For many girls in India, education is still a luxury. Girls are often pulled out of school to help care for siblings and do housework—preparation for married life, which is often viewed as their ticket to financial security and stability. If they are lucky enough to continue on in school, the cost of books, uniforms, and transportation provide a further limitation to their education. But 14-year-old Deepa is receiving and education and so much more through Prison Fellowship International’s supporters!
Deepa was disappointed—as she is every year—when her teacher announced a class field trip. She knew her mother could not afford to pay the $11 (USD) fee.
Deepa brightened when her teacher and three friends surprised her with enough to pay for half the trip. But her smile faded when she quickly realized even $5.50 was too much for her poor family.
“So I told [my friends] ‘Forget about me, you all go’,” says Deepa.
Then her mother received an unexpected call from the bank, letting her know Deepa’s $15 educational allowance from the child sponsorship program had been deposited into her account.
“My mother is very strict with that money,” says Deepa. “It’s only for my tuition and educational materials. “My teacher struggled to [finally]convince her the excursion was also part of my study.”
The event helped Deepa bond with peers who once looked down on her because her father is in prison—an important experience in building her confidence and a healthy sense of self.
“It changed everything in my life. I got many friends. I remembered my father, who is in prison, at that time. I wanted to tell him that I was no longer a prisoner’s child only—I have plenty of sisters and friends who love me, too.”
“This happened because of you dear [supporters]. Thank you! And thank you to God!”
“Deepa’s story is an amazing testimony of why giving children the chance to go to school and attend fun social events can dramatically change their relationships, their status, their sense of self-worth, and their outlook on life,” says International Director of the Children of Prisoners Sponsorship Program Adam Hutchinson. “It’s evident of what I call a ‘God smile’—those moments when God makes stuff happen that brings someone joy. This is Deepa’s God smile.”
Prison Fellowship International helps ensure families have adequate support at home, and provides access to educational resources so children can stay in school and work toward a better future for their own families.
There are so many more children like Deepa; consider giving a small gift to ensure they can stay in school. As little as $15 is enough to pay tuition for one month of school.
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Photo: Norman Nyakapadza could not hold back his expression of love for his family, after he enveloped his wife and children in an embrace.
Children of prisoners in Zimbabwe are celebrating after Prison Fellowship Zimbabwe (PFZ), an affiliate of Prison Fellowship International (PFI), successfully lobbied to overturn a prison visitation ban. This is a breakthrough for Zimbabwean children of prisoners under 18 years old, who were not permitted to visit anyone in prison—even their incarcerated parent.
“There is a growing awareness and evidence, globally, of the significant impact on children and inmates when children can visit their parent in prison,” says PFI’s International Director of Child Sponsorship Adam Hutchinson. “Studies show children who maintain a connection with their incarcerated parent report higher feelings of safety, stability, and overall emotional wellbeing. There is always a reduced likelihood of a parent re-offending after release, meaning families are stronger and children are better care for.”
After a series of meetings with the Zimbabwe Prison and Correctional Service to present prison visitation as a rehabilitative tool for prisoner behavior, children from five families in PFZ’s children of prisoners program were granted visitation. Some, like 10-year-old Precious, had not seen their fathers in nearly a decade.
“Feedback from these families is that the children’s behavior changed positively and they couldn’t stop talking about such a memorable event,” says Wilson Femayi, PFZ children of prisoners program manager. “The prison social workers also reported a remarkable behavioral change in inmates who met with their families for the first time.”
After the successful trial visitations, government officials agreed to institute an annual visitation week open to all children of prisoners throughout the country. The impact of this decision has encouraged Prison Fellowship International affiliates in Rwanda and Zambia to make similar appeals to their own prison visitation laws, which are already yielding similar results.
About Children of Prisoners Sponsorship:
Prison Fellowship International’s child sponsorship program helps rescue, restore, and rebuild the lives of innocent children of prisoners throughout eight countries. Through one-to-one sponsorship relationships, children receive access to food, medical care, education, safety, and spiritual and emotional support. Prison Fellowship International affiliates deliver these services through partnerships with local government, NGOs, and churches.
L–R: Precious, Tsitsi, and Ronald at their old home outside Harare, Zimbabwe.
Ten-year-old Precious reunited with her father earlier this year after an eight-year separation. Until now, Zimbabwean law did not permit children under 18 to visit anyone in prison—even their incarcerated parent.
But through the tireless work of Prison Fellowship Zimbabwe, the law was reversed for Precious and four other families of prisoners in our child sponsorship program.
This a breakthrough for children of prisoners in Zimbabwe. Maintaining a connection with their incarcerated parent creates emotional stability, by helping them know their parent is safe, present, and still cares about them.
Precious and her four siblings were abandoned when their father was sent away. Their mother Jacquelyn suffered a debilitating stroke under the stress of working and caring for five children alone.
Mother Jacqueline immobilized after a stroke, forcing her 5 children to fend for themselves.
Jacqueline eventually moved to town where her sister could care for her, leaving her children to squat illegally in a rundown, two-room hut in a maize field.
The children's home in the middle of a maize field.
“My children were so young,” says Jacquelyn. “It worried me. What would they do for food, for laundry? Could they go to school?”
Twenty-two-year-old Morgan, Precious’s oldest brother, became the man of the house when he was just 14 years old. He’s been supporting his family ever since. Worries about his future and about his siblings weigh heavily on his mind.
Lord Remember Me cares for his siblings, while brother Morgan works. L–R: Precious, Lord Remember Me, Tsitsi, Ronald.
While Morgan works, 17-year-old Lord Remember Me cooks and cleans. For a long time, the children lived on a maize flour dish called nshima. Occasionally, they also had a few vegetables and were lucky to eat twice a day.
The children's makeshift kitchen at their old home.
“Some of the time we are afraid,” says 13-year-old Ronald. “The most frightening thing was mum was not around.”
Now enrolled in the child sponsorship program, the children’s situation is dramatically improved.
We helped them qualify for government-funded housing and build a new, safer home closer to town. The children re-enrolled in school, and the family receives regular food supplements. And now, with the visitation ban reversed, they can nurture their relationship with their father and begin a journey toward emotional healing.
Tsitsi and Ronald at their old home outside Harare, Zimbabwe.
Help children like Precious and her siblings experience hope for the future.
Learn more about our child sponsorship program
Valeryn from Itagüi, Colombia, just outside Medellín, stands in front of her home in one of the city’s shantytowns.
Nine-year-old Valeryn’s father has been in prison for more than half of her life. He has served 5 of his 17-year sentence in La Dorada, Calda, in Colombia—a prison largely reserved for members of political resistance.
Valeryn’s mother María is 45, and now the sole caretaker and provider of her five children. She is unemployed and receiving what little support her older daughter can offer, as well as any help from her neighborhood friends.
The family lives outside Medellín in the municipality of Itagüi. Medellín’s hillsides are lined with shantytowns—shacks piled high and cascading down into the Aburrá Valley mountain range. Their neighborhood, referred to as El hundido (The Sunken), is a foreshadowing of what’s to become of their home.
The hillside shantytowns surrounding Medellín, Colombia.
When Valeryn and her family were located by our Prison Fellowship Colombia staff, they were living in a dilapidated structure of scrap board and poorly secured wood paneling. Sheets draped over holes in the wall, exposed and tangled wires dangled from the ceiling, and corrugated sheet metal and tarps served as the roof. Their home was in danger of being taken out by a landslide, and their lives of being caught in the disaster. Support through our child sponsorship program helped move the family from their leaning shack. Their new apartment is vaulted with brick, and much safer.
In addition, the family’s health is at great risk. Their neighborhood is located in the “red zone,” where a hot bed of debilitating—even deadly—viruses are breaking out, including Zikka, Chikungunya, and Dengue. We’ve ensured Valeryn has all her required vaccinations, but even so, she’s still at risk. And María worries about Valeryn’s physical safety in the neighborhood as she grows older.
Every day is difficult for this family, but we’re helping to lift their burdens. The mere presence of our team in Valeryn’s life means María can work a little more, which is helping the whole family. Valeryn has been enrolled child sponsorship for a year now, and her family receives regular food supplements and enjoys recreational outings hosted by the program. These give Valeryn opportunities to learn about safety and health, as well as to connect with peers who understand what it’s like to have a parent in prison. This social connection and acceptance is so vital for Valeryn’s resilience.
Valeryn also receives counseling and emotional support. This is another crucial piece of care for children of prisoners, who are often ridiculed by peers and rejected by their extended families, as it’s taboo to have a parent in prison.
In 2016, Prison Fellowship Colombia conducted nearly 500 counseling sessions with children in the program. They also work to connect them with their parent in prison, as well as a local church. Nearly half of all families in the program in Colombia are leveraging support from a local church. And Valeryn and her family are gaining strength through the love and care of this new community.
Help a child like Valeryn experience love, acceptance, and hope.
Learn more about our child sponsorship program.
Pictured: Three-year-old Kunda, Ndola, Zambia.
At just 3, Kunda is already an outcast in his community. His neighbors laugh at him, and call him names. They throw garbage in his yard, and won’t let him go near their homes. It’s too much for someone who is so young—whose life has barely begun.
Kunda and his siblings, Lucy and Jackson, were all under the age of five when their father was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Shortly after his sentence, their mother abandoned them, too.
Their grandmother, Payder, is now their primary caretaker.
Kunda, Lucy, and Jackson live in Nkwazi, one of the poorest, most densely populated communities in Ndola, Zambia. During the day, they scavenge for food as they wait for Payder to come home from the market where she sells vegetables. In the evening, Payder brings a pack of maize to cook a meal.
Pictured: Nkwazi, a rural community in the north of Ndola, has some of the poorest living standards in Zambia. Here, neighborhood children eat their evening meal.
Payder puts on a brave face to encourage her grandchildren, but she knows they need more than what she is able to provide. She simply cannot earn enough for food, let alone clothing and school supplies. Payder says in private moments she cries out to God for help.
“[I tell God] not to let me down. I ask Him for wisdom on how I will [take care of] the children.”
Perhaps most heartbreaking is the stigma attached to the Kunda and his siblings. When a parent goes to prison, their children suffer most. They not only endure the loss of a provider, but the rejection of family, friends, and community. Because their father is a prisoner, they have been deemed unworthy. Neighbors mock them, and they are the victims of vicious rumors, rejection, and even hate crimes.
“Once, we found a dead dog dumped inside [our house],” says Payder. “Sometimes we would find garbage strewn about. Neighbors called our home a garbage dump. Others called it a toilet. But I still call it a home.”
When the rainy season comes, every December through March, the little family’s home—a dilapidated mud hut—cannot protect them from the downpours.
Pictured: A mud-brick house with a makeshift roof in Ndola, Zambia.
“When the rains come at night, our roof leaks so badly I have to grab the children and rush outside,” says Payder.
They would huddle under a tree until the rains let up.
Once Kunda was enrolled in our child sponsorship program, the family’s situation improved. Our sponsorship team visits Kunda regularly to ensure he and his siblings are well-fed, able to go to school, and they help provide any safety repairs to the family’s home.
Help the Children of Prisoners
Sadly, their neighbors continued to taunt.
“People in the community laughed at us, saying, ‘[These people] will not repair your home. That’s a lie!'” says Payder.
But the family persisted in their faith.
“I said since God is there, and He watches over these children He will never fail us,” says Payder. “And that’s when our house was rebuilt. I pray my new home is not only a safe and dry place for my family,” says Payder, “but a place of light and community for others.”
Pictured: Kunda and his sister Lucy play outside their new home, built through the assistance of Prison Fellowship Zambia and the child sponsorship program.
Life continues to improve the Kunda and his family. They enjoy regular walks to the Prison Fellowship Zambia office, where they pick up their monthly food and school supplies, and clothing. They family is also connected with a local church and attends a weekly, community Bible study for families of prisoners, where they can learn about God, make new friends, and find acceptance.
Pictured (L–R): Lucy, Kunda, and Payder pose outside their new home—a welcoming "place of light" for the community.
Help a child like Kunda experience hope for the future.
Learn more about our child sponsorship program
Ten-year-old Dinesh, in Nepal, had no one to provide for him after his father went to prison. His relatives rejected him and his mother—they refused to help or even speak to them. With no income and no support, life seemed hopeless and Dinesh felt like no one cared about him.
Now enrolled in our child sponsorship program, Dinesh’s needs are being met. His caseworker visits him regularly to ensure he’s healthy, safe, and doing well in school. And he’s developed a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
But the story doesn’t end there. The generosity of sponsors and supporters is changing the lives of Dinesh and his family. His father was recently released from prison with a transformed heart.
He says, “I accepted Jesus Christ in prison when the caseworker shared God’s words [with me].”
Dinesh’s family is now reunited, and your love and support—and their newfound faith—are helping them build their lives on a strong foundation.
“I got biblical knowledge through you, which helps me grow in Christ,” Dinesh told his sponsor. “Now, I am sharing the Gospel in school and to my neighbors. My aim is to do ministry work and be a pastor.”
Dinesh’s father shares a similar aspiration. While Dinesh’s mother works as a tailor for a local school, his father is preparing to become a missionary.
“My father is inspired by [our] caseworker, and wants to be like him,” says Dinesh.
Thank you for helping give this family a new beginning.
Help a child like Dinesh experience hope for the future.
Give a Child of a Prisoner the Gift of Hope
Learn more about our child sponsorship program
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.
Give a Child of a Prisoner the Gift of Hope
Learn more about our child sponsorship program
She Has a Reason to Smile Now
Camila’s mother is in prison. While serving her sentence, she was introduced to the Prison Fellowship International’s child sponsorship program and immediately wanted to enroll her two daughters.
Camila is nine-years-old and lives with her father, sister, and grandmother. When she first started attending the activities hosted by the sponsorship program with her grandmother, she was very quiet and reserved—not very affectionate.
But as time passed, and she participated in more workshops and activities through the program, Camila became more interactive, loving, and showed great leadership characteristics.
Colombia is one of the world’s poorest countries; 20 percent of Colombian children do not receive basic education. But though support from the program, Camila not only attends school, she also receives psychological care to help her further succeed in her education and learning process.
Those who work closely with Camila have seen she has a beautiful heart for God.
Help a child, like Camila, change her identity from “child of a prisoner” to “loved by God.”
Give a Child of a Prisoner the Gift of Hope
Learn more about our child sponsorship program
Nehala Offers a Friend the Same Mercy Shown Her
Ten-year-old Nehala stands tall. She is poised with kindness and grace, though she has many reasons not to be. Nehala is an innocent victim of crime—a child of a prisoner. Her father is serving time for his involvement in a communal riot between Muslims and Hindus in India’s North Kerala state, which resulted in 12 deaths.
The terrifying incident disrupted Nehala’s life. It tore apart her family and created an equality gap between her and her peers, as happens to most children like her. The title “child of a prisoner” makes Nehala vulnerable to rejection from peers and, worse, family. And with just one caretaker, in a part of the world where one-quarter of the population earns less than $1.25 a day, every day is a struggle. Some cannot afford a place to live. And children are frequently forced to drop out of school to help feed their families, or because there simply isn’t enough money for school.
When we found Nehala, she had been out of school for several months.
She is just one of the 1,450 children, throughout five states in India, were care for through our child sponsor program.
We assigned Nehala to a dedicated caseworker. Wahab visits her regularly to ensure she lives in a safe home with good caretakers, has enough food and clothes, and access medical care and education. Wahab also connects Nehala with a counselor, a local church, and special events where she can learn about God’s love and bond with other children facing similar hardships. Though her reality is still hard, relief from the child sponsor program affords her an opportunity to hope and dream of a better future. And experiencing God’s love and compassion gives her the capacity to share that hope.
After Nehala returned to school, she learned one of her friends lived in a tiny shack. Nehala took her schoolteacher to see her friend’s home, and her teacher helped her established Karunya (Mercy), a project to build a safe place for her friend to live. The young girl then went door-to-door in her community to collect enough money for building materials.
At a community celebration for Karunya, Nehala explained she was determined to help her friend because Prison Fellowship International with the help of Prison Fellowship India had helped her first.
“I received not only help, but dignity and love. I will continue to help others,” says Nehala.
Nehala doesn’t just have hope for a better tomorrow—as she continues to answer God’s call to care for those in need, she is making better days a reality.
Give a child like Nehala the opportunity to spread hope and mercy.
