Rising from the streets | Making A Difference

Saroj talking to young boys about street drama.
The sea of people gathered before Saroj Rai consisted of top government officials, representatives from INGOs, NGOs and other personalities. Saroj was to address them on the rights of the street children. The year was 2003, Saroj was 18.

"It was an intimidating experience, my voice shook with nervousness," says Saroj Rai, 21, now a seasoned and celebrated activist for street children. Rai lived as a child on the streets for nine years. There is conviction in his voice as he says, "I chose to speak because I felt it was my duty. The people would then better understand the pain of my past and the ache in the hearts of other children like me."

Saroj is a role model now. He works for Under Privileged Children's Association (UPCA), Dharan as trainer, facilitator, counsellor and activist for the rights of sreet children. He has travelled across Nepal training children to put up wall newspapers, teaching them about child rights and child leadership. Shakuntala Subba, director of UPCA says Saroj's 2003 presentation compelled them to discuss policies and construct an immediate course of action to help street children.

Saroj Rai was born in Janata Basti, Itahari. His father, a mason was an alcoholic would beat Saroj, his mother and the other three children regularly. Saroj's mother ran a small hotel to make ends meet. The drunken episodes happened many times. Tired and disillusioned at age six, Saroj ran away to Dharan with Rs 40. It was enough to see a movie. When the movie ended, he had nowhere to go.

Saroj (second from right) at age nine, with his friends.
Saroj's worn out clothes were hardly warm. It was winter and sleeping under a bus at Bhanu Chok seemed like a good idea. As he was crawling, a group of street children came and questioned him. Saroj shared his tale and soon they became friends.

Saroj's newfound friends collected maal—bottles, plastics, paper—for a living. "I was hesitant in the beginning about going through garbage, so I lived on a friend's earning. We ate discarded fruits and often went without food and sleep for nights. Finally, I began collecting maal for sheer survival," says Saroj. Bhanu Chok became their base but it wasn't easy. They had to pay Rs 10-15 per day to drug users. "If we didn't, they would hurt us," adds Saroj.

After two years on the streets of Dharan, Saroj and his friends went to Kathmandu. Their territory was Boudha and Ratopool. Another two years later, Saroj decided to return home and go to school. He enrolled in class four but couldn't study. Finally, Saroj gave up and lived on the streets again.

"Life as a street child is rough. People call us khates, they insult us and suspect of stealing. The police would arrest and beat us up for no reason," he says. In 1996, UPCA took Saroj in their rehabilitation centre for street children and encouraged him to study. "The environment was just right. We could bathe, eat good food and study. I didn't want to return to the streets again." Many of his friends are still in jail, some are drug addicts and some died young. Saroj found employment at UPCA three years ago and began Dajubhai Samuha, a street children's club in Dharan. The club extends psychological and rehabilitation support to street children and trains them to run wall newspapers for other children. "There are more than 5,000 street children in Nepal. If we don't do something now, we will put their lives at risk," says Saroj.