20/04/2026
In partnership with Soul City Institute, we have launched financial education programs in selected schools in the SIOC-CDT SA beneficiary communities in the Northern Cape province. Through these efforts, we are supporting students in learning fundamental elements of the financial world, such as saving money, budgeting, investing, managing debt, evaluating risk and reward, and developing basic entrepreneurial skills. Equally important, through high-quality financial education programming, we are helping students to develop the motivation and confidence for lifelong learning and problem-solving.
Beyond instilling basic financial skills and habits, we have noted that financial education can foster a strong sense of empowerment, self-confidence, and teamwork, as well as broaden students’ sense of possibility.
For girls especially, financial literacy is a life-long skill that can transform their lives and the lives of their families, helping them to be better prepared for the future and to contribute meaningfully to the economic growth of their community. As the WARD Foundation, we believe that these efforts will have meaningful improvements not only in students’ basic financial knowledge, but also in their levels of confidence, assertiveness, and overall sense of agency.
Additionally, this empowerment equips learners, especially girls, with the confidence, independence, and decision-making capacity to reduce vulnerability to gender-based violence and assert control over their lives.
Our efforts in financial education are in line with the United Nations Secretary-General’s Vision Statement for Transforming Education, which identifies financial literacy as a crucial component of moving our world closer to many of the sustainable development goals, including , reduction, and , and responsible consumption and production.
