother, and Children (NCAWMC).
Under the MOU, Prudence Foundation will fully fund its financial literacy and life skills programs for children – Cha-Ching and SAFE STEPS Kids – under the Child Life Skills Empowerment Project. These programs will be implemented in 100 schools in Vientiane Capital, Houaphanh and Xieng Khouang provinces until the end of 2024.
“At Prudence Foundation, we aim to build community resilience through long-term initiatives focused on education, health, and safety.”
“Money affects everyone in the world. And children are often more vulnerable in emergencies or disastrous situations. Through the Cha-Ching and SAFE STEPS Kids programs, we aim to empower children in Laos with key financial education and life skills they need to respond to challenges, risks, and opportunities in the future.” said Nicole Ngeow, Director, Prudence Foundation.
Mr. Thammavong Vilasai, Acting Country Director, ChildFund in Laos, said “ChildFund in Laos is delighted to continue the partnership with Lao government partners from national to local level. With the financial and technical support from the Prudence Foundation, we are able to expand our work on child and youth empowerment and life skills development which include financial literacy “Cha Ching” and SAFE Steps Kids.
“These two programs will be implemented by ChildFund in Laos partnership with our key government partners from national to local level including the National Commission for the Advancement of Women, Mother, and Children and Ministry of Education and Sports in 100 targeted schools include 60 schools in Vientiane Capital.”
“20 schools in Houaphanh, and 20 schools in Xieng Khouang Provinces. The implementation of the programs will effectively start from now until late December 2024. We are exciting to work with all stakeholders including teachers, children and youth to scale up this work in Laos to reach at least 20,000 more children in this project,” said Mr. Thammavong.
Cha-Ching was developed by Prudence Foundation in partnership with Cartoon Network Asia and Emmy Award-winning children’s educational specialist, Dr. Alice Wilder, to equip children between the ages 7 to 12 with the knowledge, tools and money-smart skills to prepare them to reach their future goals.
Using a blended educational approach, the main objective of this award-winning financial literacy program, is to leverage a series of cartoons together with a purpose-built curriculum that equips teachers with an engaging program covering four key financial management concepts: Earn, Save, Spend, and Donate.
Over 23,000 teachers have been trained and have successfully delivered the Cha-Ching Curriculum to over 870,000 primary school students across Asia and Africa.
SAFE STEPS Kids is a multi-platform public-service program created by Prudence Foundation, in partnership with International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and Cartoon Network.
This program leverages well-known Cartoon Network characters to raise awareness and provide life-saving information to children using multiple platforms including on-air cartoon videos, infographics, an informative website, and print material that can be shared through community-based activities and partnerships.
The main component of the programs is a series of 50-second educational public service announcement (PSA) videos, which Prudence Foundation and Cartoon Network collaboratively developed with all messages IFRC-approved.
