Mirror Magazine

Mirror Magazine

Spreading some joy
By Apsara Kapukotuwa
When Jananie saw the plight of little children born in prisons highlighted in her favourite newspaper, she felt that she had to do something about it. The first visit she made with her father to see the little children at the Welikada Prison tugged at her heartstrings in a manner so insistent that she immediately made up her mind to involve her friends in her efforts to brighten up at least a few hours for these kids.

President of the Interact Club of the British School in Colombo, Jananie (who is in her first year of the International Baccalaureate) knew just the place to start. Deciding to make this her first Interact project for the year (Interact members hold office from September to September of each year), she planned for the visit to the little ones at the Welikada Prison along with her club members.

These little children, many of whom are yet to see a world outside of prison walls were eagerly awaiting the arrival of these angels of hope, ready with a singsong session and shy smiles. The Interact club members of the British School were also treated to a fine display of musical prowess by the Women’s Prison Band.

Jananie says that their mere presence, the songs they sang for the children and the distribution of items collected by the Interact team members brought about an outpouring of gratitude. “They were so small and helpless. A small thing like chocolate was a luxury, and they just wanted more and more. The bonding we had was amazing; there was even a baby who was just one week old. Once they reach five years and if their mums are still in prison they are sent to orphanages,” she said with a catch in her voice.

With her friends Roshan, Amishka, Sabrina, Sajith, Michael, Cain, Yasmin, Menaka, Ashan, Tariq, Ishva, Ushva, Natasha and Ashvini, Jananie and the members of the Interact Club collected goods to the tune of more than Rs. 20,000/-. This was enough for them to provide the children with gift packs, in addition to what the school donated.

Michael felt that their visit within the prison walls helped open their own eyes to the plight of those less fortunate. “We aren’t exposed to this kind of thing. We socialised a lot with the kids that day. The children were shy, scared but still so excited. Their mothers seemed pretty happy to see us,” he stated pensively.

“When we entered through that long corridor, enclosed within large walls and saw those sweet, small children waiting for us, it was such a bittersweet feeling. Some of them came up to us and said thank you. You feel sorry since it’s not their fault that they are in prison,” added Amishka who feels that there is much more that can be done for children such as these.

And thus, a group of caring youngsters gave the little ones, most of whom saw the light of the world while their mums served time in prison, a chance to enjoy themselves to their hearts’ content.

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