THE KID WHO STARTED A BANK
https://www.dropbox.com/s/i0j33dqehn6a008/THE%20KIDWHOSTARTABANK.pptx?dl=0
When Jose Adolfo Quisocala was seven years old, he decided he
wanted to open a bank.
It would be a bank for kids in his town of Arequipa,
Peru.
The bank would allow the children to save money, and help
them get out of poverty.
Quisocala came up with
the idea when he realized that other kids in his town didn't understand the
importance of saving money. Many of his classmates spent the little money they
had on toys or candy. He also saw children his age working instead of going to
school. They were earning money for their families. Quisocala
wanted to enable these children to save some of this money for the future.
At first, Quisocala - together with his father - looked for
existing banks where children could open savings accounts. But the banks
required a certain amount of money in order to open an account. The amount was
much too high for the kids in Arequipa.
So, when Quisocala was 11 years old, he fulfilled his dream
and opened his own bank, Banco del Estudiante Bartselana. At first, the bank had 20 customers.
Today, Banco del Estudiante Bartselana
offers loans, microinsurance, and other financial services to more than 2,000
children between the ages of 10 and 18. The kids also have personal debit cards
to withdraw money from cash machines.
Banco del Estudiante Bartselana sets savings goals, and children can
only withdraw money once they reach a goal. In order to make Banco del Estudiante Bartselana
accessible to as many kids as possible, kids can "deposit"
recyclables instead of money. Children can bring in items such as plastic
bottles, used notebooks and old flip flops. This allows kids without any cash
to start and grow their own savings accounts. Quisocala's "eco-bank" gives the children
credit on their account according to the number of recyclables they deposit.
They send the recyclables to a local recycling company. So, while learning
to manage their money, the children are also learning to care for the
environment.
Quisocala has many international awards,
including the Children's Climate Prize, which focuses on protecting the
environment. He won the prize in 2018, when he was 13 years old. As Quisocala
says, "Children are the hope for tomorrow and our environment."