Prisoners’ kids in classroom

Santanu Saraswati
Kolkata, August 9— Kiran Bedi did it in Tihar Jail. So did the additional director general of police (state correctional home services), B D Sharma, in state jails changing the lifestyles through education and cultural therapies.

First it was the children living with their mother imprisoned in the state correctional homes, who are getting education in good schools in and around the city. Now it will be the children of the prisoners, whose life get shattered after the main earning member of the family get imprisoned behind the four-walls of the state correctional homes for committing a mistake.

Probably for the first time in the history of country’s correctional home services, the state department has assigned a non-governmental organisation—the Rajabazar Education Awareness Development Society (READS)—to carry out the light of education among the children of the prisoners, who had to leave studies after their father or main earning member got imprisoned.

“We will start the project on an experimental basis. First it will be the children of prisoners living in Presidency and Alipore Correctional Home. If the project becomes a hit, we will carry it out even in the district,” the ADG & IG (state correctional home services), B D Sharma told Hindustan Times, on Tuesday.

The state correctional home service department has already sent notification to the jailors of the Presidency and Alipore Correctional Home for making a list of children who were forced to leave studies because of poverty after the head of the family got imprisoned. The list is almost ready. “READS has its schools and tutorials in areas like Garden Reach, Metiabruz, Rajabazar, Khidderpore in Kolkata and Mallickpore in South 24 Pargana, just an hour journey from the city. It gets students from abroad for imparting education on poor and deprived children of the society. For this project, too, students from all over the world are coming to teach the children the best of English, History, Geography, Mathematics and Environmental Studies. We are very optimistic about this project,” Sharma added.

READS, the non-governmental organisation is carrying out these types of work for over 15 years in and around the city. Most of its projects are funded by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India and the social welfare, women & child development department. “Especially for this project, we have invited students as international trainees from countries like Slovakia, Holland, Nigeria and Japan. These trainees will work with us for 12 weeks. Then next batch of trainees from countries like Australia, New Zealand, UK, France, will be joining. This way the process will continue,” said secretary of READS, Sarfaraz Ali.

Why this type of projects? According to Sharma, the effluents have the advantage of fighting the case in the court of law and even get bails. “But its difficult for the poor convicts getting bail and lead a normal life outside. Most of their families get devastated. Some of their family members may even take up odd jobs or leave the children alone forever. Life somehow is only darkness for these families. So we are trying just to show some lights at least,” Sharma added.

Ali informed that Ejoke Rachel, Chete Nwamaka and Nwasokwa Ifeoma from Nigeria, Midori Oyama from Japan, Anneriet Kodde and Sanne Klifman from The Netherlands and Nina Ursinyova from Slovakia are joining the organisation from next week. They will be teaching children, understand their psychology, find where they are lagging behind, find sponsors for them so that they could carry out their education in formal and good schools and teach the knowledge of alternative employment.

“We only take dedicated students from abroad, who will never get enticed by this life, rather would dream to build a new world for these children—helping these deprived and hapless children developing their personality, help them getting sponsors for continuing education in a better atmosphere, if not possible forever, just do it for a year only…. but never forget their grim, shaken eyes, with tears falling without a sound, unknowingly, un-noticing for those people living in a complete different world of all worldly pleasures available at the tip of their fingers. We believe these students can. Now they have to prove that we were wrong,” said Ali, with a big smile.
EOM
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