Page 125 - Hemas_Piyawara_Book

CHAPTER 16

A ‘home’ within a jail

aken from their homes for no fault of their own but due to the regrettable Even though the need was obvious – that these little ones should have a bright and
Tcircumstances of their mothers being involved in crime, some children in their beautiful abode within restrictive bars – it was no easy task, for the prison processes
formative years – birth to 5 years of age – have to spend time behind bars. This happens and procedures were rigorous.
under the law of the land when such children do not have anyone to care for them in
their homes and need to be with their mothers who are in prison. Onto the table the Hemas Outreach Foundation brought the ‘Piyawara Singithi
Diriya’ Prison Project to enrich and empower these children, in partnership with
As the world rushed by just outside the Welikada Prison in Colombo, these very young the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs and the Welikada Prison authorities in
children living in deplorable conditions were often forgotten. Some of them had been August 2017.
brought here as newborns after their mothers while being incarcerated, had delivered
them at the nearby Castle Street Hospital for Women, and others had accompanied At that time, there had been around 20 children with their mothers in prison and their
their mothers either as babies or toddlers. Their mothers were serving long terms of living conditions were not the only issue. Another was the lack of proper nutrition as
imprisonment including life sentences for crimes including drug-related activity or the prison was unable to provide a separate meal plan for them and however small
murder. they were, they had to eat the adult food being served.
The living conditions were very bad, recalls the Hemas Group’s Manager Sustainability
Having seen the plight of these children when she visited the prison as a member
of the National Committee on Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD), the and Special Projects, Mindika Thilakarathna. The children were playing in dirty water
Executive Director of the Hemas Outreach Foundation, Shiromi Masakorala, had a pits and were living in quarters which had a mix of hardcore women criminals. It was
niggling concern that would not leave her. not a place for children, it was a narakadiyak (hell). It was pathetic to see tiny children
eating rice with wattakka hodi (pumpkin gravy).
The appalling sight kept coming back. The dilapidated building needed urgent repairs
and a coat of paint, the drains around it were broken and clogged, the gullies were The Hemas Outreach Foundation not only refurbished the ward but also replaced the
stinking and overflowing and the so-called facilities were dismal. A 4-year-old who had iron beds with more comfortable wooden beds, repaired the toilets and improved the
undergone an operation was sleeping on a mat on the bare floor! sanitary facilities and set up a play area within the premises.
Going a step further, it provided the basic daily nutrition requirements such as milk
The little preschool needed major refurbishment, furniture and play equipment.
powder and dry rations and distributed tiny luxuries in the form of Baby Cheramy
soap, talc and cologne monthly to these children who had never had them.

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