No child’s play: A bank run by and for street children
Monday, 31 March , 2008, 15:11

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 actually street children.

The Bal Vikas Bank, or Children’s Development Bank (CDB), is a unique 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.

"The Children’s Development Bank is not a stand alone programme. Since it’s run by and for children, it inculcates in them a sense of responsibility. And it also brings them on the path of education since one can’t be expected to maintain ledgers and passbooks without being literate," Sachdeva told IANS.

Trained by volunteers of the HSBC bank, the young officials of CDB, mostly in the age group of 12-14, are as professional as they get. The members are either rag pickers or work in teashops and dhabas.

Since its inception, CDB has grown from 20 members to 1,700 in Delhi alone.

Rakesh Kumar, all of 12 and a runaway from his home in Bihar, is manager of the bank’s Nizamuddin branch.

Sharp at 6.30 in the evening, when the bank opens after the children return from "work", Kumar walks in. Dressed in a chocolate brown pair of trousers, a white printed shirt and hair neatly combed, he enters his cubicle painted bright yellow and pink.

Soon a number of young customers queue up in front of the cashier’s window with their earnings of the day, anything between Rs 20 and Rs 50. Members get a 3.5 per cent interest return on their savings.

"It feels good to be able to handle such a responsibility," Kumar said as he made an entry in the passbook and handed over Rs 50 to a customer, as young as him.

"It’s a matter of pride to be the bank manager. We have regular meetings and choose a different bank manager every six months," he added.

Apart from the bank timings, there are other rules that the children have made.

For instance, it’s unanimously decided that kids selling pornographic material or indulging in stealing, pick-pocketing and substance abuse will not be given membership of the bank.

Like any other bank, CDB, whose overall functioning is seen by the volunteers of the NGO, has two types of accounts — the jama khata or savings account where a minimum of Re 1 can be saved, and the chalta phirta account or the current account.

"One can also take loans from the bank. The request is, however, carefully reviewed by a panel of nine members comprising NGO volunteers and children. These loans are more often than not for business propositions," Sachdeva said.

"So, for instance, if someone wants to start a teashop or a video CD shop, one can take a loan. It specially helps girls to empower themselves, by setting up tailoring or embroidery shops, and protects them from being pushed into prostitution."

The membership of CDB comes to an end when a child turns 18. He or she then has the option of seeking membership in other affiliated banks like ICICI or Andhra Bank.

"As an offshoot of this programme, we are now planning to get some of the children who have turned 18 to get trained by institutes such as the Pusa Institute of Hotel Management so that they can be absorbed by catering agencies later," Sachdeva said.

"Hopefully, we should start the programme by June this year," Sachdeva said.

CDB has its branches in Kolkata (West Bengal), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Muzaffarpur (Bihar) and Srinagar and Leh (Jammu and Kashmir), besides the 11 locations in Delhi.

Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka also have branches of CDB, which are run by partner organisations. For instance in Afghanistan, Aschiana is the key organisation that runs CDB there.

On popular request, there might be a few other countries that could join the list. In South Asia, CDB has over 8,000 members.

HRCP terms 2007 ‘multi-crisis year’

* Terror-related deaths in Pakistan outnumbered those in Iraq
* HRCP notes 339 suicides

Staff Report

LAHORE: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Saturday termed the year 2007 a ‘multi-crisis year’, which had seen not only the worst forms of human rights violations, but also violations in almost every department and institution, be it economy, media, politics or judiciary.

HRCP Director IA Rehman told reporters at the launch of the organisation’s annual report – ‘State of Human Rights in 2007’ – at the Lahore Press Club that many reports had been received from various parts of Balochistan in 2007, claiming that parents or children had been left with no option but to sell their kidneys in order to feed their families, due to the ongoing crisis of armed conflict there.

Addressing the press conference, HRCP Chairwoman Asma Jahangir, IA Rehman, Secretary General Iqbal Haider revealed that more than 1.5 million people had been internally displaced due to ongoing military operations and armed conflicts across the country. It was also revealed that around 4,443,000 people were likely to be displaced by new development projects launched in 2007.

Crime surge: On the law and order situation in the country in 2007, the speakers said that according to the HRCP report, at least 927 people were killed in 71 suicide blasts, outnumbering Iraq, where a fully fledged war was going on. It said that in February 2007, the Interior Ministry acknowledged a 20 percent surge in crime countrywide from 2006.

The report said that due to the deposition of the entire judiciary, the first incident of its kind in the country, the courts and lawyers went on strike, resulting in more than 400,000 cases in the superior courts being dropped or delayed, adding that bail could not be provided to people on time. The Supreme Court had completed the hearing of a 2003 petition against the election of 68 legislators on certificates from religious seminaries, but the implementation of the state of emergency on November 3, 2007 had pre-empted a judgement. Furthermore, the SC found several top officials in the Islamabad administration guilty of gross incompetence and of physically assaulting on the chief justice, however, their jail terms were set-aside after November 3.

On missing people, the report said that before the November 3 judicial purge, the number of ‘missing’ persons had surged to over 400. However, 99 out of the 198 missing people on the HRCP’s list had been traced before November 3, although many of them were detained again on various charges.

On the death penalty, Asma Jehangir said that the number of executions or awarded death penalties in Pakistan were among some of the highest in the world. In 2007, 134 convicts were executed and 309 were awarded the death sentence, while, more than 7,000 prisoners remained on death row.

Regarding inhumane conditions in prisons, the report found that Pakistani jails housed 95,016 detainees against the authorised capacity of 40,825.

Asma said that due to the abolishment of the Statutory Bail System, prisoners had to serve at least 4-5 years even for minor crimes, while 67 percent of detainees across the country were awaiting trial.

On press and media freedom, the report said that Pakistan’s standing plummeted to 152 in rankings maintained by an international media watchdog. In the year 2007, at least seven journalists were killed, seventy-three injured mostly by police, and 250 reporters arrested for covering anti-government protests or demonstrating against media restrictions. It also said that another US-based media supervisory organisation included Pakistan among the 10 worst countries for press freedom.

Iqbal Haider said that during the previous regime of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid, the National Assembly had passed 134 ordinances, while even more were issued after the assembly was dissolved on November 3. He said that the new government should focus on legislation instead of issuing ordinances. He added that 88 of the National Assembly’s 342 members had resigned in protest against President Pervez Musharraf seeking re-election while still in uniform.

On women’s human right’s violations, the report said that the HRCP had recorded 1,202 killings, of which honour killings numbered 636. It also recorded 755 cases of sexual harassment – 377 victims were raped (166 minors) and 354 victims were gang-raped (92 minors), 736 kidnappings, 143 attacks by burning.

As far as children’s rights violations was concerned, the report said that at least 258 cases of rape and gang rape and 138 murders had been reported.

Even after the implementation of the Juvenile Justice System, 2,038 juveniles were in jail awaiting trial. The report added that child labour and trafficking remained rampant across the country, where an increasing number of street children were addicted to drugs with almost 83 percent of street children between the ages of 8 and 19 sniffing glue.

Financial constraints: The HRCP found unemployment and financial constraints led to 339 suicides and 189 attempted suicides.

It added that due to government’s negligence over deteriorating environmental conditions, more than 300,000 people had been displaced and more than 2.5 million others affected in 2007 following floods in Sindh and Balochistan.

Around 8,000 trees were uprooted for the construction of housing schemes and underpasses. In addition, as much as 99 percent of industrial effluent and 92 percent of urban wastewater was discharged into rivers and the sea.

Dodgeball tournament raises funds for Fullerton shelter

By: Sarah Cruz
Issue date: 3/26/08 Section: News
The Staples Center hosted a charity dodgeball tournament to raise funds for a proposed youth shelter in Fullerton.

Stand Up For Kids, a charity organization focused on helping young homeless and disadvantaged youth, organized the event in coordination with California State Fullerton Public Relations students and the Oxford Academy.

The Saturday event featured over 46 local and national teams. The players competed for the championship trophy and the L.A. Dodgeball Society earned the first place award.

It is a misfit group led by captain Handsome Costanza. The Society was not formed specifically for this event; they are a recreational league of dodgeball enthusiasts who pride themselves on spandex and mustaches.

Other teams banded together just to participate in the tournament.

"It’s just for fun," Priscilla Chang, a member of JackPotLuck, said. Her team was led by Steven Hwang who is a volunteer at Stand Up For Kids.

Two years ago, Hwang created the dodgeball tournament. This year, the tournament moved to the Staples Center.

Stand Up For Kids is the recipient of the proceeds from the event. The center wants to build a shelter in Fullerton for homeless and street kids to have a safehaven away from the street.

"We rescue homeless and street kids," Dijon Turner, executive director for Stand Up Kids said. "We help them do the things they want to do. We spend time with them. If they want to get a GED, get back in to school [or] get an ID, we go together to the DMV."

The costumed and mustached players with their retro athletic wear helped bring to light kids who have been forgotten, Turner said.

"These are a group of people that are swept under the carpet," he said.

Stand Up For Kids provides food, hygiene items and counsel to kids. Turner said the charity exists for two main purposes.

"Our two main goals are to relieve suffering of street kids and homeless kids and to relieve the feeling of abandonment."

Turner hoped the event would bring awareness and increased visibility.

Five CSUF public relations students worked on the event as part of a requirement for their degree. Anna Ahle, one of the group members, encouraged students to participate in events such as the tournament.

"Some people think it’s too hard to get involved in volunteering," Ahle said. "They think it takes a lot of time and energy." The dodgeball tournament was a great way for people to volunteer and have fun without spending a large amount of time, she said

Fullerton may seem to be an odd choice for a youth shelter but despite its affluence, it is a gathering place for homeless and street kids, Turner said.

"Fullerton is a hub. You have the train station and traveling kids stopping in," he said.

Turner encourages students to not only become involved in Stand Up For Kids but to show respect and care for homeless and street kids they may meet around town.

"Be kind and respectful if you see street kids. Go and talk to them. They know people will give them money but they would rather have people talk to them."

Nepal to rehabilitate street children within 5 years
08:34, March 24, 2008
The Nepali government is to work out a national master plan to rehabilitate street children, Nepali national news agency RSS reported Sunday.

A Central Children’s Welfare Committee has prepared a draft of the national master plan to stop the children from coming to streets and rehabilitation of street children across the country in the next five years, according to the report.

The committee is a statutory body created by the Children’s Act(1992), under the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare. It is charged with the overall responsibility to ensure realization of the rights of the children of Nepal by the state collaborating with civil society as well as national and international development organizations. It has overall responsibility to look after children’s issues.

The master plan incorporates the identifying of the street children, their data, the cause of their coming to the street and rehabilitation and coordination among organizations, said Executive Director of the Committee Dharma Raj Shrestha.

It proposes keeping children under 14 in their respective families and those without families in children’s homes and giving training to those above 14 years old, Shrestha said.

The children should not be allowed to come to the street and those in the street should be scrutinized, for which a mechanism should be developed, said Saath Saath Executive Director Biswo Bajracharya on Sunday.

Children are coming to street since the ten-year long conflict in the past, family feud, social circumstances and bad company.

At present, there is no actual data of street children in Nepal and in Kathmandu valley with any institution.

Source:Xinhua

Within the framework of the project, employment and social assistance shall be made available to the street children in other to facilitate integration within their various families. The project which is in its pilot phase shall focus on some 800 children.

Before the execution phase of the project, a training session to acquaint provincial and community resource persons was organised. The session, organised in Yaoundé delved on the complexity of the phenomenon in Cameroon.

The Minister of Social Affairs, Catherine Bakang Mbock announced plans to provide psychological and moral assistance to the children within three years before they reintegrate their families.

In Yaounde, street children hovering around public places, train stations and motor parks have been a course for concern. As young as 13years, some of these children have been left to fend for themselves. They are commonly associated with theft, drug abused sometimes rape.

The ministry of social affairs insist the reintegration is a collective responsibility, exhorting the populations to be part of the exercise.

Pamela Bidjocka, Editor

UN estimates 100 000 [sic] street kids

Tue, 18 Mar 2008

The United Nations has estimated that about 100 million children around the world are forced to live wholly or partially in the streets, although reliable figures are practically impossible to calculate.

Many such children are among the 300 million who are subjected to exploitation, violence and abuse around the world, according to the same source.

Most street children are to be found in poor countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, although the problem is also acute in parts of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.

In its 2008 report on "The State of the World’s Children", the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) lists a total of 60 priority countries for action on child survival and safety, of which almost two-thirds (38) are in sub-Saharan Africa.

The list also includes the whole of the Indian subcontinent, the main southeast Asian nations, and Brazil, Haiti and Mexico in the Americas.

Although the actual numbers of street children in each region are unknown, an idea of the scale of the problem can be gained from social indicators such as primary school enrolment and the prevalence of child labour.

The UNICEF report estimates, for example, that in sub-Saharan Africa no less than 40 percent of girls and 36 percent of boys are not enrolled in primary school. In the same region, 35 percent of children aged between five and 14 years old are drafted wholly or partially into the labour force.

In South Asia, nine percent of girls and 10 percent of boys are not at primary school, while 13 percent of children are obliged to work, the report estimates.

And in Latin America and the Caribbean, 10 percent of primary-school-age boys and nine percent of girls are not being educated, and nine percent of children have to work.

Such children, and countless others in other regions, are likely in many cases to find themselves in the streets, cut off from family, schooling and health care.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which came into force in 1990, states that every child should as far as possible have the right to "grow up in a family environment, in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding."

The convention further guarantees the right of the child to education, and to that end seeks to ensure that primary education is "compulsory and available free to all."

AFP

Free school offers hope for Jakarta street children
Tue Mar 18, 2008 10:27pm EDT
By Lenita Sulthani

JAKARTA (Reuters) - For Qodir, who ekes out a living collecting garbage in the Indonesian capital, an elementary school diploma was just a dream, until he enrolled at a free school for street children three years ago.

A group of activists has set up a makeshift school in one of Jakarta’s crowded slums, providing children and their parents with free lessons and practical training such as sewing and motorbike repairs.

"I am very happy that we have this school here. I hope the school will be here forever," said 13-year-old Qodir, who goes by one name like many Indonesians.

Last year, the school, run by the Nanda Dian Nusantara foundation, enrolled him for elementary school national exams to obtain a diploma. He said he planned to continue his study at an Islamic school in June this year.

Children working as beggars, food hawkers and garbage collectors are a common sight on the streets of Jakarta, many earning as little as $1 a day.

The children have often been sent out onto the streets by impoverished parents who can’t support their families, and as a result, are deprived of an education.

At the makeshift school equipped with wooden tables, dozens of child workers sit on the floor, receiving lessons for two hours in the morning and another two hours in the afternoon.

It is often tough to get the children to attend classes since many have to work to help their parents, who are mostly garbage collectors.

The children work in car workshops, collect garbage, shine shoes, sell newspapers or take care of younger siblings. Finding two meals a day is a full-time occupation.

"I want to study and work at the same time," said Khayrul, 12, who earns between 10,000-15,000 rupiah per day ($1.07-$1.60) as a garbage collector and joined the school two months ago.

He dropped out of school last year when his mother died and he left his home town in Central Java to live in Jakarta with his uncle.

Elvrina Diyanti, a volunteer teacher, said the school tries to adjust classes to the children’s working hours.

"We have discussed it with students and parents so that we can have more students in the class. We try to make it very flexible," she said.

She said many of the children do not attend classes regularly and teachers have to be a little bit more patient.

The foundation also teaches illiterate parents to read and provides vocational training such as sewing, cooking and other skills so that they can earn extra income, said Desy Handayani, one of the foundation’s activists.

Roostien Ilyas, 58, started the foundation in 1990. There are now hundreds of free schools for children and women across the country.

"We don’t teach them how to live their lives because they know," said Ilyas, who trained as an English teacher.

Ilyas said her experience in handling traumatized children in several disaster and conflict-hit areas across Indonesia has opened her eyes to the lack of government support for children.

In East Java, where a mud volcano forced about 15,000 people to abandon their homes, Ilyas said it is proving hard to find a safe location and funding for the displaced children.

Some scientists say the flow of hot mud in Sidoarjo regency, near the city of Surabaya, was caused by a gas drilling operation by PT Lapindo Brantas. Lapindo is partly owned by the family of Indonesia’s chief social welfare minister, Aburizal Bakrie.

Ilyas said she worried about conditions for the children in this area because their parents have been made homeless and jobless by the disaster.

"I am very disappointed with the government. They never think seriously about children’s problems in this country," she said.

(Writing by Ahmad Pathoni; Editing by Sophie Hardach)

Street children becoming a new problem on Lebanon’s streets - Feature
Posted : Tue, 18 Mar 2008 02:14:02 GMT

Beirut - Street children are becoming a common sight in Beirut, some begging at traffic intersections, others wiping off dirty car windows, and others just hanging around with searching eyes that clearly show the kind of life they are living. Zeina, 10, is one of the unfortunate ones, who due to family circumstances are forced to try to sell some chewing gum before nightfall so she can return home with something to feed her sister, brother and sick mother.

Zeina, with her green eyes, taps on a car window wither dirty little hands, begging to sell her chewing gum before nightfall. "So please buy one, I have to sell them all in order to buy bread for my family," Zeina pleads, with tears in her eyes.

The little blonde girl said she has mainly lived on the streets since she was eight to help her family survive.

"I have been begging, selling roses, chewing gum, or washing windows since I was eight," she said. "My father left us because my mother got sick."

Zeina is only one of thousands of children who try to eke out a living on the streets of Lebanon’s cities these days. A few of the street children are forced to beg by their parents, while the rest are victims of some notorious gangs who push them towards flesh trades and slavery.

According to Khawla Mattar of the International Labour Organization, "the number of children working on the streets is difficult to determine. Anyone who gives you a definite number would be fooling you."

One social affairs official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the ministry plays a limited role in combating the trend.

"Our role is preventive," the official said. "We try to mingle with the children and attract them to our centres for recreation and education, rather than leaving them on the streets where they are subject to drugs and crime."

He added: "When street children are caught by the police and taken to police stations, our representatives work on moving them to specialised institutes."

Although no official statistics exist on the number of street children in Lebanon, the Lebanese Evangelical Organization has more than 100 children under its protection, said the group’s head John Iter.

Iter said 15 per cent of street children in Lebanon are Lebanese, while 55 per cent are foreigners and the remaining 30 per cent are of mixed Lebanese-foreign parentage.

The phenomenon of street children "has become one of the most important mounting social problems in Lebanon," said Elie Mikhael, secretary general of the Higher Council for Childhood.

"According to UNICEF and the National Labour Organization, street children can be divided into two categories: those in the street still in full contact with their parents and street children who don’t have anyone and are totally dependent on themselves," he said.

"Certain parents send their children off to work to raise money. Extreme, violent measures ranging from beatings to sexual abuse are taken (if) the child refuses to go or deliver the earnings of the day," Mikhael said.

He added that parents’ pressure to make money was another reason for the increase in the number of street children during the hard economic times prevailing in Lebanon.

Mikhael said social organization cannot only work alone, but they need the help of the government with funds and centres in order to reduce the evolving problem.

But until a solution is found, small children like Zeina remain the sole bread-winners in their families, amid fears that one day they will fall in the hands of the wrong people.

Belgrade street children struggle to eke out living

Mar 17, 2008

BELGRADE (AFP) — The plight of Luja, a 16-year-old who stopped going to school because he couldn’t afford books, reflects that of the hundreds of homeless children in Belgrade.

Instead of getting an education, he guards a private car parking lot, scraping just enough together to be able to survive.

Luja’s story is similar to those of some of the estimated 500 homeless children and teenagers who, during the day, wander along the grimy streets of the Serbian capital.

Most of them are Roma, but of different backgrounds, some having run away from their biological or adoptive parents, and others having fled orphanages or youth centres.

Many are refugees. Those who fled the southern territory of Kosovo in recent years joined ones who left their homes during the wars in neighbouring Bosnia and Croatia in the early 1990s.

Social workers fear Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia on February 17 could still bring a new wave of refugees as many Serbs and ethnic minorities living there might decide to flee north.

"I left school four years ago because I could not buy books and school supplies," Luja told AFP.

"Watching the cars at the parking lot at least brings some money," he explained.

After a day spent begging in the streets, trying to attract the attention of indifferent passers-by, cleaning windshields at main crossroads or minding luxury cars, these children return to what they consider their homes: abandoned basements or even drainage holes.

Some 300,000 children in Serbia are affected by poverty, have no access to medical care, nor a proper education, according to Judita Reichenberg of the United Nations childrens’ fund in Serbia

Only recently, a non-governmental group, the Centre for the Integration of Youths (CIM), opened a daycare centre for street children, offering them a place to eat, medical and psychological check-ups and medication, if needed.

The daycare facility, housed in the Rex Cultural Centre in downtown Belgrade, is open for five hours every afternoon.

The bar in the centre, a popular site for alternative music concerts, art exhibitions and independent films, is during that time transformed into a movable kitchen and a dining hall.

But it soon became too small to accommodate all those needing help.

"I come here because there is food and drinks. There is also a nurse to check our health," said Denis, leaning on a ping-pong table covered with a linen cloth for meals.

As he spoke, a volunteer off-loaded a pile of clothes on the table, sparking a mad rush by the children to find trousers and jackets in their own size.

The CIM organisation says it has been taking care of more than 300 street children and teenagers for three years.

Each of them has their own history to tell. But it is mostly because of mistreatment and misery in their homes that the children decided to live on the streets.

Scorned and rejected, they often become victims of sexual abuse, volunteers say. As a result, many of them turn to prostitution or drugs.

"We know that some of them are drug addicts. Although drugs and alcohol are forbidden (here), we welcome these children here because we want them to feel safe," said the centre’s coordinator, Mila Muskinja.

But the hostile attitude of the general population towards the street children has complicated the group’s activities, as it had to close a similar centre since tenants complained of their presence.

"That centre was open around the clock, but we had to close it as the tenants considered it a threat to their security," said CIM official Milica Djordjevic.

In coordination with the Belgrade city government’s welfare department, the organisation is planning to open another 24-hour centre in the coming months.

Although some Belgraders offer aid to the centre, mostly second-hand clothes, there are not many of those giving away what children need most: compassion and affection.

"Every sweater is obviously appreciated, but a change of attitude would be even more," stressed Djordjevic.

Sh6bn water project to kick off, says envoy Sh6bn water project to kick off, says envoy

Story by AMINA KIBIRIGE
Publication Date: 3/17/2008

A Sh6 billion water and sanitation project for Coast region is set to kick off, French ambassador Elisabeth Barbier revealed at the weekend.

“It is a 50-50 project between the French Government and the World Bank where each team is contributing an equivalent of Sh3 billion towards its implementation,” said Ms Barbier.

The envoy said the French Government was also funding a solid waste management project that was under way.

She said the French Government had given Sh1.6 billion to the ministry of Local Government for the waste management projects at the Mombasa and Nakuru municipalities.

The Mombasa municipality would construct a recycling plant at Mwakirunge and a transfer unit at VOK, Bombolulu, in the North Coast.

Hasten project

Deputy mayor John Mcharo promised to fast-track the waste management project.

He reassured the envoy of the council’s seriousness in implementing the projects.

Mr Mcharo said the money which was released by the French Government mid last year had not been fully utilised.

Ms Barbier also inquired about street children rehabilitation project which her Government was keen to assist.

Mayor Ahmed Mohdhar said the issue was part of the agenda at the council’s next meeting.

Mr Mohdhar said the problem was not getting the street children off the streets but where to take them adding that the council could not address the issue alone and “maybe we can come back and seek assistance from your Government”.

Mombasa has approximately 500 street people.