pedals&pennies

Battambang

Over the last couple of days we’ve really experienced a different side of the CUFA Cambodian Leadership Challenge. We temporarily waved goodbye to the bikes and finally got the chance to see the Children’s Financial Literacy Program in action.

The program is designed to teach kids about saving money and how important it is to their future. More than 9,000 Cambodian children have received the training thanks to the $50,000 we raised before we left Australia.

We had our first chance to see the program in action when we visited a school on Saturday morning. The kids had come back from their school holidays to take part in the lesson, and they brought more than a few ring-ins with them; a class that usually holds around 35 kids had at least 70 or 80 smiling faces crammed inside.

There’s heaps more information about the program on the CUFA website, but I’ll give you a quick run-down.

A CUFA project worker visits schools and talks to children (usually around seven or eight years old) about the importance of saving money and what it could mean for them in the future. They use really simple explanations, like buying one ice cream instead of two and saving the difference.

The kids are asked to think of something they want to save for, which is usually school books, clothes or a new school uniform. They’re given a money box to help them save, which they need to take care of and make sure they don’t lose.

Most of the children get money from their parents each day to go to school and they’re encouraged to put aside a small amount every day or week. When I say a small amount, I really mean it. The kids might get around 30c a day to take to school and buy lunch so they have to be quite frugal to put anything in their money box.

After we’d helped to deliver the lessons (including some hilariously melodramatic role plays) we got a chance to play some games outside with the kids. It was so much fun and I can’t remember the last time I smiled or laughed so much.

The kids are also encouraged to join their local Savings Bank (more on those later) and get follow-up visits from the CUFA workers in their home.

We got a chance to visit a couple of the kids’ houses with the CUFA staff and it was such an eye opener. The first home we visited was quite basic – we sat under the house and met the boy’s mother and sister and discussed how much he’d saved, how much his mother gave him each day and how much he managed to save. He was so proud of everything he’d managed to save for a new school uniform.

The second house we visited made the first one look almost palatial. There were no walls between the rooms, only sheets or tarpaulins draped over for some sort of privacy. This young boy only received a third of the pocket money as the first child because his family was very poor. His mother could barely afford to clothe them, never mind give him extra pocket money so he could save.

Nevertheless, she was very proud of the regular contributions he was making into his money box and the plans he was making for his future.

We also had the chance to visit three of the credit unions (called savings banks here) that CUFA has built for villagers to keep their savings in. The buildings are only provided to savings clubs that have a good history of helping their village to make sure the funding CUFA receives goes to projects that are sustainable in the long term.

To qualify for a building, a local savings club needs to have at least 900 members and have a 20 per cent growth in members or savings once they approach CUFA for assistance. In other words, they already need to have the support and trust within the community.

Before a building is provided, the savings clubs operate under one of the committee member’s house so it’s hard to convince people their money is safe. Once the building is there, growth really picks up because there’s something substantial there to offer security.

Sitting in one credit union, we were asked by a general manager (all of whom were women) about ways to increase her margin on loans without putting up interest rates for members. It’s a discussion that’s happened in every credit union around the world and despite the 15 people from various roles in successful credit unions, we just couldn’t come up with a solution.

Today we’re driving to Phnom Penh to visit some more savings banks and the CUFA training centre, where we’ll see the programs they run for volunteers and committee members in the savings banks. It’ll be really good to get another view of the work they’re doing over here.

We’ll also get a chance to learn a little more about Cambodia’s recent history, especially the atrocities under the Khmer Rouge. We haven’t had a lot of time to experience things outside of the CUFA work and it will really be our first opportunity to get a an afternoon to explore and learn a bit more.

Oh, and we’ll also be quickly reunited with our bikes tomorrow for a lazy 20km ride around the city.

Pat

It's over

Fran and I are both feeling more than a little sore after the big ride today. We managed to ride just under 160km, and believe me when I say that we're feeling every single one of them!

We had heaps of support from everyone at Savings & Loans - it's amazing how much easier things are when there's something to take your mind off your aching bum! We also had the bright idea of sitting the bikes in front of the TV in the branch, so we caught up on all of the Olympic action (including the always-exciting equestrian dressage).

It was a bit cruel to have a barbecue out the front of the branch while we were riding, but we made our way through enough fruit and chocolate make any small child jealous!

As much as an ice bath would have been great straight afterwards, we had Savings & Loans' staff Communications Night this evening, so hopefully I haven't done too much damage by leaving it this late.

Chris, one of the other credit union staff heading on the Cambodian Leadership Challenge, did a similar ride last week but he managed to pedal a staggering 210km. Fran and I have no idea how he managed it.

Cheers
Pat

The countdown begins

Yes, the countdown has officially begun! To be more accurate, two countdowns have begun. The first countdown is incredibly exciting, as it's only 24 days until we fly out for Cambodia for the CUFA Leadership Challenge.

The second countdown isn't quite so enjoyable - in two days Fran and I will be jumping on two exercise bikes in the foyer of Savings & Loans' Flinders Street branch to see how far we can ride in eight hours. We'll be accepting donations on the day, with all of the money raised going towards to credit union development work being done by CUFA in Cambodia.

Fernwood Fitness at St Agnes is supplying us with bikes for the day and will even be sending some personal trainers along to make sure we're hydrated and stretched up throughout the ride (no jokes about Fernwood being a women-only gym, please!).

If you're in Adelaide and would like to make a donation, or just have a look at how we're going, then please drop in to the Savings & Loans branch on the corner of Flinders Street and Gawler Place. We might take the occasional break to stretch, but we'll be there between 9am and 5pm this Friday, 15 August.

There's free wireless internet and some new comfy chairs in the branch, so even if we aren't comfortable, you should be.

 

No matter how far we get, I don't think the pros in the Savings & Loans Cycling Team have anything to worry about!

I hope to see you there! If you can't make it, we'll be taking plenty of photos on the day.

Patrick

We finally meet...

We're just sitting in Sydney airport now after meeting the rest of the CUFA Leadership Challenge volunteers for the first time. It was a fantastic day. The group really came together well and it looks like we're going to be a big support to each other over there.

It's strange that despite our varied backgrounds, skill sets and positions within our respective credit unions, we all got along really well. It's not often you have 15 strangers laughing with (maybe at!) each other so quickly.

We also had a fantastic insight into Cambodia and the great things that CUFA is doing over there. We really can't stress this enough - the savings banks (credit unions) we're helping build are having a massive impact on people's lives.

More than just giving people access to finance, they're helping to restore a sense of trust and community to a group of people who have suffered so much. Obviously getting a savings account isn't the only solution to getting the country back on track, but it is a big step.

We found out more about the work we'll be doing with the kids over there - we'll get taught by some of the CUFA workers over there then help teach the kids in schools. There won't always be an interpreter to help us, so things may get a little 'inventive' at times! This will no doubt be one of the highlights of the challenge.

Something else we're all looking forward to is the amazing amount of hospitality and gratitude we can expect from these people who have so little. We've been told to expect lots of thanks, lots of smiles and thousands of different ways of serving rice!

Remember the 'ride-a-thon' on 15 August and we'll check in soon!

Fran, Mark and Patrick

Too cold to ride? Just move inside!

It's hard to prepare yourself for riding a bike in 31 degree heat and high humidity when your home town has its coldest July day in 25 years. Compare this to Cambodia, where we can expect an average maximum 32.3 during the day and a positively chilly 24.3 overnight.

So how can we train when your drink bottle almost freezes over when you step outside? We move the training inside, of course!

To help us get used to riding some long distances, we'll be setting up three exercise bikes in Savings & Loans' Flinders St branch and testing how far we can get in a day. The fantastic people from Fernwood Fitness at St Agnes will be providing us with bikes and they'll even be sending out a personal trainer to make sure we stay on the ball!

The branch opens at 9 and closes at 5, so it will be interesting to see just how far we can travel over the eight hours!

We're also hoping to raise some money through the ride, with people sponsoring us for each kilometre we manage to get through on the day. Get in touch if you'd like to arrange a donation.

Quiz night!

While the three of us are drastically trying to get into shape ahead of our trip (some needing more training than others...) we're also busily raising money to support the projects CUFA's running in Cambodia.

The money we're raising is going directly to these children's financial literacy programs we're helping with. Funds raised help to fund the support workers and provide the basic infrastructure to keep the systems running. The term 'system' might be a bit of an overstatement from what I understand. While most of us take our money to credit unions for safekeeping, these kids have a lockable savings box - just what you need for your $2 a month!

Our next fundraising drive will be a quiz night on 2 August. If you're in Adelaide then please come along. It will be a fun night with some great prizes and a few special auctions, including sporting memorobilia.

And let's face it, who doesn't like showing off how smart they are in front of a room full of people?

When: 7pm, Saturday 2 August
Where: St Peters Town Hall, 101 Payneham Rd, St Peters
Cost: $10 each, with tables of 8-10

Drinks will be available for purchase on the evening, but if you're coming along then it's probably a good idea to bring some snacks for your table to share.

Full details are available in the flyer. If you'd like to come along then organsie a table of friends or colleagues and call me on (08) 8305 8331 or email pgibson@savingsloans.com.au

Welcome to pedals&pennies

Hi, and welcome to pedals&pennies – a blog that will follow three Savings & Loans staff as we help with developing credit unions in Cambodia.

I’m Patrick Gibson, Savings & Loans’ Media and Communications Coordinator. In September this year I’ll be travelling to Cambodia with the Credit Union Foundation of Australia (CUFA) to help with their development work in the country.

Myself, Fran Kouwenhoven, our Corporate Social Responsibility Consultant and Mark Halliday from our Organisational Development area will be heading over for the program, which includes a 350km bike ride and some hands-on work with local groups.

We’ll be joining credit union staff from around Australia to help deliver financial literacy projects in local schools and see first the impact these relatively simple projects can have on people’s lives.

We’re also raising money to keep the programs running – the group aims to raise $45,000 in the lead-up to the trip, and we’ll be tackling a bike ride of over 350km before we start delivering the programs.

Now, I’m not exactly in tip-top physical shape, so riding a bike for six days (one day’s around 100km) isn’t exactly going to be a walk in the park.

The programs

It’s not all getting sore from sitting on a bike all day; we’ll also be helping with some really valuable and important financial literacy programs. Kids are encouraged to start savings plans and develop a basic understanding of money - it's a hangover from the days of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, where financial institutions, currency and money in general were banned.

The kids are encouraged to save money for really basic things like new school uniforms or even helping out with new equipment for a family farm. Most of the kids manage to save the equivalent of $2 a month.

For more information on the projects, have a look at the CUFA website.

Fundraising

Like I said, there's a physical challenge in the trip, where we’ll be cycling over 350km through the country along roads that aren't exactly sealed and ready for heavy traffic. We’ve been told that we’ll probably end up pushing our bikes through the mud some afternoons.

To help get us fit for the journey and raise some much-needed money for the work, we’ll be holding a ‘ride-a-thon’ in Savings & Loans’ Flinders St branch on Wednesday, 6 August. The three of us will be seeing just how far we can ride stationary bikes between 9am and 5pm.

If you’d like to make a donation to the work CUFA’s doing in Cambodia, there are several options:

• Donate using PayPal on the CUFA website, where you can get a tax receipt;
• Transfer money into a special Savings & Loans account 04322730 (our BSB is 805-023). You won’t be able to get a tax receipt for this; or
• Call me on (08) 8305 8331.

Mark, Fran and I will be regularly updating this blog in the lead-up to the trip, and as often as we can while we’re over there. If you have any questions, let us know.

Patrick