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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.

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