Plan International is a non-governmental organisation of English origin, which was founded in 1937 with a mission to promote and protect the rights of children. Today, Plan International has evolved into a global organisation, which is active in 71 countries to advance children’s rights and equality for girls. Since 1997 it has been running more than 20 projects in Brazil, positively affecting 70 thousand children and adolescents.

For the past four years, Plan International Brazil has been implementing Aflatoun’s life skills and financial education as part of their Project Generation. This aims to empower girls, guarantee they stay in school and complete secondary education, with a big component of involving their families and community. The programme is given by Aflatoun-trained teachers both in the classroom (boys and girls) and in girls-only clubs.

Around 600 girls meet for club activities, developing new skills and gaining confidence in their collective ideas against violence, inequalities and public policies that are hindering their development and future. The saving clubs serve as a platform for social and financial projects that will favour the school and their community. The activities of saving and reusing are noticed outside the walls of the clubs as families and friends have already seen the results in their electric power and water bills.

Girls’ Economic Empowerment

Project Generation forms part of the Financial Education for Girls programme, supported by Credit Suisse, providing financial education and life skills training to adolescents in Brazil, China, India and Rwanda. By using Aflatoun’s methodology, the programme aims to increase both the financial capacity of participants and their awareness of their social and economic rights, thus advancing their economic situation.

Based on its research component a policy brief  was produced indicating that there is a need to combine financial education with social and health components in order to truly advance girls’ economic empowerment. This highlighted the importance of addressing context, and the case study in Brazil shows how community buy-in can help improve the learning environment for girls receiving Financial Education and Life Skills. It found that community buy-in is an important contributor to the learning environment for girls, and in particular the need to engage fathers.

You can read more about the Financial Education for Girls programme, which is implemented by Plan International in Brazil, China, India and Rwanda in partnership with Afaltoun International and supported by Credit Suisse.