Gulshan is the girl I see most during lockdown. She's started coming to my gate everyday, sometimes with younger siblings or friends in tow. She lives in the "katchiabadi", an Urdu word for the temporary housing near the marketplace in our town. Until lockdown she was a KG student at Sitara. When we finally get back to school she'll be in first grade, Inshallah. For now, her schooling consists of worksheets I have lying around my house. DIstance learning is not a reality here. Gulshan is very good at math and can read a little English and Urdu. She loves those worksheets, sometimes bringing them back in ten minutes! These days she is on the street all day, begging for scraps of food and collecting recyclables. Education is her only hope for a brighter future.
