The
idea is to empower children
The
Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) has
helped the Children's Development Bank with simple advice.
HSBC employees have done some handholding with regard
to banking practices. "A bank for street children
is a very powerful idea," Nancy Dickinson, HSBC's
Regional Head for Northern India, told Civil Society
in an interview at her new brightly lit office in Gurgaon.
What
is HSBC's involvement in the Children's Development
Bank?
I
was interested more in the process of empowerment and
learning that it provided to children rather than the
bank as a bank. I wanted four or five staff members
who were committed to the idea to put together a simple
training programme which talks about banking as a business
process --- not in a patronising way but by sharing
information.
The
kids were showing me all their little ledger books.
They explained this is how we maintain our records and
individual accounts making sure everything is accounted.
They were all so neatly written, done with pride. I
thought we could help them set up systems using software
on a PC and show them how we could put this in a meaningful
alternative computer- based system, in case anything
happens to paper records.
The
bank model has spread nationally and globally. Is it
possible to link these to form an international alternative
banking network?
I
don't have the answers. I have heard at their board
meeting the challenges surrounding regulations. We don't
want to get bogged down with regulation though obviously
we have to be on the right side of these. We have to
hear from Butterflies what their ideas on this are and
to what extent we can help whether it is continuing
with the educational support or linking up the banks.
But before expanding too quickly it's better to understand
all the issues and work them out. That's the cautious
banker in me talking.
Do
you think the idea is too ambitious or too complicated?
In
the concept of pooling savings, the first thing is how
do you keep the money safe for these children? Banking
is secondary. It's a mechanism to empower the children.
The bank is interesting as a concept of encouraging
savings, education, empowerment without getting over-powered
by the adults. Children are helping themselves. I think
trust is important for the children. They have built
trust with the children. Making decisions, how to examine
loans, how to benefit business, the responsibility of
paying back…. These are very adult decisions.
Has the experience changed perceptions about children's
banking?
I
think it reiterates to me that from small acorns big
trees grow. The enthusiasm, energy and creative ideas
enthuse me, coming as they do from children with a very
difficult life. There's a lot of power out there and
it can be harnessed.
For
a bank operating in an Indian city where 30% of the
population is very poor and a large informal sector
operates, does a project like this in any way fit into
the business ideas of a bank like yours say as an entry
into micro-credit?
I
think yes, although here we are working more with micro-savings
than micro-credit. The children's bank is now part of
the whole region, how do we work with them? The vision,
organisational skills, enthusiasm and commitment are
there. The sky is the limit.
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