PHOENIX — Two West Valley sixth graders recently won first place in the Congressional App Challenge for Arizona's District 8. And these students are teaching financial literacy in the process.
“We felt that adults were struggling with financial literacy, and if you have enough money, you can do anything you want, if it’s necessary,” said 11-year-old Om Bankar.
“Financial literacy is important for our day-to-day lives,” said 12-year-old Aayush Abhilash.
Bankar and Abhilash aren’t your typical sixth graders. The BASIS Peoria students recently uncovered some troubling statistics.
“We researched and found out that 15% of adults lost $10,000 in 2022, in debt, due to a lack of financial literacy,” said Bankar.
So, they decided to do something about it to help others. They created a financial literacy app, FinEdForKids, that equips young students with the knowledge and skills they need to make better financial decisions in their lives.
“We watched some tutorials on how to code, we started gathering data and started coding it,” said Abhilash.
And after spending their fall break and weekends working on the app, they completed it in just more than a month. The app is user-friendly, and it has learning paths for Beginner, Advance, and Intermediate levels.
“It teaches children to use money in a safe way,” said Abhilash.
“We should get more financially literate if you want the world get more financially literate,” said Bankar. “So, we decided to try out investing, and it worked out… our portfolio has been going up and down, but there’s certainly more profit than loss.”
By developing this app, Bankar and Abhilash recently won first place in the Congressional App Challenge for Arizona District 8. They learned about their win after Congresswoman Debbie Lesko posted about it. They even got to meet her during a recent visit to Washington, D.C.
“We were very excited and happy,” said Bankar.
Since then, they have been invited to the #HouseofCode Capitol Hill Reception in Washington D.C. this spring, where they will be recognized.
“We were grateful that we got this opportunity to help other kids,” said Bankar.
Their app will be featured on the website of the U.S. Capitol Building and the House of Representatives.
They’re doing big things in sixth grade, inspiring the next generation to learn about financial literacy and its importance.
“I hope it will bring kids a more financially stable future, and starting now is the key to having that,” said Bankar.
This is just the beginning for Bankar and Abhilash.
“I want to implement the app in many different schools,” said Abhilash.
"Then kids will have a bigger access to how money works,” said Bankar. “It will be a golden opportunity for us to help the world.”
The sky is the limit for Bankar and Abhilash and what their future holds.
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