Over the past months, more than 1,200 children have given their input on where the money from the Children's Wallet, a unique fund by Kinderpostzegels, should go. Their answer: children living in poverty or experiencing an unsafe home environment should receive more help.
If children themselves could decide which children need extra help and where the money collected by Kinderpostzegels should go – what would it be? That's the idea behind the Children's Wallet, a special fund by Kinderpostzegels, established in 2023, for which children themselves can choose its destination. Over the past months, more than 1,200 students from 60 groups 7 and 8 in mainstream and special primary education participated in the special Children's Wallet workshops. They brainstormed, discussed, and voted on how the Children's Wallet money should be spent.
Children choose themes of poverty and home safety
Children consider poverty by far the most important theme. Almost half (49.1%) want children affected by poverty to receive more help and support. "If you don't have enough money, you can't do everything, and I think that's unfair," one of the participants summarized.
This is followed by the theme of (un)safety at home with 29.1%. "Home should be where you are safe. If it isn't, that's very bad," writes one of the children. The remaining votes are almost equally distributed among the themes of loneliness (6.5%), inability to participate (5.5%), and feeling unhappy (9.9%).
The children also believe that everything is interconnected. It's logical to feel lonely if things aren't good at home. And of course, you can't participate if your parents have little money. "If you help someone with one thing, it will also get better with the other," the children conclude.
850,000 euros to distribute
The Children's Wallet currently contains 850,000 euros. Sofie Vriends, director of Kinderpostzegels: "This summer, we will work on finding project partners for the chosen themes. We will ensure that the projects have an impact on as many children as possible. Then, we will distribute the money as the children have decided. As soon as we can share more about this, we will of course announce it through our channels."
"I wish there were more soundproof rooms so children don't hear arguments"
The voice of children is incredibly important to Kinderpostzegels, Sofie continues. "Indeed: it is a right of children to have a say in matters that concern them. With the Children's Wallet, we give concrete expression to that. Our approach is unique. No other charity allows children to participate in decision-making in this way - I am very proud of that! I was also incredibly impressed by the dedication and enthusiasm with which children participated in the workshops and thus exercised their right to participation. A heartfelt thank you to everyone!"
"For every child, a person they can talk to, who won't tell anyone"
Regional and international follow-up
This year, for the first time, there was also a regional variant of the Children's Wallet. Fonds 1818, a foundation from The Hague, filled the Children's Wallet with 300,000 euros. This is specifically to help children in the Haaglanden and Bollenstreek regions. Sofie: "A great initiative that will hopefully be followed in other regions next year. In addition, we will also roll out the Children's Wallet internationally to the countries where we operate, starting in West Africa and India. I look forward to making our unique approach even bigger."
