VBSP provide financial literacy for Regional Fisheries Livelihoods Program in South Asia and Southeast Asia

(VBSP News) Within the activities of the project "Regional Fisheries Livelihoods Program in South Asia and Southeast Asia (RFLP)" sponsored by the Government of Spain through the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, training courses on financial literacy for beneficiaries of the project through Fisheries Associations, Women union, Farmers Association from the provincial, district and communal level to help fishery households and their members have been implemented from 15/8 to 27/8/2011.

The TOT course for provincial staff  were conducted in Da Nang, 03 other training courses for beneficiaries have been completed in Quang Nam, Thua Thien Hue and Quang Tri. Each course had lasted 02 days. The numbers of participants were from 22 to 36 persons  each course.
Trainers were  from Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP), Bank for Agriculture and Rural development in the Central Office and project consultant. The training modules compiled were based on the program of Education Financial 360o – American Institute for Public Accountants and have been applied and disseminated by Asia Credit Association (ACCU).
Financial education plays more and more important role in the life of individuals and households, especially poor households involving in micro-finance. The skills and knowledge on financial management equipped enable each household to make wise financial decisions in achieving life goals and help individuals and families become financially independent, get building equity, wealth and become more prosperous. Therefore, the provision of microfinance services by credit institutions and microfinance institutions should be accompanied with  non-financial activities, including financial education for customers to help them to get  better management of their budget, including loans, savings etc.; to ensure. the principles of sustainability of credit institutions and microfinance institutions is based on the financial sustainability of the clients.
Regional Fisheries Livelihoods Program in South Asia and Southeast Asia (RFLP) with such components as: support access to microfinance services  to help beneficiaries of the project who are the coastal fishermen,  poor  fishing household to increase and diversify incomes from sustainable harvesting operations, ensure food security, environmental and marine ecosystem protection. The fishery households can also increase  income from and other diversified industries such as services, agriculture etc., manage risk  and reduce dependent entirely on fishery harvesting.
The training program focused on  the knowledge and skills of financial management for households involved in each stage of life, the activities necessary for people to know how to save money, reduce spending on unreasonable buying, generating income from wise investment in accordance with their capabilities and conditions of each family; get better risk management, consensus among members of the family in creating and accumulating property. Training content has been added, modified in accordance with the conditions of the fishermen in Vietnam, studied and discussed more on financial services in the local areas, making loan and debt management.
The methods of training were trainee-centered methods and consistent with community conditions, easy to understand and absorb with examples and illustrations that close to the life and habits of people in coastal areas and  Vietnam countryside.
The trainees appreciated the course and the desired to disseminate this theme to fishery members, farmers, rural households in coastal fishery areas in particular and poor and  low income families  in general.