FSA LearnSave participant wins SEDI Learning for School Award
Post date: May 24, 2007
In 2001, Nekesha was attending the Registered Practical Nursing (RPN) program part-time at George Brown college. At the same time, she was juggling two part-time jobs (personal support worker at a nursing home and evening cleaning three times a week) to take care of her mother and two younger siblings whom she sponsored to come to Canada. With barely any time left for homework, her life was not easy and was about to become even more difficult. George Brown college required her to go to school full-time for the final year-and-a-half of the program and Nekesha did not know how she would manage to complete her studies while still supporting her younger siblings who both were in school.
Today, Nekesha works full time as RPN - a job that she loves very much and which allows her to pay the mortgage on her first home and save money to go back to school to become a registered nurse. She is also the winner of 2006/2007 SEDI Saving for School Award. How was all of this possible?
One day in 2001, Nekesha was on her way to work when she saw an ad in the train. She remembers, "I was on the train going to my part-time job when I saw an ad inviting low-income adults who wanted to save for school or work to join a government program. It said that the government will match your savings. I saw it a couple of times, and then I saw it in the Metro too and figured it wasn't a joke. I thought it wouldn't hurt to give them a call. I called and went to a training information session."
The ads were advertising the LearnSave program, a nationwide research project designed to test whether financial incentives can help low-income people improve their long-term economic prospects. Basically, through LearnSave, participants go to finance and budgeting training sessions, get assistance to open savings bank accounts, and are encouraged to save up to $1500 in order to receive matching funds from SEDI.
Initially Nekesha was skeptical, but "when they said the money would be saved at Royal Bank, I figured it would be safe there. I didn't think it could be a hoax with a well-known bank."
The training helped Nekesha learn how to make a budget, start setting goals and save money to reach those goals. For every dollar saved she received three more. Program staff would call and speak with her to see how she was doing. And Nekesha did great – in 14 months she saved the money needed for completing the full-time part of her program. "It was hard at the beginning. I knew how much my tuition was going to be and I worked hard to save my part. I got statements every month and it showed how much I saved and how much the government matched. If I saved 100 dollars, I got $400 with government matching. That's an incentive!"
With the money from LearnSave, Nekesha was able to go to school full-time. She still needed a part-time job in the evening to pay for rent and food, but did not have to take a loan for tuition and books. She graduated in 2004 and immediately got a full-time job which came with a 60 per cent income increase. Shortly after, Nekesha started saving money for a townhouse. "Saving is a fever. It's good to see money growing into your account, so I continued to save. I decided to buy a house instead of seeing my money wasted on rent". By the end of the year, she had already saved enough for the down payment for her first house.
How did LearnSave help Nakesha? In her own words, "it saved me from a lot of debt. It showed me that I could make it if I focus on my goals and it helped me develop good saving habits. It motivated me to go to school. I also learned it's not too good to be too skeptical. Take a look at something and have an open mind about opportunities."
Earlier this year, in recognition of her hard work and success, FSA LearnSave staff nominated Nekesha for the SEDI Saving for School Award, and last month she won it. Congratulations Nakesha!
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