“Being born and liv­ing happily isn’t an achievement, but making others happy is,” is a mantra that keeps Juju Kaji Maharjan going. Maharjan, 35, is a social worker who founded ‘Heartbeat’ in 2006 and registered it as an NGO in 2009. The NGO was set up to advocate and campaign for the rights of street children and help them to become capable citizens. Born into a low-income fam­ily, Maharjan learned to live the hard way. He spent his childhood in a small cottage. His parents were uneducated and they earned their living by farming. Growing up, he had many hobbies but he could not continue any of them.

 

While in high school he started learning web design­ing. Studies never interested Maharjan. He soon dropped out of high school and started working as a web designer in a cyber café in New Road.

 

“There used to be many political events at Ratna­park those days. I often went there during my break to see the political leaders deliver speeches,” recalls Maharjan. “I was going nowhere with my life at the time. I had no skills and had quit studies. So I decided to join politics.” Maharjan then enrolled in the Lalitkala Campus, “not to study arts but to become a political leader,” he laughs.

 

But things did not go as planned. In 2006, he was at a social event held on the occa­sion of the International Youth Day, an event to help those in need. That visit proved to be life-changing and gave him a goal. “I then felt the urge to do something for the society,” he says. “As students of arts, we decided to raise money for social causes by exhibiting paintings and sculptures.”

 

With that intent, ‘Heartbeat’ was formed. Heartbeat’s ‘Art for Social Change’ continued raising money by exhibiting arts in various parts of Nepal. But after three years, many of his friends had to leave. “I was shattered but I kept going and with a few volunteers, I decided to register Heart­beat as an NGO and continue working,” says Maharjan.

 

Inspired by his father who managed to contribute his share to the society despite coming from a poor back­ground, Maharjan has dedi­cated more than a decade of his life to social work. “When I began, I spent three years on the streets to understand the situation of street children,” he says. “Now that I have aged, I feel I am still child­ish because of so much time spent with these children.”

 

Heartbeat started the “Tea for Change” campaign in which its volunteers would take to the streets and offer tea, biscuits and other edibles to street children to get up close with them and convince them that they were not total outcasts.

 

“Talking and treating them as friends made them feel accepted. When we drank tea with them they felt comfort­able and they slowly started sharing their experience with us,” Maharjan says. “Gradu­ally, we studied their phycol­ogy, and also their will and determination to change. With this knowledge, we started providing counselling in order to re-establish them in the society.” Heartbeat also rescued many street children during that period.

 

Working with streets chil­dren was not easy. There were many risks. Maharjan was once chased by a khuku­ri-wielding street kid who had been told that Maharjan was making money by exploiting street children. He was also taken into police custody once under suspicion of being a gang leader of street children involved in criminal activities. Police had noticed him inter­act with the street children.

 

Along with these lows, Maharjan has also had his moments of inspirations. “One time, in Hetaunda, a young boy ran up to me and said, ‘Hello motey (fat) sir, you fed me when I was on the streets,’” Maharjan recalls. “The boy was now working and earning well. Moments like these are my true rewards.”

 

Maharjan says Heartbeat is funded by his own money and aided by volunteers and stu­dents making small contribu­tions from their own pockets. Presently, Maharjan’s Heart­beat works to prevent chil­dren becoming a permanent part of the street.

 

A ‘Dream Center’ under Heartbeat is now helping more than 100 children who migrated to Kathmandu to fulfill their dreams but somehow ended up in the streets. The center provides for street children’s education and involves them in other activities like counselling, sports and skills training.

 

“Children are defined by their habits. We work to change their habits to make them capable and productive citizens,” says Maharjan.