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Teenage banker in Peru helps kids in poverty and reduces waste

José Adolfo Quisocala is a banker from Peru. He encourages children to save money and offers his customers money for recycling. He is still a kid.

Many of his classmates dreamed of becoming soccer players, firefighters or musicians. José Adolfo wanted to work in finance, or managing money.

He decided he wanted to create a bank for children. He was motivated by seeing his peers skipping lunch because they had spent their money on sweets or football cards. He also saw poverty among children.

Teenage banker in Peru helps kids in poverty and reduces waste

"Seeing children living in poverty, seeing many children working in the streets, at the traffic lights selling sweets, begging … made me think, why can't these children go to a normal school," he said.

"One of the reasons why those kids were working was because there was no money at home. Why can't I teach them to save?" he also said.

Teenage banker in Peru helps kids in poverty and reduces waste

Discussion Questions:

1. How did José Adolfo's early experiences motivate him to create a bank for children? 2. What innovative ways has José Adolfo come up with to help his clients earn money? 3. What impact has José Adolfo's work had on Peru's environment ministry and beyond?