No childs play: bank run by & for street kids
NEW DELHI: The cashier counts the currency notes carefully, makes an entry in the passbook and hands it over to the waiting customer through a tiny window. But this is no ordinary bank as both the cashier and consumer are street children.
The Bal Vikas Bank, or Childrens Development Bank (CDB), is an initiative by a Delhi-based NGO Butterflies, whose primary aim is to inculcate a sense of
saving money in street children, who otherwise end up wasting whatever little they have on gambling or drugs.
Suman Sachdeva, project development manager of Butterflies, said the programme, which began in 2001 and runs from 11 night shelters spread across the city, does more than just help children save money.