Source: Courtesy

Don't be surprised if you happen to find a group of child domestic workers studying in a makeshift class held in the community hall of your apartment building, your neighbour's garage or even in your own apartment. It is a Haate Khori classroom.
Haate Khori, one of the endeavors of 1⁰ Initiative, is a makeshift school that aims to provide basic education to child domestic workers. The outcome of a 15-month-long research, the Haate Khori model was developed with the objectives to instil basic literacy skills in child domestic workers aged five to eighteen, as well as to increase awareness of mass citizens on the conditions and rights of these children.
Haate Khori classes are designed to accommodate students of all kinds- fast or slow learners with or without basic literal knowledge. Classes are usually held thrice a week, where students are taught basic Bangla, English, simple Arithmetic, Art and General knowledge. “We do not want to burden the students by making official assessments. In a Haate Khori classroom students are taught to learn, not to be assessed,” said Israt Zerin, instructor for Bangla.

Source: Courtesy

Willingness of the child domestic workers as well as their employers is vital for successful completion of a cycle. “Convincing both the employers and the children and motivating them to continue or even start their classes is a hurdle commonly faced by the Haate Khori instructors and volunteers,” explained Namista, intern at Haate Khori. Employers usually do not take them seriously and are sometimes uncooperative, she added.  However, there are supportive employers like those of Jhorna and Ramzan's, two of the graduates of the Haate Khori-March, 2014.
On asking about their future plans, Fatima Akhtar, Project Leader and English teacher shares, “I want more people to start their own Haate Khori and encourage the graduates as well as the employers to continue this practice.”