Skoll Entrepreneur(s): Jeroo Billimoria
Change(s) Addressed: Economic & Social Equity

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DESCRIPTION:

Jeroo Billimoria grew up in Mumbai, India. Drawn to children, she studied social work and founded Meljol, an organization that provides opportunities for children to make friends across classes and castes and become leaders in their communities. Jeroo also gave out her phone number and took calls for help from street children, which led her to found Childline. Starting with just $6,000, she built a national institution that in 5 years fielded more than 10 million calls for assistance in India’s 74 largest cities. She then founded an international organization, Child Helpline International, which now supports help lines in 153 countries. In 2005, Jeroo founded Aflatoun to apply the same international replication model to Meljol’s child empowerment curriculum and in-school savings and financial education program. This program, symbolized by an “Aflatoun” (explorer) who helps children envision a better future and act on their dreams, promotes a culture of saving, builds skills for using money and develops responsibility and pride.

KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS OF 2010

• Child Social and Financial Education through Aflatoun now reaches over 540,000 children in over 5,000 schools in 32 countries worldwide.
• Through Aflatoun, 40% of students in the program save small amounts weekly (ca. $0.10).
• In 2008, Aflatoun children started over 80 social campaigns and almost 300 small enterprises.