Ajay and 14 other children who live on the Bhikaji Cama Place pavement have been studying at the traffic lights for the past two years. Zubair Idrisi, 22, and Pawan Sharma, 25, founders of this education programme for street children, explain why their informal approach works. “If these kids won’t attend school because they need to earn money, then we thought why not go to their workplace and bring education to the traffic lights,” says Sharma.

Since 2005, the pair has taught at three Delhi traffic lights: Bhikaji Cama Place, Jor Bagh and Ber Serai. Through street plays—both Idrisi and Sharma are passionate about theatre—they have recruited volunteers, mostly university students, to join them.

More than 1,000 people have been involved at some point, but 18 core volunteers run the classes from Monday to Friday. “The first year we mainly built a rapport with the kids and their parents,” says Idrisi. Then this year, Sharma and Idrisi officially registered the Khoj Foundation.

Between 10 and 30 children, aged from five to 15, are taught across the three sites. The education programme is steadily developing—seven months ago, a teaching curriculum was devised. Volunteer Annie Vincent says it is much easier to monitor a child’s progress now that they have established 12 learning levels. Worksheets have been designed, which use pictures and symbols to teach the Hindi alphabet. “We also use storytelling, songs, and theatre,” says Vincent.

Children respond to the teaching in different ways. Ravi, 6, is conscientiously writing out four new letters. Sunita, meanwhile, is a little distracted, so a volunteer gives her a colouring book and crayons to break the learning. “There were children who didn’t even know how to hold a pencil, but can now read and write,” says Sharma, “they’re learning really fast”.

The programme’s goal is to achieve basic literacy among street children. “But a long-term aim would be for children to enter formal education,” says Sharma.

Six months ago, two children were enrolled into the Life Centre Academy, Satya Niketan. Pooja, 12, and Arjun, 10, are attending informal classes every day, and in April, they will begin formal schooling.

Idrisi and Sharma plan to expand Khoj Foundation. Currently, they are heading a research project into the number of children working at traffic lights in Delhi. This week, they will shift classes at Ber Serai into an MCD school that has offered them a room during afternoons.