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Taking school to street children

Zyma Islam and Fardaus MOBAROK
They grow up uncared for, unnoticed. It is as if they have accepted that they were born in streets and will die on street one day living a life of misery, longing to meet happiness some day.
The street children indeed have very little to look forward to. But what if someone stands beside them, gives them the tool to beat the odds, provide them with education?
Prothom Surjo, a voluntary initiative to educate street children, has just done this, but it took its schooling one step further. Since street children cannot make time or chance to come to school, it took school to them.
The classes of Prothom Surjo sit on the footpaths of the street that connects Paribagh with Aziz Super Market-end of Shahbagh. Students here sit on floor mats laid out on the pavements with trees shading them. The "classrooms" are separated by invisible walls, not far from which is a skip.
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A boy of around 10 to 11 years was found there shovel-cleaning a drain running alongside the street. When done, he put the spade aside and joined a class. His hands and feet were still blackened with sludge. This boy represents a big number of students who come here to seek the light of education.
Here classes are held during the afternoons to make sure that those children who are working can attend.
"Children from pre-school level to third grade are mainly taught here," said Rozina, one of the teachers of the school. She herself is a candidate for the SSC examination.
One of the pre-schoolers of this school
Makhlukh is barely four years and still speaks with the lisp of a toddler learning how to talk.
"My father has a rickshaw," she was boasting to her classmates.
This part of area in Paribagh has makeshift rickshaw and rickshaw-van garages where fathers of many of the students of this school are employed.
Makhluk's elder brother Rakib, 8, sitting in a higher class, was diligently studying. "We have another brother who has finished the eighth grade, but he cannot continue as he has to work," he said.
Rakib confidently showed off his language skills by starting up a conversation with his classmates in broken English, except he could not go beyond “what is your name?”
The initiative of Prothom Surjo began in 2010 and now it has 70 students.
The school instils the love for learning into these children so that they can adapt with the mainstream education later. "We have admitted at least 45 students to neighbouring publicschools thisyear," said Rozina.
Tahmina is one of them. She has recently obtained GPA-5 in the primary school certificate exam. But she still comes to the street school to get her homework done.
Shathi too has been admitted to third grade at a local public school. She also could not sever her link with the street school and still gets help from here to do her homework.
"I want to be a doctor," she told The Daily Star giving the impression that now she has hope, a goal.