Street children..butterflies or businesspeople?

I wonder, if we ever think about those children we see on the streets - whether it's in India, Nigeria or here in Canada. When I was growing up in India, I've seen kids barely older than me, with tattered clothing and dirty faces along the streets or begging in traffic. In Lagos, I've seen babies begging in heavy traffic or selling water in the go-slow. Even in Toronto, I've seen homeless teenagers on the streets downtown.


As a child in India, my reaction was typically to ignore them and see through them. In Lagos, I use to notice them only in passing, I was too busy with my life. Now in Toronto, I look at them and I wonder what could have brought them to such a situation. In all those scenarios, I have felt guilty about not helping them. With the huge hue and cry today's celebrities have raised about third-world children and charities, the world seems to be overflowing with NGOs and Christian missionaries hell bent on working with the poor. I've always been quite sceptical about this - maybe it comes from growing up in middle-class India, where you're taught to doubt people's motives, especially when they tell you they are trying to help you purely out of the goodness of their heart.


But today I read about an organization, the Butterflies, who were responsible for creating and supporting this, a bank run by children, streetchildren to be very specific. The bank is called Children's Development Bank, and operates only after 6pm in the night, when these children can get away from their menial day jobs as rag-pickers, utensil cleaners and other odd-end tasks. To me the best thing about this initiative was the independence and confidence, it would give these kids. I had parents, family and friends who loved me, supported me and believed in. These children probably did not have too many supporters or believers, until they came into this project. For that, I am grateful to the organization and to the initiative.

I'm sure there are many obscure groups and similar intiatives, but being ignorant about those other groups, does not necessitate or provide justification, if I ignored this wonderful initiative.


Excellent work!