Helping Inmates

FROM ISSUE # 170 (February 2010) | IN THIS ISSUE
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It's one thing to buy raffle tickets of a charity or to donate a few bucks for a cause or even to help the disadvantaged once in a while, but to selflessly devote one for the sake of others and to endlessly support for their well being is not something all of us can do.

Juju Kaji Maharjan, combining his passion for art with charity, has been helping the deprived for six years now. His organisation Heartbeat, with only seven members, collaborates with other NGOs and INGOs to conduct social activities through art. "Art encourages self-expression and reflection," Juju explains.

Recently, Heartbeat with the support of Prisoners Assistance (PA) Nepal, had arranged a workshop inside Sundhara's Women's Central Jail. Some of the inmates' paintings were violently red while others were plain black bars. But it was particularly disturbing to see a prisoner paint a child committing suicide.

Nevertheless for a few, life inside jail wasn't as miserable as it was for others. Simran, an inmate, had a fantastically optimistic canvas. She used green and white and blue and not a single dot of black.

Enthusiastically she told us, "It's people like Juju who keep me hopeful and positive."

Heartbeat has organised similar exhibitions and workshops in the past focusing on social causes like human rights, drug abuse, poverty, pollution-free environment and development.  "It makes me very happy to see the impact of our efforts," says Juju, adding that, "it's overwhelming to motivate other youths to do same."

Heartbeat is associated with hundreds of other social service and youth organisations, but it continues to conduct many activities through personal funding.

Juju is a sculptor, visual artist and youth social activist. Besides being a founder member of Heartbeat and Eliviras Children's Home (an orphanage), he is also a Youth Ambassador for Peace (2008) and a member of Gokem Art and Artists Society of Nepal.

Currently, he is visiting the jails of Pokhara, Chitwan, Palpa and Biratnagar, distributing books and setting up libraries. The books include those of political science, history, cookery, fictions and entertainment magazines.

To provide financial help, or to simply donate whatever you can, please contact Juju at kajijuju[at]hotmail.com.

Subeksha Poudel