For those unfortunate children who are unable to go to school
For those unfortunate children who are unable to go to school, a brother-sister has brought the classroom to them.
Shireen and Hasan Zafar teach more than 25 street children, who sell flowers and tissue papers or beg at traffic signals on the streets of Defense Housing Authority. The siblings set up tables and chairs near Café Clifton on Khayaban-e-Shamsheer and spend nearly two hours every day teaching the children basics, such as alphabets and counting.
The street school runs six days a week from 4:30pm to 6pm.
“A few months ago, I was passing by a [traffic] signal when a girl begging there came up to me and asked me how I was feeling, instead of asking for money,” recalled 12-year-old Shireen, who is a student of class seven. Touched by the girl’s query, Shireen decided to help out little beggars who cannot afford to go to school.
“I discussed the idea with my elder brother to teach some of these kids and motivate them to study hard,” she said, adding that the idea for a small session turned into a whole classroom for street children.
Rana Yasmeen, a government school teacher of basic pay scale grade 15, also spares time from her busy schedule and helps Shireen and Hasan conduct classes. She said this is her attempt to help make the city more educated.
