Vision Group, UBA take Pakasa to schools

Nov 07, 2013

Vision Group together with the United Bank for Africa (UBA) have moved to target secondary school students on financial empowerment and developing a reading culture.

By Gloria Nakajubi

Vision Group together with the United Bank for Africa (UBA) have moved to target secondary school students on financial empowerment and developing a reading culture.

The project, that is to run in 15 schools across the country, will see the formation of Pakasa clubs (a brainchild of New Vision). There will also be distribution of free copies of the Friday New Vision newspaper that contains the Pakasa pullout and mentorship programmes.

Launching the project at Makerere College School on Thursday, Wilbrod Owor, the UBA acting managing director, said after an analysis of the market, they realised that Vision Group had a number of products that could easily be used to inspire students to adopt financial discipline.

He said through this project, students can always get opportunities to interact with successful people in the country.

This will be done under the mentorship programme. Owor tipped the students on successful financial management and urged them to start saving now if they want to be successful in future. “That little pocket money could become your strong capital base only if you could start saving part of it and investing in small things that your friends need. By the time you get out of school, you will be way ahead of your colleagues,” he said.

The students were also given copies of ‘Weep Not Child’, a book written by celebrated African writer Ngugi wa Thiong’o.

Owor said his bank was working with African writers and each year, they will have a theme book, which will be distributed to students. This, he said, is aimed at encouraging and supporting reading in schools.

Dickson Ampumuza, New Vision’s advocacy manager in charge of media in education, said students will be given an opportunity to write articles on financial issues which experts will respond to.

He said they will partner with schools to have some of the students participate in the various Pakasa for a and listen to inspiring stories from successful people who will be hosted regularly.

The head teacher of Makerere College School, Agnes Ssebayiga, commended the two companies for the initiative, saying it is an opportunity for students to be groomed into all-round individuals able to face the business world.

Monica Rachel Achen, the head girl of the school and vice-chairperson of the Pakasa Club, said they conduct Pakasa meetings every Thursday. During these meetings, she said, they discuss the personalities featured in the Pakasa pullout and learn from them.

“Our club is inspiring and members learn something new each time we meet. Our wish is to have more of these interactions with technical people so that we can be fully enlightened,” said Achen.

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