Lost and Learned in Translation

By Whitney Webb

Taking a slightly different approach to Christmas, I returned to Cambodia this past December to run short financial literacy workshops for teens at two orphanages that I volunteered with back in 2010. In the last three years I’ve gained experience and appreciation for the power of financial education. Working as the COO of Independent Means, and a trainer to several families, I’ve seen the impact that financial skills can have on a young person’s life. With a new objective in mind, my coworker and longtime friend, Genine, and I decided to help teach teens living in those orphanages basic financial skills.

Cambodia is one of the poorest nations in the world and the teens living in those orphanages have little opportunity to handle money for day-to-day needs, or practice the skills they need for financial independence. That being said, we found them to be savvy, intelligent, motivated and aware of the basics of economics and finance, even if they didn’t yet know how to verbalize it.

Genine and I adapted and created the following curriculum: 

What is finance? What is microfinance? What is a bank?
Savings and budgeting
Loans and interest
Entrepreneurship
How to leverage human, social, intellectual, and financial capital

Instead of focusing on the charts, vocabulary, and activities that we used to cement these ideas (you are welcome), I’m going to focus on my takeaways from the sessions: 

1. Passion is great. But it is passion plus knowledge that makes real change.  As a volunteer in Cambodia nearly 4 years ago, I think I believed that just being there was going to improve things. I taught English and helped with grant proposals, doing the only things I was equipped to do. Looking back, both of these contributions could have easily done more harm than good, even with the best intentions. Money without proper oversight and implementation can have disastrous results, especially in a country ridden with corruption. Education without structure and context can lead to confusion and frustration for those trying to learn.

I returned to Cambodia a bit older, more experienced, and much more realistic about the impact I could make. I had never run financial literacy sessions for teens in developing countries, but I do understand the nature of financial services in poor countries from my work with Kiva and several Microfinance Institutions in Rwanda. And from my work with Independent Means, I understand how to teach financial concepts to adults, teens, and even children who can’t yet read. I felt comfortable that my background gave me a fair shot at equipping these teens with the language and concepts to feel more confident about independent life, and at the least, help them know the right questions to ask.

[image error]I hope to take what I learned, and hopefully some other people who want to learn along with me, on another endeavor…coming soon.