Without intervention, children of prisoners are susceptible to exploitation, poverty, dropping out of school and criminal activity. Together we can stand in the gap to keep them from falling through the cracks of society and giving them a chance for a brighter future beyond the cycle of crime.
Keep reading to see how together we are helping children of prisoners live safer, healthier lives!
Families receiving supplemental food supplies
It’s no surprise that children of prisoners are at a higher risk of poverty and hunger. Having a parent in prison often means that the remaining parent often struggles as the sole breadwinner of the family. The inflation of the past year has exacerbated this issue by causing the cost of food staples to rise above what many families in Cambodia can afford. The Prison Fellowship Cambodia team has distributed life-giving food support to hundreds of children enrolled in the program this year. These food packs include food staples such as cooking oil, rice, milk and grains.
When a parent goes to prison, the remaining caregiver often struggles to rebuild their life as the sole provider for their family. The Colombia team offers caregiver training events, Bible study groups and one on one counseling to help prepare and support caregivers throughout their loved one’s incarceration. Training sessions often include essential information about child health and safety measures. Through such efforts, caregivers are welcomed into a wider community of care and equipped with the tools to provide a safe, supportive environment for their children. Pictured: A caregiver meets with a caseworker for a counseling session.
Children in Malawi dance together during a Children’s Day event
Children of prisoners often face social stigma in their communities. This isolation can be detrimental to the well-being of children, who should be surrounded by a community of care. The Child’s Journey seeks to provide opportunities for community engagement and mentorship to each child. One way that Prison Fellowship Malawi does this is through their Children’s Day events hosted throughout the year. These events bring families together for a fun-filled day of food, activities and a Bible study. Children can connect with their peers and caregivers can meet with other parents in the surrounding community to build a network of support for both them and their child. This allows them to have a support system both within and outside of the program.
An incarcerated father holds his children during a recent visit
Since the easing of COVID restrictions late last year, Prison Fellowship Rwanda has been hard at work reconnecting families through prison visits. The reunions are full of joy and the children treasure the time that they get to spend with their parent. Through such efforts, families are reunited and encouraged, making it more likely that if the parent is released, they will have a supportive community to return to. This is a key factor in helping prisoners rebuild their lives after incarceration and helping them break the cycle of crime.
Children in Togo meeting with their mentor to go through Bible lessons
When a parent goes to prison, the remaining caregiver often struggles as the sole provider for the family. This can strain the ability of the caregiver to have time to spend with their child. All children need a community of care in order to thrive, which is why community mentoring is such a key part of The Child’s Journey. Each month, children are visited by a local volunteer mentor. These visits can serve many purposes, like assisting with schoolwork, leading a Bible study, or teaching health and safety lessons. The children anticipate these monthly meetings and, for many, their mentors become part of a family to help them through this vulnerable part of their journey.
ZAMBIA | Scripture Resources
Children in Zambia meet with their mentor to look through Bible lessons in their Scripture resources
The team in Zambia is hard at work distributing Bibles and Scripture resources to children and caregivers in The Child’s Journey. These resources, provided through our partnership with Biblica, are translated into the heart languages of the recipients. In Zambia, Bibles can be prohibitively expensive, especially as the Zambian economy is still battling soaring food costs and fuel shortages that have left many families struggling to afford basic necessities. In the photo above, children in Zambia are reading a packet called Living the History. These packets include Bible passages, devotional questions and fun activities to help children engage fully with the Word of God.
Interested in learning more or helping even more children? CLICK HERE.
Without intervention, children of prisoners are susceptible to exploitation, poverty, dropping out of school and criminal activity. Together we can stand in the gap to keep them from falling through the cracks of society and giving them a chance for a brighter future beyond the cycle of crime.
Keep reading to see how together we are helping children of prisoners live safer, healthier lives!
Click the video above to see Sothea read her favorite Bible verses in the language of Khmer.
Part of the program services include providing each child and their caregiver with Scripture resources in their heart language, but growing in knowledge of God’s Word involves more than just receiving Bibles. This is why through monthly mentoring sessions, TCJ volunteer mentors are engaging children and their caregivers with Biblical lessons. In Cambodia, a country with a Christian population of only 2%, children like Sothea are being encouraged to read and learn verses in order to bring God’s Word into their hearts. We hope this video of Sothea reading from Psalm 121 brings joy to you today!
Children of prisoners often face social stigma in their communities. This isolation can be detrimental to the well-being of children, who should be surrounded by a community of care. The Child’s Journey seeks to provide opportunities for community engagement and mentorship to each child. One way that Prison Fellowship Colombia does this is through community events. These events have enabled them to gain the trust and respect of the communities in which they work. Children can connect with their peers and caregivers can meet with other parents in the surrounding community to build a network of support for both them and their child. This allows them to have a support system both within and outside of the program.
Hamida (left) smiles at her family during a recent prison visit facilitated by Prison Fellowship Malawi.
You may remember the photo above from our August update, so why are we sharing it again? Since then, we received a heartwarming testimony from the caseworker of Hamida, the girl pictured on the left. We have shared it below and hope it serves as a bright spot to your day.
What started out as a normal day for most people, was a very special day for Hamida and her family. They joined the prison visit organized by Prison Fellowship Malawi’s child sponsorship team and traveled to visit Hamida’s incarcerated father, Yohane. Upon arrival, Hamida and her siblings were welcomed by their smiling father who hugged them with tears of joy rolling down his cheeks. The children gazed at Yohane in disbelief. It was the first time they had seen him in five years! Hamida shared, “I am happy to see my father alive. God is great. It has been years without seeing him. We miss him a lot. We need him home.”
Dressed in a white uniform, Yohane embraced the kids and family, shared stories and told jokes. He also read Bibles scriptures to encourage his children not to lose hope, to always trust in God and to work hard in school. In return, the children gave their father gifts that they had brought him including hygiene and food items. After an hour-long reunion, the family parted with hugs and the hope of meeting again soon. Yohane commended PF Malawi for organizing the trip saying, “You have afforded me the opportunity to meet with my children. I never expected to see them while here. May God bless your work.”
Putting the finishing touches on the irrigation tube of a sack garden.
The Child’s Journey staff in Rwanda recently completed training to bring Home Harvest to the families that they serve. Home Harvest is our new livelihood initiative that provides families with the materials and training to grow their own supplemental food gardens. The program has been welcomed by the team as a way to increase food security and provide caregivers with skills that can be translated into additional income for the families. Through such efforts, families can be empowered to make strides towards economic self-sufficiency and live healthier lives.
Caregivers in Togo gather around a Proclaimer® audio Bible to listen to scripture together.
The inability to read or access scripture in your heart language shouldn’t be a barrier to the Gospel, but it is for millions around the world. Last year, we partnered with our friends at Faith Comes by Hearing (FCBH) to launch The Listener’s Way (TLW) as a way to bring audio and visual Bibles into prisons, giving those in prison a new way to interact with God’s Word. In less than a year, TLW grew from three countries to 28 – praise God! Given this response, we met with FCBH again to discuss growing the partnership to include caregivers in The Child’s Journey. They agreed to increase their pledged amount of audio and visual Bibles and Togo became the first TCJ country to pilot scripture listening groups with caregivers. Initiatives such as these are key to expanding access to the Gospel and helping families grow together in their faith.
Children in Zambia receive new backpacks filled with school supplies.
With a primary provider absent, families face new challenges and daily hardship, leaving many children of prisoners in Zambia financially unable to afford basic school supplies. Your support ensures that your sponsored child in Zambia receives resources, tools and the support needed to thrive in school. Earlier this year, the field teams gathered school supplies and backpacks to create school kits that they distributed to children at community events and individual home visits. This quarter, the team in Zambia has distributed school kits to more than one hundred school-aged children in their program.
Interested in learning more or helping even more children? CLICK HERE.
Without intervention, children of prisoners are susceptible to exploitation, poverty, dropping out of school and criminal activity. Together we can stand in the gap to keep them from falling through the cracks of society and giving them a chance for a brighter future beyond the cycle of crime.
Keep reading to see how together we are helping children of prisoners live safer, healthier lives!
A group of children gather for a health check event facilitated by Prison Fellowship Cambodia.
The Cambodian team has been hard at work coordinating events with local health professionals to provide health checks. Helping children maintain their health and wellbeing is a key aid area for the program. In addition to providing nutritious food, necessary interventions such as parasite treatments, routine illness prevention and emergency medical care, the team regularly provides standard health checks for each child.
Regular health checks include:
– Taking records of the child’s height and weight
– Checking the child’s blood pressure, vision, and hearing
– Giving the opportunity for the caregiver to ask the health provider any questions that they may have regarding the child’s health
– Providing illness prevention measures, such as deworming treatments
– Performing an age-appropriate physical exam
– Making referrals for any observed medical issues
A Prison Fellowship Colombia mentor meets with a group of her mentees.
When a parent goes to prison, the remaining caregiver often struggles as the sole provider for the family. This can strain the ability of the caregiver to have time to spend with their child. All children need a community of care in order to thrive, which is why community mentoring is such a key part of The Child’s Journey. Each month, children are visited by a local volunteer mentor. These visits can serve many purposes, like assisting with schoolwork, leading a Bible study, or teaching health and safety lessons. The children anticipate these monthly meetings and, for many, their mentors become part of a family to help them through this vulnerable part of their journey.
Click above to hear a girl in Malawi read John 10:14-15 from her new Bible in the language of Chewa.
The team in Malawi is hard at work distributing Bibles and Scripture resources to children and caregivers in The Child’s Journey. These resources, provided through our partnership with Biblica, are translated into the heart languages of the recipients. In Malawi, Bibles in the language of Chewa can cost the equivalent of an average month’s salary, making them prohibitively expensive for many of the families that we serve. This is especially true as the Malawian economy is still recovering from the aftermath of Cyclone Freddy, which left many families struggling to find and afford basic necessities. In the video above, a girl in Malawi reads from her Reach4Life Bible, which includes special lessons relating to young adulthood. These lessons serve as a resource for helpful, Biblical discussions during monthly mentoring sessions.
At 9 years old, Sylvie’s life was turned upside down after her mother was arrested. Her father and grandmother continued to do everything they could to ensure that she and her three siblings were provided for, but they still struggled to provide adequate school fees for all of them. Sylvie’s father agonized over the prospect that his children may not be able to go to school, despite his best efforts.
Fortunately, later that year they were visited by Prison Fellowship Rwanda and enrolled in The Child’s Journey. As part of the program, the children’s school fees and supplies were covered. They have also been visited regularly by caseworkers who provide training on subjects like health, safety and spiritual resilience. “Prison Fellowship Rwanda has been a great blessing to us,” said Sylvie. “It has changed our lives and helped our family develop.”
Through the support of their sponsors, Sylvie and her family have been able to purchase things like new clothes and shoes for all of the children. The team at PF Rwanda has also been hard at work making sure that the family lives in a safe, stable home. They replaced the roof, added rooms, purchased furniture and installed electricity. They also helped the family purchase cows, goats and pigs in order to help them create a small business that provides more financial stability in their daily life. Sylvie’s father has faced many difficulties raising his children on his own, but now knows that he is not alone.
“I have no words to express my feelings, only God knows how happy I am,” said Sylvie’s father. “It is amazing to see how you take care of my children. Thank you again.” Pictured above: Syvlie holding a new pair of shoes purchased through a gift from her sponsor
A family in Togo smiles as they receive a sack filled with food staples like cooking oil, rice and maize.
Children of prisoners are already at a higher risk of poverty and hunger. Having a parent in prison often means that the remaining parent struggles as the sole breadwinner of the family. Recent inflation has exacerbated this issue by increasing the cost of food staples above what many Togolese families can afford. The Prison Fellowship Togo team has distributed life-giving food support to hundreds of children enrolled in the program this year. They often use these distributions to provide additional items such as hygiene kits, school supplies and bicycles to students who live far from their school.
Watch the video to see part of the sack garden training session in Zambia.
The Child’s Journey staff in Zambia recently completed training to bring Home Harvest to the families that they serve. Home Harvest is our new livelihood initiative that provides families with the materials and training to grow their own supplemental food gardens. The program has been welcomed by the field as a way to increase food security and provide caregivers with skills that can be translated into additional income for the families. Through such efforts, families can be empowered to make strides towards economic self-sufficiency and live healthier lives. Check out the video above to see part of the sack garden training session that took place in Zambia this summer.
Interested in learning more or helping even more children? CLICK HERE.
Without intervention, children of prisoners are susceptible to exploitation, poverty, dropping out of school and criminal activity. Together we can stand in the gap to keep them from falling through the cracks of society and giving them a chance for a brighter future beyond the cycle of crime.
Keep reading to see how together we are helping children of prisoners live safer, healthier lives!
Families in Cambodia received supplemental food and other supplies during a recent community event.
Children of prisoners are already at a higher risk of poverty and hunger. Having a parent in prison often means that the remaining parent is struggling as the sole breadwinner of the family. The inflation of the past year has exacerbated this issue by causing the cost of food staples to rise above what many families in Cambodia can afford. The Prison Fellowship Cambodia team has distributed life-giving food support to hundreds of children enrolled in the program this year. They often use these distributions to provide additional items such as hygiene kits, school supplies and bicycles to students who live far from their school.
The Colombia team has been hard at work coordinating events with local health professionals to provide health checks. Helping children maintain their health and wellbeing is one of the key areas that The Child’s Journey provides assistance. In addition to providing nutritious food, necessary interventions such as parasite treatments, access to routine illness prevention and emergency medical care, the team regularly provides standard health checks for each child enrolled in the program.
Regular health checks include:
– Taking records of the child’s height and weight
– Checking the child’s blood pressure, vision, and hearing
– Giving the opportunity for the caregiver to ask the health provider any questions that they may have regarding the child’s health
– Providing illness prevention measures, such as deworming treatments
– Performing an age-appropriate physical exam
– Making referrals for any observed medical issues
A family smiles together during a prison visit facilitated by Prison Fellowship Malawi.
Now that COVID restrictions have eased across the country, prisons throughout Malawi are once again open for visitors and Prison Fellowship Malawi has been hard at work reconnecting families. The reunions are full of joy and the children treasure the time that they get to spend with their parent. Through such efforts, families are reunited and encouraged, making it more likely that if the parent is released, they will have a supportive community to return to. This is a key factor in helping prisoners rebuild their lives after incarceration and helping them break the cycle of crime.
Click the video above to watch Kevin’s testimony.
From hopelessness to hope filled – you are making stories like Kevin’s possible in the lives of more than 1,100 chidlren across Rwanda. Kevin has been enrolled in The Child’s Journey for the past five years while his father has been incarcerated. He shared his moving testimony during an event hosted by Prison Fellowship Rwanda and described how the care of The Child’s Journey completely changed his life. Click on the video above to learn more!
Children of prisoners often face social isolation due to having a parent in prison. The remaining caregiver often struggles to find time to help their children with homework or Bible studies. All children need a community of care in order to thrive, which is why community mentoring is such a key part of The Child’s Journey. Each month, children in the program are mentored by a local volunteer mentor. These mentor visits can serve many purposes – assisting with schoolwork, leading a Bible study, or teaching health and safety lessons. The children anticipate these monthly meetings and, for many, their mentors become part of a family to help them through this vulnerable part of their journey. The mentor team in Togo provides encouragement and support to hundreds of children each quarter. Pictured: A boy draws a map of Togo during a tutoring session with his community mentor.
Families in Zambia attend a health and safety training course.
Health and safety are crucial for all children, but children of prisoners often find themselves struggling in these areas due to economic and environmental factors. This is why Prison Fellowship Zambia developed a health and safety training program that is being delivered in the communities of children enrolled in The Child’s Journey. This provides caseworkers with the opportunity to provide the children and caregivers with mentoring on how to take precautions against illness and harm.
Interested in learning more or helping even more children? CLICK HERE.
Without intervention, children of prisoners are susceptible to exploitation, poverty, dropping out of school and criminal activity. Together we can stand in the gap to keep them from falling through the cracks of society and giving them a chance for a brighter future beyond the cycle of crime.
Keep reading to see how together we are helping children of prisoners live safer, healthier lives!
While the children are the primary beneficiaries of The Child’s Journey, their caregivers are also empowered in a number of ways through the program. This includes initiatives such as caregiver support groups, health trainings and livelihood programs that may be offered in their country. However, the most important way that you are empowering caregivers is by providing them with the Word of God in their heart language. Bibles in the Cambodian language of Khmer can be hard to find and prohibitively expensive for most of the families that Prison Fellowship Cambodia works with. Caregivers are overjoyed to receive these precious resources and join with their children in learning more about the Bible.
Efforts like these also give the teams the chance to fellowship with the caregivers, check in and pray with them. Check out the video below to see a beautiful moment of prayer between the Prison Fellowship Cambodia team and the grandmother of a child in The Child’s Journey.
A Prison Fellowship Colombia caseworker visits children in school to check on their progress
Ensuring that a child is able to attend school is integral to opening the doors for them to have future opportunities. With children back in the classroom, caseworkers are once again able to conduct school visits for children enrolled in The Child’s Journey. These check-ins are a way for the caseworker to confirm that the child is attending school, able to safely travel to school and that they are equipped with the supplies that they need in order to thrive in their classes. It also allows for fruitful conversations with their teachers, who become part of a child’s ‘community of care’.
A home that was destroyed by the cyclone is rebuilt by the Malawi team
One of the primary challenges facing children of prisoners in Malawi is a lack of safe housing. Many caregivers, left to provide on their own, do not have the means to perform necessary home maintenance like patching roofs or fixing cracked walls. These issues were compounded following Cyclone Freddy, which completely leveled thousands of mud brick homes across the country. The Prison Fellowship Malawi team has made it a priority in recent months to ensure that families are able to quickly rebuild their homes in order to give children a safe and stable place to live. For some, this includes completing tasks like patching holes in roofs or installing doors. For others, this includes completely rebuilding the home from the ground up, like the home pictured above.
My name is Francoise. When my husband was imprisoned in 2009, he left me with seven children. Our youngest child was only one month old at the time. I was depressed. I had nothing to feed my children and I wondered how I would care for them alone. Everything was chaos.
My one comfort is that I am a believer. Jesus is my shepherd, my savior and my hope. Psalm 4:9 has comforted me during these long 14 years that my husband has been imprisoned. Many temptations have come on my way. People offered me money to do immoral, illegal things. But I remember Psalm 4:9 – In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, LORD, make me dwell in safety. So, no one could deceive me.
I thought I could not manage to feed all of my children and pay school fees alone, but God had mercy on me. He sent Prison Fellowship Rwanda to help provide for our needs. They made sure that we had food and that my children were healthy and in school, but the greatest gift was my very own Bible. I read it daily and pray to God and thank him for his many blessings.
Thank you for the best gift of this Bible that you have given to us. In it we survive. It comforts the widows and prisoners. Pictured: Francoise reads her new Bible
Children in Togo give a thumbs up as they receive new school kits.
With a primary provider absent, families face new challenges and daily hardship, leaving many children of prisoners in Togo financially unable to afford basic school supplies. Your support ensures that your sponsored child in Togo receives resources, tools and the support needed to thrive in school. Earlier this year, the field teams gathered school supplies and backpacks to create school kits that they distributed to children at community events and individual home visits. This quarter, the team in Togo has distributed school kits to more than one hundred school-aged children in their program.
TCJ children gather to participate as part of the Day Of The African Child parade in Zambia
Since 1991, June 16th has been deemed the Day of the African Child in order to commemorate the 1976 uprising by students in South Africa against apartheid oppression. Across Africa, children participate in parades, rallies and other events to bring awareness to the rights and needs of African children. Prison Fellowship Zambia gathered together children in their program to participate in their local parade. This year’s theme was “the right of the child in the digital environment” and discussion focused on how to protect children from a predatory digital landscape and how to leverage technology to increase job opportunities for young people.
Interested in learning more or helping even more children? CLICK HERE.
Without intervention, children of prisoners are susceptible to exploitation, poverty, dropping out of school and criminal activity. Together we can stand in the gap to keep them from falling through the cracks of society and giving them a chance for a brighter future beyond the cycle of crime.
Keep reading to see how together we are helping children of prisoners live safer, healthier lives!
A caseworker in Cambodia leading a health and safety training course with TCJ families.
Health and safety are crucial for all children, but children of prisoners often find themselves struggling in these areas due to economic and environmental factors. This is why Prison Fellowship Cambodia developed a health and safety training program that is being delivered in the communities of children enrolled in The Child’s Journey.This training has the dual purpose of allowing the caseworker to ensure that the child is living in stable, safe conditions, while also giving them the opportunity to provide the children with additional mentoring in how to take precautions against illness and harm.
Click the image above to see a video recap from a recent community event.
Children of prisoners often face social stigma in their communities. This isolation can be detrimental to the well-being of children who need to be surrounded by a community of care. One of the program goals of The Child’s Journey is to provide opportunities for community engagement and mentorship to each child. One way that Prison Fellowship Colombia does this is through community lunches. These lunches have enabled PFC to gain the trust and respect of the community. They feed everyone; you do not need to be a program beneficiary to participate. Children in The Child’s Journey can connect with their peers and caregivers can meet with other parents in the surrounding community to build a network of care for both them and their child. This allows them to have a support system both within and outside of the program that has been built by community gatherings.
Every child deserves the chance to learn and grow through education. In the wake of Cyclone Freddy, families have faced new challenges and daily hardship, leaving many children of prisoners in Malawi without basic school supplies or the ability to purchase them. Your support ensures that children in Malawi receive resources, tools and the support needed to thrive in school. Earlier this year, the field teams gathered school supplies and backpacks to create school kits that they distributed to children at The Child’s Journey community events and individual home visits. In recent months, the team in Malawi has distributed more than 400 school kits to school-aged children. Pictured: A girl in Malawi stands with the bicycle that she received from The Child’s Journey.
Children of prisoners often face social isolation due to having a parent in prison. With their remaining caregiver struggling as the sole provider for the family, it means that they have less ability to provide time for their children. All children need a community of care in order to thrive, which is why community mentoring is such a key part of The Child’s Journey. Each month, children in the program are mentored by a local volunteer mentor. These mentor visits can serve many purposes – assisting with schoolwork, leading a Bible study, or teaching health and safety lessons. The children anticipate these monthly meetings and, for many, their mentors become part of a family to help them through this vulnerable part of their journey. The mentor team in Rwanda provides encouragement and support to more than 1,200 children each quarter. Pictured: A TCJ mentor in Rwanda smiles with her mentees.
A caseworker in Togo completes a home visit assessment with a family.
Child home and community visits are key for program implementation and success for children in the program. These quarterly visits are an opportunity for the staff to meet with children and their caregivers, come to a full understanding of their specific needs and interact with other members of the child’s community. During these visits, program staff share their vision and work with the members of the community to promote healthy approaches to released prisoner re-integration. It is common for released inmates and their families to be rejected, stigmatized or even held in contempt within their communities. Interviews and meetings with community members help promote a change in perception about these families.
Children in Zambia smile as they receive their new school kits.
Every child deserves the chance to learn and grow through education. With a primary provider absent, families face new challenges and daily hardship, leaving many children of prisoners in Zambia financially unable to afford basic school supplies. Your support ensures that children in Zambia receives resources, tools and the support needed to thrive in school. Earlier this year, Prison Fellowship Zambia field teams gathered school supplies and backpacks to create school kits that they distributed to children at community events and individual home visits. This quarter, the team in Zambia has distributed hundreds of school kits to school-aged children in the program.
Interested in learning more or helping even more children? CLICK HERE.
Without intervention, children of prisoners are susceptible to exploitation, poverty, dropping out of school and criminal activity. Together we can stand in the gap to keep them from falling through the cracks of society and giving them a chance for a brighter future beyond the cycle of crime.
Keep reading to see how together we are helping children of prisoners live safer, healthier lives!
Click on the video above to see Chhanun reading from his new Bible.
Part of the services provided by The Child’s Journey includes providing each child and their caregiver with age-appropriate Scripture resources in their heart language. More than 500 children in Cambodia and their caregivers have received these precious resources in just the past three months, and they are thrilled to begin exploring God’s Word. For many, this is the first time that they have been able to read the Gospel, as Christians represent a tiny fraction of the population of Cambodia and it can be difficult to find Bibles translated into the language of Khmer. Check out the video above to see Chhanun in Cambodia reading from the book of Genesis in his new Bible!
A family in Colombia prays with TCJ staff during a child home visit.
Child home and community visits are key for program implementation and success for children in the program. These quarterly visits are an opportunity for the staff to meet with children and their caregivers, come to a full understanding of their specific needs and interact with other members of the child’s community. During these visits, program staff share their vision and work with the members of the community to promote healthy approaches to released prisoner re-integration. It is common for released inmates and their families to be rejected or even held in contempt within their communities. Interviews and meetings with community members help promote a change in perception about these families. Each quarter, the team in Colombia completes more than 900 child home visits.
Click on the video above to see children in Malawi receiving new school kits!
Every child deserves the chance to learn and grow through education. In the wake of Cyclone Freddy, families have faced new challenges and daily hardship, leaving many children of prisoners in Malawi without basic school supplies or the ability to purchase them. Your support ensures that your sponsored child in Malawi receives resources, tools and the support needed to thrive in school. Earlier this year, the field teams gathered school supplies and backpacks to create school kits that they distributed to children at The Child’s Journey community events and individual home visits. In recent months, the team in Malawi has distributed more than 400 school kits to school-aged children.
Claudine is the mother to five children – four boys and one girl. When her husband was arrested and sent to prison, she was left to care for her children alone. It felt like a nightmare. Her husband had left her physically alone, and because of the shame of his crimes, she felt abandoned by her community as well.
Claudine struggled to care for her children and provide for them, as they were too young to stay alone while she was at work. Claudine was also crushed by the constant reminders of her status in her community. One day, overwhelmed by her emotions of shame and despair, Claudine tried to take her own life. By God’s grace, the sound of her youngest son crying brought her back to reality, and she was not able to go through with it. It was in that moment that Claudine realized it is only God who wipes away her sorrow. Pictured: Claudine (right) with three of her children and a PFI staff member.
A group of children in Togo give a thumbs up after receiving new food supplies.
Children of prisoners are already at a higher risk of poverty and hunger. Having a parent in prison often means that the remaining parent is struggling to be the sole breadwinner of the family. The inflation of the past year has exacerbated this issue by causing the cost of food staples to rise above what many families in Togo can afford. Because of this, the need for supplemental food support increased for the families served by The Child’s Journey. The Prison Fellowship Togo team has distributed life-giving food support to hundreds of children enrolled in the program this year. They often used these distributions to provide additional items such as hygiene kits and school supplies. Such efforts help the children lead healthy lives.
A group of TCJ children gather outside the bus to visit their incarcerated fathers.
With the easing of most COVID restrictions throughout the country, Prison Fellowship Zambia is once again able to facilitate prison visits for families in The Child’s Journey. For many of the children, this is their first time communicating with their loved one since before the start of the pandemic. The reunions are full of joy and the children treasure the time that they get to spend with their parent. Through such efforts, families can be reunited and encouraged, making it more likely that if the parent is released, they will have a supportive community to return to. This is a key factor in helping prisoners rebuild their lives after incarceration and helping them break the cycle of crime.
Interested in learning more or helping even more children? CLICK HERE.
Without intervention, children of prisoners are susceptible to exploitation, poverty, dropping out of school and criminal activity. Together we can stand in the gap to keep them from falling through the cracks of society and giving them a chance for a brighter future beyond the cycle of crime.
Keep reading to see how together we are helping children of prisoners live safer, healthier lives!
When a parent goes to prison, their children are at a higher risk of dropping out of school due to poverty. By empowering a child to continue their education, you are enabling them to pursue a brighter future by keeping them safe from child labor and ensuring that they have a crucial source of stability, safety and nutrition. Your support is providing hundreds of children enrolled in The Child’s Journey in Cambodia with school fees, school kits, uniforms and a community mentor to set them on the path to success. Such efforts close the gap of disadvantages that children of prisoners often face in school and minimize stigma from their peers. Pictured: A caregiver in Cambodia watches as her child uses his new school supplies.
Claudia’s heart was broken when her daughter and son-in-law were arrested and taken to prison. Once again thrown into the role of motherhood, as she became the caregiver for her four young grandchildren. She took on extra jobs to provide for them, but found herself falling behind on bills and struggling to make ends meet. She prayed for God to make a way, even when she couldn’t see a path forward. Amidst her despair, an unfamiliar person came to visit – a caseworker from Prison Fellowship Colombia. Claudia was thrilled to find out that the children would receive services such as education support, healthcare, a Christian caseworker and Scripture resources through The Child’s Journey. “The Child’s Journey has made my grandchildren curious to learn more about God’s Word,” she shared. She had felt alone for so long, but now she felt like someone cares for her, saying, “I am so grateful to Prison Fellowship Colombia for finding my family and giving us hope. I pray blessings on them and on the sponsors of my grandchildren.” Pictured: Claudia surrounded by her grandchildren
When Ruth’s father went to prison, she and her baby siblings were sent to live with her grandmother, Cecilia. Cecilia worked hard to provide for their needs, but sometimes it still wasn’t enough to fill their bellies and give Ruth the supplies she needed for school. Despite Cecilia’s efforts, Ruth had no uniform, shoes or school bag. She made the three-mile trek to school barefoot, holding scraps of mail for paper and broken pencils. But Ruth is determined to get her education because she dreams of becoming a nurse to help others. When The Child’s Journey contacted her family in 2021, they knew it was an answer to their prayers.
Moved by Ruth’s determination and dedication to succeed, they quickly enrolled her into the program where she was matched with a loving sponsor. The Child’s Journey provided her with educational support in the form of tuition assistance, school supplies, a pair of shoes and a new uniform. Her caseworker shared that upon receiving the uniform, Ruth’s face reflected a passionate child who would do anything to achieve her goals. Ruth and Cecilia express their profound gratitude to Ruth’s sponsor and the dedicated team from Prison Fellowship Malawi for making her dreams a reality. Pictured: Ruth smiling with joy
As the global economy struggles with inflation, many families in Rwanda are finding it even tougher to afford necessities like food, much less additional expenses like home repairs. One of the primary challenges facing children of prisoners in Rwanda is a lack of safe housing. Many caregivers, left to provide on their own, do not have the means to perform necessary home maintenance like patching roofs or fixing cracked walls. The Prison Fellowship Rwanda team inspects the home of each child during their quarterly home visits and takes note of any repairs that need to be done. The team in Rwanda is actively working to ensure that all of the children enrolled in their program are living in safe homes. For some, this includes completing tasks like patching holes in roofs, installing locking doors and repairing walls. Pictured: A member of the Prison Fellowship Rwanda team assisting with patching the roof of a TCJ child’s home.
A group of children in Togo receive the Reach for Life Bible
The team in Togo is hard at work distributing Bibles and scripture resources to children and caregivers in The Child’s Journey. These resources, provided through our partnership with Biblica, are translated into the heart languages of the recipients. In Togo, Bibles can be prohibitively expensive, especially as the Togolese economy is reeling from soaring food costs that have left many families struggling to even afford necessities. In the photo above, teens in Togo received Reach For Life Bibles that include special lessons relating to young adulthood to serve as a resource for helpful, Biblical discussions during their mentoring sessions.
A group of TCJ caregivers join together for a child health and safety training event
Prison Fellowship Zambia hosts caregiver support groups and workshops for the caregivers of children enrolled in The Child’s Journey. Having a support network to share struggles, successes, and everyday life is vital for caregivers, as they often walk through incarceration of a family member and caring for their family with limited resources and community support. While the children are the primary beneficiaries of The Child’s Journey services, the program also seeks to empower and support their caregivers by providing them with training and fellowship. This holistic caring of the family provides an even greater foundation for the families to overcome economic and social challenges. Their most recent workshop centering around child health and safety training was attending by more than 140 caregivers.
Interested in learning more or helping even more children? CLICK HERE.
Without intervention, children of prisoners are susceptible to exploitation, poverty, dropping out of school and criminal activity. Together we can stand in the gap to keep them from falling through the cracks of society and giving them a chance for a brighter future beyond the cycle of crime.
Keep reading to see how we are helping children of prisoners live safer, healthier lives!
A moment of reunion during a prison visit facilitated by Prison Fellowship Cambodia
With COVID restrictions easing within prisons in Cambodia, the Prison Fellowship Cambodia team is once again facilitating visits for children in the program to visit their incarcerated parent(s). They recently took a group of TCJ children to a women’s correctional facility in Phnom Penh where they visited their incarcerated mothers — it was a time of overwhelming joy! For many of the children, this is their first time being able to communicate with their mothers in three years. Families are reunited and encouraged through efforts like these, making it more likely that parents will have a supportive community to return to upon their release. This is a key factor in helping prisoners rebuild their lives after incarceration and break the cycle of crime.
Click the image above to see children in Colombia with their new Scripture resources!
While safety, access to education, nutritious food and health care are all critical to ensuring that a child can reach their potential, spiritual engagement is the key area where the program makes an eternal impact. Through our partnership with Biblica, each child and caregiver in The Child’s Journey receives Bibles and age-appropriate Scripture resources in their heart language. The team in Colombia distributed more than 400 children’s Bibles last quarter, empowering those we serve to grow in the grace and knowledge of God’s word. Check out this precious video of TCJ children in Colombia expressing their gratitude for their new Bibles.
A caseworker from Prison Fellowship Malawi conducting a child home visit
Child home and community visits are key for program implementation and success for children in the program. These quarterly visits are an opportunity for the staff to meet with children and their caregivers, come to a full understanding of their specific needs and interact with other members of the child’s community. During these visits, program staff share their vision and work with the members of the community and promote healthy approaches to released prisoner re-integration. It is common for released inmates and their families to be rejected, stigmatized or even held in contempt within their communities. Interviews and meetings with community members help promote a change in perception about these families. Each quarter, the team in Malawi completes more than 700 child home visits.
Clenia’s world fell apart when her father went to prison. The oldest of five siblings, she did everything she could to help her mother, who was working tirelessly as the sole provider of the family. The Child’s Journey stepped in to ensure that Clenia and her siblings would receive essential care like education support, health checks, supplemental food and Scripture resources. But they didn’t stop there…
One evening, there was a raging storm. Clenia’s mother, Seraphine, rushed home as the rains pounded down harder. She began making dinner when she noticed rain dripping down the wall in front of her. As everyone sat down to eat, rainwater began to puddle on the floor and she rushed her children out of the house and into the violent rain. Just as they stepped outside, the walls of their house collapsed and their beloved home was gone. Clenia and her family had nowhere to go. The only posessions they had were the wet clothes on their backs.
The first person that Seraphine called was Clenia’s caseworker to let him know the situation. The caseworker escalated the matter so the family would be able to receive a quick intervention. Not only did Prison Fellowship Rwanda provide the family with a safe place to stay, but they assisted with repairing the family’s home, by fortifying the walls with brick and replacing their roof. Standing outside of their new home, Seraphine beamed, “My children are now safe and singing with joy. We can’t thank The Child’s Journey program enough. May all you have done be forever acknowledged by the Lord!”
Alphonse was enrolled in The Child’s Journey shortly after his father was sentenced to prison in 2016. He has always been active and friendly, frequently participating in community activities hosted by The Child’s Journey. However, his caseworker noticed that he was struggling academically. Program caseworkers are dedicated to assessing the unique needs of each child and creating a plan to ensure that they are receiving tailored support in their areas of greatest need.
She decided that Alphonse needed to receive one-on-one tutoring to assist with his studies to equip him to succeed in school. Since his mother could not afford to pay for any outside help, the caseworker scheduled a weekly appointment with the family to conduct the tutoring herself and worked to train his mother so that she could help him as well. After just a few sessions together, the difference was staggering. Once Alphonse began receiving tutoring at home, he began to excel in school. Because of this marked improvement, Prison Fellowship Togo added as a best practice for all of their caregivers to be trained to become involved in their child’s academic progress. Pictured: Alphonse and his caseworker working on his homework together
TCJ children attend an event where they are provided with de-worming medicine
Due to a variety of factors, including poverty and social stigma, children of prisoners often have difficulty accessing basic and necessary healthcare. This is why regular health checks are an essential service provided to children enrolled in The Child’s Journey. These health checks are comprised of giving an age-appropriate physical that includes recording the child’s height/weight, checking their eyesight, blood pressure and hearing, and making medical referrals for other observed medical needs. During these health checks, children may also receive targeted health interventions for medical issues that are common in their area. In Zambia, many children suffer the effects of having parasitic worms in their gastrointestinal system. This can lead to malnutrition while causing discomfort and illness. Because of the prevalence of this issue, children enrolled in The Child’s Journey in Zambia receive deworming treatments as part of their targeted health intervention.
Interested in learning more or helping even more children? CLICK HERE.
I’m No Longer Forsaken
Cheav, 68, is the father of ten children, six of whom still live at home. Since his wife is in prison, he is must act as both their father and mother.
They live in a poor, rural village an hour outside Phnom Pehn, Cambodia. Their home is made of thatch and leaves, which protects them very little from the wind and rain.
Cheav works as a day laborer, and makes about $1.20 a day. His body is weak, and it is increasingly difficult to manage the jobs that come his way. After his wife was sent to prison, his children stopped going to school, because he could not afford their uniforms, and they had no way to get there safely. Cheav was losing hope.
A local church partner from the Prison Fellowship International’s child sponsorship program learned of Cheav and his family’s situation, and visited them. After a few months, the four youngest, Seak Lan, Seak Long, Srey Toch and Srey Thom were enrolled and the whole family experiences benefits. Their unstable home now has new, sturdy walls, and a roof. Food packages supplement what Cheav’s meager daily wage cannot provide, ensuring the youngest children receive the nutritious food they need to grow strong and stay healthy. They also receive regular health checks, are back in school, and their new bicycles allow them to travel to and from classes safely. Cheav dreams his children will become teachers or metal workers—that they will have better lives.
Cheav is now better able to provide for his family, because the program provided him with five hens, and taught him how to clean, care for, and raise them to eat and to sell locally. Since learning this new skill, he has produced 30 chickens.
In the last year, Cheav developed relationships with the local church pastor and social worker, and through them, became a Christian. While Cheav continues to struggle to meet all of his family’s needs, he is prayerful, and grateful for the change in his family’s life.
Help give families, like Cheav’s, the boost they need to thrive.