Zambia
Introduction
Sharon Makina, a Cohort 45 fellow from Zambia, opened her interactive financial literacy sessions at Rephidim Institute with a foundational question aimed at transforming classroom perceptions of wealth, why do so many young people grow up with random, fragmented ideas about money, and how can structured education turn those scattered thoughts into lifelong financial security? Working directly across two classroom groups, Form 1A and Form 2B learners, Makina observed that while students held plenty of assumptions about saving, budgeting, and investing, almost none possessed a structured, practical framework to guide their everyday decisions.
Naming the Problem Before Solving It
Makina’s audience brought a lively academic energy to the sessions, representing young secondary school students at critical stages of their personal and social development. Despite their shared classroom environment, the same underlying confusion surfaced across both Form 1A and Form 2B. Participants consistently demonstrated varied, often contradictory views on what it means to manage money, treating saving as an occasional afterthought and viewing investing as something reserved exclusively for adults.
Makina used this gap as her primary entry point, prompting the students directly to share their existing definitions of personal finance in their own words. Through open classroom dialogue, the learners collectively realized that having vague, random ideas about money leaves a person vulnerable to poor spending choices and financial instability. That clarity, arrived at through collective discussion rather than a passive lecture, gave the students a shared foundation they had actively reasoned through together, setting the stage for practical instruction.
A Comprehensive Toolkit for Moving Forward
With that shared understanding established, Makina guided both groups through the core pillars of personal financial management, translating complex concepts into simple, relatable lessons. She detailed the mechanics of disciplined saving, explaining why establishing a regular saving habit builds essential reserves for unexpected needs and future personal ambitions. She then introduced formal budgeting, demonstrating how a balanced budget relies on three main structural components to track income, control daily expenses, and prioritize essential needs over discretionary wants.
Makina further expanded the curriculum by demystifying investing, breaking down what investing actually entails and illustrating the various practical ways young people can put money to work over time. She covered the importance of strategic goal setting, long-term asset accumulation, and the behavioral discipline required to avoid impulsive spending. This comprehensive outline gave the students a complete personal finance roadmap, addressing not just theoretical arithmetic, but the practical habits needed to build lasting financial independence.
Learning Through Discussion, Not Just Listening
What distinguished Makina’s sessions was their dynamic, classroom-centered format. Rather than relying on rigid, one-sided lectures, she structured the gatherings around interactive discussions, guided exercises, and practical real-life examples. This approach proved particularly effective for secondary school learners, who found complex topics like investment mechanics and budgeting formulas far more accessible when explored through collaborative dialogue and active participation.
A Form 1A Learner's Master the Architecture of Budgeting
During the session feedback, Joel Kabale, a participant from the classroom gatherings, offered a clear reflection on how his understanding of money management had shifted. He noted that prior to the session, he viewed budgeting as a vague idea without structure, but now understood that a functional budget must contain three main components to properly balance income, expenses, and savings goals.
Kabale’s reflection speaks to the immediate clarity generated by the session. Rather than viewing money management as an abstract theory, he grasped the concrete structure required to plan expenses effectively, establishing a solid foundation for managing his personal funds and future income.
A Form 2B Student Uncovers the Purpose of Saving
Similarly, Twalumba Matanga, another student participant, reflected deeply on the reasons behind personal capital accumulation. She shared that the session helped her understand the core motivations for saving money and why developing a consistent, daily saving habit is vital for long-term personal security.
Matanga’s insight demonstrates how effectively the session replaced random ideas with purposeful habits. By recognizing the specific reasons to save, she shifted from viewing saving as a restriction on spending to seeing it as an active strategy for personal empowerment and future resilience.
A Student Breaks Down the Mechanics of Investing
Adding to these student reflections, Lushomo Tuyu provided a quick breakdown of the investment principles introduced during the classroom teaching. He explained clearly what investing represents and outlined the practical methods through which capital can be grown over time to build financial security.
Tuyu’s commentary highlights the broader reach of Makina's curriculum. By grasping the fundamentals of investment at a young age, students like Tuyu moved past the misconception that wealth creation is out of reach, acquiring instead a clear, practical perspective on how financial assets appreciate over time.
A Shared Appetite for More
Across both Form 1A and Form 2B, Makina observed an enthusiastic and encouraging response as learners quickly caught on to the concepts and expressed eager interest in applying financial literacy to their daily lives. The students’ rapid comprehension and growing enthusiasm demonstrated that young people are exceptionally receptive to financial education when it is presented in a practical, relatable manner.
This positive reception left a lasting impression on Makina herself, reinforcing her commitment to youth advocacy. The experience challenged her to view classroom financial education not simply as a brief program module, but as a vital contribution toward shaping a generation of financially independent, responsible young citizens.
From Shared Definition to Individual Action
What links the reflections of Kabale, Matanga, and Tuyu is the way all three moved from vague, random notions about money toward clear, structured comprehension. Each student entered the classroom with incomplete ideas about personal finance, yet each left with a specific, practical grasp of a core financial concept, whether mastering the three components of a budget, understanding the reasons for a saving habit, or explaining how investments grow.
A Leader Who Simplified Complex Concepts for the Classroom
What sets Makina’s approach apart as a Community Finance Leader is her ability to take abstract economic theories and translate them into accessible, classroom-ready insights. By encouraging students to air their initial, random ideas about money before systematically explaining core financial principles through simple, practical examples, she ensured that the learning was deeply rooted in genuine understanding rather than rote memorization.
As Makina continues her work within Cohort 45, these interactive sessions at Rephidim Institute serve as a powerful model for youth empowerment, showing how targeted classroom instruction can replace financial ambiguity with real-world clarity and inspire lasting financial discipline across Zambia’s next generation.
Report Summary
Sharon Makina, a Cohort 45 fellow from Zambia, conducted interactive financial literacy sessions at Rephidim Institute for Form 1A and Form 2B learners, addressing common misconceptions and random ideas surrounding personal finance. Using classroom teaching, collaborative discussion, and practical examples, Makina guided students through the fundamentals of saving, budgeting, and investing. The initiative generated immediate positive feedback, with learner Joel Kabale identifying the three core components of a budget, Twalumba Matanga articulating the key reasons for developing a continuous saving habit, and Lushomo Tuyu explaining the definition and practical application of investing. Encouraged by the strong student engagement and eagerness to apply these lessons, Makina remains dedicated to advancing financial literacy as an essential tool for youth empowerment and long-term economic independence in Zambia.
