Mira Nair’s 1988 film ‘Salaam Bombay’ traces the futileefforts of a teenager, Krishna aka ‘chaipao’, living on the streets of Mumbai,to save Rs. 500 and be able to go back home to his mother. Krishna, who livedamong thieves, drug addicts and sex workers, found it difficult to find a safeplace to keep his money.
The problem which Krishna faces does not restrict itself tothe reel alone. It extends to the many real Krishnas living on the streets, whofind it difficult to save their earnings. “These children have no idea ofsaving. They would waste it on ill-habits (like substance abuse). On occasions,they would give it to a paanwala for safekeeping who would cheat them mostly,”says Sharon Mary Jacob of Children’s Development Khazana (CDK), an initiativeof Butterflies, a non-government organisation which has been working withstreet children in Delhi since 1989.
Through CDK, children develop the habit of saving at anearly stage. But does it incentivise child labour? Shashidhar, developmentmanager, CDK, clarifies, “It wouldn’t create more child labourers because it isa life skill education programme. It teaches them to plan for tomorrow andunless they save, it is not possible. And planning here means for theireducation. To testify that, 95% of the members of CDK are in schools. Of them20% to 30% are working. If they have made a choice to go to school, it iscommendable. The goal is not to make them run-of-the-mill labourers. We wish tomake them entrepreneurs or enrol them into some vocational training. The CDKensures that they go to school and we talk to them to find out if they have anyinterest in a particular vocation.”
Mehnaz, 14, who lives in Nizamuddin Dargah, is an activemember of CDK. She is a student of class 7 in a government school in Jangpuraand saves a few coins from what her mother gives her to buy snacks in school.“I make deposits every day no matter how insignificant the amount is,” shesays. “Once my sister had an ear infection. I asked for help and was given aloan of `2,000 from CDK,” she says.
It was during a Bal Sabha organised by the NGO Butterflieswhen the idea of CDK came up. It was constituted in 2001 to enable children todeposit their savings. “We first get in touch with the children, tell themabout the benefits of saving money and convince them to become members of CDK,”says Jacob.
Like all other programmes initiated by Butterflies, CDK isrun in contact points in various parts of the city where the children cometogether and deposit their savings on all six days, except Sundays. The CDK hasbranches in Leh, Kolkata, Chennai and Muzaffarpur. Beyond the borders, it haspresence in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
Samreen, 12, is the child welfare manager (CWM) of Khazana.Her work entails keeping a record of transactions in cash and ledger books.Children deposit their money with her which she hands over to Jacob whodeposits it in an account with ICICI Bank. “A strict eye is kept on thewithdrawals. We allow them to withdraw money only when we find the reasonsatisfactory. Since the children are from the same locality and know oneanother, it is easy to verify the claims for withdrawal,” adds Jacob.
At present, CDK’s Nizamuddin branch has 50 active members.As Samreen and fellow child welfare manager Tabassum, 13, wrap up transactionsfor the day and return their ledgers and cash books to Ansari, Samreen looksupbeat and enthusiastic. “Until now I have saved `8,495. I want to be a doctorone day. I hope by the time I turn 18, I will have saved enough money to livemy dream,” she says with a glint in her eyes.
*In association with Governance Now
