Kuwait City, May 28: In a step to foster solidarity and charity among youngsters, National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) celebrated the completion of the donation drive of “Bankee” participating students to support the education of children of underprivileged families in Kuwait, which was organized in cooperation with Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS).

The bank took the initiative to provide donation boxes in schools participating in the “Bankee” program for school year 2023/2024 to allow students make donations from their accumulated balance of the program’s virtual currency “Bankoz”, which they received as rewards and incentives during its implementation, to support the education of the underprivileged students. This was coupled with an awareness campaign by the bank at participating schools to encourage students to donate, in cooperation with the KRCS. Teachers were also asked to frequently remind students of the donation box, and to explain to them the merits of this virtue and its positive impact on society, in an effort to promote giving and philanthropic work and instill the values of cooperation and solidarity in them from an early age.

Following that, NBK collected and monetized students’ contributions into KD equivalent and donated the amount in the students’ name for the child education project supervised by the KRCS, to cover the tuition fees of a group of underprivileged students; thus enabling them to pursue their education and avoid dropping out.

In a ceremony held by the bank, the donated amount was presented to the KRCS, in the presence of representatives from the Ministry of Education, the Kuwait Anti-Corruption Authority “Nazaha” and Creative Confidence Company, along with teachers from participating schools, donating students, and their parents.

In the first year of its official kick-off, Bankee program was implemented in 30 public and private schools, attracting remarkable engagement from participating students.  The program not only improved their financial culture, but also had a tangible impact on many of them by cultivating key values including honesty and integrity, accountability and responsibility, collaboration and teamwork.

Miscellaneous initiatives

On this occasion, Manal Al-Mattar, Head of Group Corporate Communications at National Bank of Kuwait said, “NBK always seeks to cement its position as Kuwait’s leading socially responsible corporation by launching miscellaneous initiatives covering all sectors of society,” noting that “This initiative will have a positive impact on society on different levels.”

“The initiative instills multiple values in the students participating in the “Bankee” program who donated their balances of the “Bankoz” virtual currency, notably solidarity and extending a helping hand to others. Simultaneously, NBK’s monetizing of these virtual balances and donating the amount to support the education of a group of low-income students in Kuwait underscores its unwavering dedication to supporting the underprivileged groups in society on one hand, and ongoing support of education within its sustainability strategy, which promotes education as a key pillar, on the other hand,” she remarked.

“This donation magnifies students’ benefit from the “Bankee” program, by going beyond educating them financially to cultivating many moral concepts and values, which helps raise a generation of Kuwaiti youth who are capable of playing an effective role in achieving the desired sustainable development of society at large in the future,” she mentioned.

Child education

On her part, Maha Al-Barjas, Secretary General of the Kuwaiti Red Crescent Society extended appreciation to NBK, saying, “Through this initiative, NBK played two roles, one is educational, by fostering the culture of giving and charity among students who help their colleagues from underprivileged families who are financially incapable of pursuing their education. On the other hand, the bank demonstrated its pioneering role in charity and community service by providing a donation for the child education project supervised by the KRCS to be used in securing the tuition fees for a group of underprivileged students in Kuwait.”

“Child education project resonates with Kuwait’s government and people’s dedication to addressing the issues of the underprivileged families,” she stated, stressing that concerted efforts are needed to provide suitable educational opportunities for children and prevent dropping out.

It is worth mentioning that Bankee is Kuwait’s first hands-on school financial literacy program, which was launched by NBK with the aim of promoting financial inclusion, especially among school students, in an effort to set the younger generation in Kuwait on a path to a resilient financial future. The program aims to familiarize students with key financial concepts including earning, spending and saving, and financial responsibilities using classroom economy model.

Having achieved a remarkable success in its pilot phase, Bankee encouraged more schools and students to join it when it was officially kicked off at the beginning of school year 2023/2024.  Out of 150 applicants, 30 schools have been enrolled in the program so far, in addition to a special needs school for learning difficulties (Joan Al Kuwait Elementary School), with a total of 15,000 students and 3,000 teachers.

NBK has recently received the Bronze Award from Qorus in the Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) category for Bankee Program. This recognition underscores the bank’s commitment to incorporating innovations that integrate sustainability and ESG standards into its activities.