Working with convicts families
SCAD have conducted a special programme for the families of people who have been served with life sentences in prison. The trauma to family members due to the life imprisonment of their beloved ones is terrible. Not only that, after the life convict is released from the prison and he returns to his family, his life is at risk because of the revengeful nature of the son or brother of the murdered person, and this becomes a vicious circle. SCAD supports the families of the life convicts with education, income generating programmes and counseling.
SCAD held a day-out for these families at the Cheranmahadevi campus which included motivational talks, games for the young and the old and counseling. The participants were kept occupied the whole day with exciting and enjoyable events and they were provided with beverages, snacks and lunch.
A women called Pushpalatha came for the counseling along with her son, Adarsh Franklin aged 19 and her daughter, Ahaya Phiona aged 17, travelling 120kms all the way from Marthandam. Ahaya seemed thoroughly distressed and upset and was in tears when she arrived. After SCAD staff spent a considerable time with the three of them, counseling each of them, they were at ease and seemed happy and relaxed. The boy said, “I shall continue my studies after which I shall join the Indian Army, which is my dream. Please pray for me.”
A smiling Phiona said “I feel much better now after coming here. To be frank, I was wondering if it would be worth travelling all the way for this one day programme that SCAD is hosting for the families of the life convicts. But now I feel so motivated and inspired after coming here. My mom also feels good. She has won a prize in one of the games held here this morning. We are thankful to SCAD that is so very concerned about families as ours. We are isolated and detached from the community. But, SCAD’s care and concern for us, is very encouraging and I liked the counseling session very much.”
Muthu laxmi is aged 30 and her elder brother has been imprisoned and ever since his wife and three children (two sons and one daughter), were taken care of by Muthu laxmi, who already had two children of her own. It seemed like crisis after crisis when her husband and her imprisoned brother’s wife died in a road accident. So now she is left with five children to look after and she finds it very difficult to make ends meet. Muthu laxmi was sobbing bitterly when she was sharing her circumstances.
Says Muthu laxmi, “I look after the five children as if they were all my own. I’m happy that SCAD has given us this wonderful opportunity to spend a day happily, forgetting all of our worries and problems.”
The families of the life convicts had a great time with fun and frolic the whole day, a great escape from their routine, traumatic life; thanks to the efforts of SCAD.
