Bangkok--9 Mar--Master Mind Communications
Citi Thailand and the Kenan Institute Asia (K.I. Asia), together with the Thailand Bureau of Women Promotion and Protection (under the Department of Social Development and Welfare, Ministry of Social Development and Human Security), have launched the second phase of the Citi Financial Education for At Risk Women program with a US$45,000 Citi Foundation Grant.
The 2010 initiative builds on the success of a pilot program launched last year and will provide financial education to 400 at-risk women including low wage earners who live paycheck to paycheck and women who work in high risk occupations so that they are better able to manage their money and plan for the future. In addition to teaching these women personal financial skills, the 2010 program will also include job and vocational training for up to 350 at-risk women.
Mr. Peter Eliot, Country Head and Citi Country Officer, Citibank Thailand said, "Citi is pleased to extend this program because the at-risk women targeted in this initiative are underserved in terms of financial and life skills training. But, as demonstrated by the 2009 pilot program, with good advice, guidance and education, these women can break the cycle of debt and start to better manage their personal and household incomes in the future. An evaluation has shown that 82% of the women trained have started to save and 75% have started to develop a household budget. This is a significant improvement from pre-program data where 63% of women did not save and 74% had no idea how to do a household budget.”
K.I .Asia Vice Chairman, Mr. Piyabutr Cholvijarn said, "This program is built on strong partnerships and collaboration and the Department of Social Development and Welfare has played a significant role in attracting and recruiting participants registered with the Bureau of Women Promotion and Protection."
Speaking about the benefits of the program, Miss Panita Kambhu Na Ayutthaya, Director General, Department of Social Development and Welfare said, “Not only will the women receive much needed job and vocational training, they will also learn how to better manage their personal and household incomes. For further reference they will also be given a financial planning booklet."
The 2010 program features six training sessions and more than 150 women attended the first two sessions held in early March.
In addition to Citi Foundation funding, Citi volunteers will also work with K.I.Asia trainers to deliver various training sessions.
Last year, the Citi Foundation provided $44,000 to launch the pilot program in which 81 at-risk women were involved. The pilot initiative included role playing games as well as real-life case studies and discussion forums.
Citi - Citi, the leading global financial services company, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 140 countries. Through its two operating units, Citicorp and Citi Holdings, Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.
Citi Foundation - The Citi Foundation is committed to the economic empowerment of individuals and families, particularly those in need, in the communities where we work so that they can improve their standard of living. Globally, the Citi Foundation targets its strategic giving on its priority focus areas: Microfinance and Microenterprise, Small and Growing Businesses, Education, and Financial Education and Asset Building. The Citi Foundation works with its partners in Microfinance and Microenterprise and Small and Growing Businesses to support environmental programs and innovations. Additional information can be found at www.citifoundation.com.
Citi Financial Education Program - Based on the belief that knowledge is your greatest asset, the Citi Financial Education Program is a global, company-wide effort to identify, support and implement initiatives that help give individuals, families and communities the tools needed to make sound financial decisions. Citi's ten-year, $200 million global commitment is focused in three areas: personal, small business and institutional financial education. Additional information about Citi Financial Education Program, including Citi Foundation guidelines, links and resources and the Citi Financial Education Program Curriculum and Facilitator's Guide may be found at http://financialeducation.citigroup.com.
Kenan Institute Asia- Kenan Institute Asia (K.I.Asia) is the leading provider of corporate social responsibility (CSR) services in Thailand; offering training, assessment and evaluation, policy and strategy development, program design, project implementation and research services. Since 2003, over 200 managers from more than 80 companies have completed the K.I.Asia training program. Since 1998, K.I.Asia has implemented over $3.5 million USD in corporate-community projects in business training for SMEs and entrepreneurs, education, financial literacy, logistics, health, and the environment.
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