Cha-Ching program to make 1M young students 'money smart'

JUNIOR Achievement Philippines (JA PH) has relaunched its award-winning financial literacy education program «Cha-Ching» to reach 1 million students and 28,000 teachers nationwide and teach money management skills.

(From left) Host Candy Pangilinan, Prudence Foundation Executive Director Mark Fancy, Junior Achievement Philippines Executive Director Krishna Alejandrino, Junior Achievement President and CEO Maziar Zabet, panelists Rose Fres Fausto and Jed Velarde, and co-hosts Neo Rivera and Gianne Hinolan. PHOTO BY ARLO CUSTODIO

JA PH presented «One Student to a Million: Cha-Ching Shaping a Financially Literate Generation» on Tuesday at Cheeky Monkeys Manila, MET Live Mall in Pasay City, along with Prudence Foundation, the community investment arm in Asia and Africa of Prudential plc, Pru Life UK's parent company.

In 2016, the Prudence Foundation, with JA Asia Pacific and JA PH, introduced the Cha-Ching (from the sound of the old cash register) curriculum. It was co-funded by the Prudence Foundation and Pru Life UK in the Philippines.

The program has been recognized for its excellence in promoting prudent financial habits — specifically, «Earn, Save, Spend and Donate» — and nurturing financial responsibility among children. It has been hailed as the most renowned financial literacy program for youth in the Philippines, receiving the Silver Asia-Pacific Stevie Award in the Innovation in Community Relations or Public Service Communications Category in 2021 and the Money Awareness and Inclusion Awards in 2022.

As a testament to its success and commitment to involvement, the Cha-Ching program has now been integrated into the school curriculum of Grade 4 students, JA PH said.

It said that students are exposed to matters