Scholarship presentation ceremony at Welikada prison
“The weak can never forgive; forgiveness is an attribute of the
strong” - Mahatma Gandhi
It is this forgiveness that strengthens the resolve of the “Friends
of Prisoners’ Children” to continue with their work freeing the innocent
children of prisoners from the burden of the crimes of their parents.
There is very little compassion extended towards the convicts of the
world, we tend to think of them as individuals and define them solely by
their crimes.
The families they leave behind when they go to prison and the
children whose lives are torn apart by acts for which they have no
control over are barely spared a thought.
The children of prisoners are often destined for ruin simply because
of circumstances beyond their control. The stigma and mental anguish a
child faces when the experience of a parent being incarcerated enters
their lives will shape their futures. In many instances the brightest of
children are lost because of this.
Preventing this tragedy is the aim of the ‘Friends of Prisoners
Children’ scholarship programme which was introduced in 2005. At that
time the program included only 47 children. But each year 50 children
were added to the total and the numbers in 2009 were 250.
The scholarship presentation ceremony took place at the Welikada
prison on December 28, 2008. 230 of the scholarship recipients along
with their guardians arrived at the prison for the presentation
ceremony, it was at this point that a delightful surprise was unveiled,
the children and their guardians were given permission to go right
inside the prison to have a family reunion with their parent in prison.
Oases within the walls of the prison enabled the children to share
meals with their parent in prison while chatting freely to them about
the mundane things that many families take for granted but are lost to
these children. It was also an opportunity for many of them to catch up
after not seeing each other for years on end, a true family reunion.
One families’ story touched the hearts of many that day, hailing from
a desperately poor family in a village in the Deep South one mother held
back the truth of their fathers’ incarceration from her children for
fear of how it may affect their lives. She told them that he was abroad
and only managed to visit him on very rare occasions on which she told
him about how bright and eager to learn the children were.
In 2008 the father in prison applied for scholarships for two of the
children and was accepted. Amid the joy of this news the mother was
faced with the dilemma of telling her children the truth about their
father.
The children took the news as well as can be accepted and arrived on
the 28th to meet their father after many years. Unable even to afford
the transport cost from their village to Colombo the Friends of
Prisoners’ Children gave them the money to attend the event and in yet
another way helped a family in a seemingly small way that would enrich
their lives forever.
Another feature of this year’s event was the presence of one of the
first scholarship recipients of the charity. She is now following a
management degree at a leading university and completing the third stage
in chartered accountancy while also looking for an internship position.
She is a past pupil of a well known college in Galle and although she
went through a phase of de-motivation when her father was incarcerated,
she refused to let the family tragedy ruin her life as well.
She worked hard and achieved 8 distinctions for her O’Levels and
thereafter excellent A’Level results which ranked her 64th in Sri Lanka
that particular year. She is considered one of the true successes of the
association and is a shining example of what the Friends of Prisoners’
Children stands for.
In her emotional appeal to the other scholarship recipients, whom she
embraces as her younger brothers and sisters, she asked that they do not
allow the tragedy in their lives to overcome their desire to do well in
school and later in life.
She told them to look ahead to their futures and not backwards, to
know that there are people who care about them and want them to do well
in life, but above all, to know that they can each make whatever they
want of their futures, irrelevant of their family issues. She went on to
thank those who were responsible for the scholarship program and
especially her particular sponsor for all they have done for her and
others like her.
Every year each child presents their sponsor with a letter updating
them on their progress, these children know better than anyone the
support they receive from the people within the association and the
scholarship sponsors.
The children know better than most what their lives may have become
if not for the opportunities that are now open to them. The gratitude
and affection that is conveyed in these letters are such that sponsors
are touched by ‘their child’s’ heartfelt thanks for all they have done
for them and are strengthened in their resolve to help even more
wonderful children like them.
We are the product of our own choices, not those of others. The
Friends of Prisoners’ Children teaches the children they come into
contact with that they are free to make their own lives, unburdened by
mistakes that they have no control over.
The products of the silent and unselfish love and support given by
the Friends of Prisoners’ Children have a place for themselves in the
world now, where they are defined by their actions and their actions
alone, which is exactly how it should be. |