Concrete experience of the Children’s Development Bank, the first bank initiated and run by the street and working children.

Manoj, a 12-year-old Indian boy from New Delhi, is putting aside his money earned as a rag-picker. He has a dream, which he is now about to realise: buying himself a rickshaw and coming good in the family trade.

If their dreams are to come true, Manoj and thousands of other children like him owe it to a really special bank, called the “Children’s Development Bank”. It is special because it is managed by the children themselves in order to escape the clutches of poverty and build themselves a better future.

The Children’s Development Bank, also known as Bal Vikas Bank, started in 2001 in India and is specialised in aiding working and street children, protecting their savings and granting them microloans, while at the same time developing in them a sense of responsibility and self-confidence. The Bal Vikas Bank started with an initial membership of 800 and now has more than 6,150, including a good 38% of females. The bank’s tills are located at places such as public canteens, dormitories and the offices of associations.

All the children can open a current account and deposit the earnings from their work, avoiding the risks of the street and pickpockets. From the age of 15 on they can have access to micro-credit and start up a small business enterprise, provided they have 20 of the sum required in their account and two adult guarantors. Thanks to the loans granted them by the bank, drug-stores, fruit shops, small craftsman’s workshops, laundries, and drink and confectionary stalls have sprung up.

But the main objective of the Children’s Development Bank is ultimately to enable its young clients to fulfil their dreams, by equipping them with the skills needed for their development and for the improvement of their lives and prospects.

In the wake of the success achieved by this initiative, similar projects have also been launched in Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.