Children will supplement their learning on Financial Education in schools with the musical adventures of a 6 member children’s band called Cha-Ching. Through a set of children’s music videos, Cha-Ching can be viewed in homes Fiji-wide from 4:30pm this evening on the children’s Get Set Programme with Ateca and Mr. MG.

Created by Prudential Corporation Asia (“Prudential”), the award-winning animation and music-based Cha-Ching Money-Smart Kids programme has been brought to Fiji through a partnership with Prudential Asia and Fiji TV, in support of the Financial Education (FinED) Fiji Project.

The FinED Fiji Project is spearheaded by the Ministry of Education and the Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme and will result in 197,000 students having exposure to financial education in all Fiji schools, annually from 2013. Prudential Asia’s Regional Director of Brand and Corporate Affairs, Sean Rach said, “We appreciate this opportunity to reach out to more families in Fiji with an important educational message. We are honored to support the FinED Project and to partner with Fiji TV, who like us, see the significance of promoting financial education in Fiji and the Pacific.”

Cha-Ching is an innovative financial education programme developed following the global financial crisis and arising out of a unique partnership between Prudential, Cartoon Network and educational expert Dr. Alice Wilder. Cha-Ching, seeks to engage children using a unique musical edutainment approach. The series of ten three-minute animated “music videos”, with sing-a-long subtitles, aims to teach children about four key money management concepts – Earn, Save, Spend and Donate – through the Cha-Ching band of six animated characters, each with a relatable personality and a different approach to money management.

Cha-Ching has gained international recognition as an exemplary programme for promoting effective learning amongst children. It was named Education Program of the Year in the Excellence in Financial Literacy Education (EIFLE) Awards in Orlando (April 2012), and was honoured as the Best Interstitial Series (Educational) in the Cynopsis: Kids !magination Awards in New York (June 2012). The Cha-Ching website (www.cha-ching.com) supports the programme which has a presence on social media such as Facebook and YouTube.

In launching the Cha-Ching programme on Fiji TV’s Get Set programme, the Minister of Education, Ambassador Bole said, “The Ministry is committed towards introducing financial education in schools Fiji-wide commencing next year. We have seen valuable learning in our Champion Schools this year and we are excited to be working in partnership with AusAID and the PFIP to achieve this result.

The Ministry is appreciative of Prudential Asia and Fiji TV’ssupport of Financial Education learning in schools through Cha Ching.” Fiji TV Group Chief Executive, Tarun Patel says “that Fiji TV Ltd and its premier free to air channel, Fiji One, wholly supports educational children program. Our company is delighted to be part of this initiative given that it is internationally recognized as an excellent effective program for children”.

The FinED Fiji Project is funded by the Australian Aid Bilateral Program in Fiji and is jointly managed by the Ministry of Education and the Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme. PFIP is a Pacific-wide programme helping to provide sustainable financial services to low income households. It operates from the UNDP Pacific Centreand is a project of the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with additional funding from the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and the European Union.