Bare Bones Bank for the Boys

By conservative estimates, there are 10 million street children in India, home of the world's largest population of kids struggling to survive in the concrete jungles of its cities. About 100 thousand of them are believed to live in the streets of New Delhi. These boys' lives are detached from the country's image as an emerging economic giant powered by technology savvy software engineers who give western countries stiff competition, nor the glamor of their heavily decorated cinematic stars. Theirs is a darker side of this dream world where teen-age anxiety is about where to find the next meal, make it through the night unmolested, on a hard slab of pavement.

There are young boys, ranging in ages from 9 to 18, who make a living by hawking wares and street food, darting in and out of railway tracks or heavily trafficked city streets. They fend for themselves after leaving their poverty stricken homes to lessen the parental burden of too many mouths to feed, the misery of their surroundings, or the beatings from their parents. Many are harassed or beaten by the police; or sexually abused by adult predators. A fair number resort to sniffing glue, while others beg or steal.

A small percentage of these children however, about 2000 of them, have banded together to run their own bank - a street children's bank - where they are learning the habit of saving whatever small amount from the money they made during each day's effort, for a better future than the hopelessness they face each day. And this bank, together with the growth of their savings, has given them the courage and the strength to endure, because they have realized that there is a way out and a better life for them. That their current hardships are not eternal, and they can see beyond the present misery into a brighter fate that rests in their own hands.

A local charity called Butterflies set up the Children's Development Bank in 2001 as a way for these children to rise up from a bleak existence. They have 12 branches within New Delhi all operated by the children, located at sites where the charity runs classes and activities for homeless youth. They elect 2 volunteer managers from the group every 6 months, and have made decisions not to allow deposits of money made from stealing, drugs, or sales of pornography. Adult staffers of Butterflies are always present to ensure safety and to collect the day's take for deposit in a dedicated account in a private bank. The branch looks more like a makeshift food stand than a financial entity, but the seriousness with which the bank managers pursue their business is genuine. The added benefit of depositing earnings is that it eliminates the possibility of their money being stolen, or to be tempted to buy drugs.

Older youths, from 15 up are allowed to borrow to continue their schooling or set up their own businesses. Their ties to the bank and the member depositors have been nurtured by years of bonding in the unforgiving and harsh life in the streets of the city, which strengthens their resolve to pay the loans on time. The Children's Development Bank through Butterflies, continues to expand this facility in other parts of India in cooperation with the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank.

The boys are learning the value of savings and are focused on a better future. They also experience depositing, withdrawing, and earning interest at an early age where no real bank would entertain their money nor their personality as a depositor or customer. They are also learning responsibility and discernment in terms of accepting clean money and honest practices. In a lot of respects, they are more admirable than most kids who are better off and truly more privileged, who squander their opportunities and waste resources that get them no learning nor education nor good values; except the ignorance of self imposed illiteracy.

These very young boys from India still wake up every morning with hunger, pass the day with misery, yet go to bed with hope; because they are armed with much wisdom and even more fortitude.

Harrrrwwwwk...Twoooooooph...Ting!

Reference:Henry Chu, A Bank for Street Children, Los Angeles Times