Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Building a better tomorrow

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: When P.K. Basheer was sentenced to life in a murder case in 1989, his children, Shameena and Shabeer, were toddlers. Little did he realise that his absence would jeopardize his family’s financial security. With his relatives too turning their back on his wife and children, the future appeared bleak for them.

Hope came in the form of a welfare officer who he met in jail. He introduced Basheer to the volunteers of Child Centre, a support group, from the South Kerala Diocese based in the city.

“For the last 12 years the centre has been providing all the necessary assistance to my family,” said Basheer who completed his jail term at the Nettukaltheri open prison in the district last month.

And on Wednesday, Basheer and his family were among the 60 invited families who gathered here for ‘Aswasa theeram 2008,’ a three-day residential camp for children and family members of prisoners serving life-term in the Thiruvananthapuram, Kannur and Kozhikode prisons.

“The camp is aimed at motivating the family members, especially children by opening up various options available to them for leading a better life,” said D.L. Paulson, co-ordinator, Child Centre. The centre, which provides the participants with the necessary travel expense and accommodation, has been conducting the camp for the last three years.

The gathering is open to people belonging to all religious denominations. “We are careful not to bring in any religious angle to this get-together,” said Rev. Paulson. Nearly 100 children in the age group of 5 years to 18 years are attending the camp.

The sessions handled by artists and experts include life development skills, games, folk songs, skits and academics.

“Almost all the children who are attending the camp have a poignant story to tell. But most of them are reluctant to open up due to their bitter experiences,” said Rev. Paulson.

And like the story of Jincy and her three sisters, residents of Vattappara in the city who lost their mother, after she was slain by their father for the “crime” of begetting females, most of the tales are brought to the attention of the centre by some of their immediate family members.

In the case of Jincy and her sisters, it was their ailing grand-parents who highlighted the plight of the siblings to the centre through a letter, after their father was arrested by the police.

“We also get in touch with the prison authorities and update our register of family members on a periodic basis,” said Rev. Paulson.

Today, there are over 100 children who are receiving regular financial assistance from the centre. The funding is provided by the Bangalore-based Churches Council for Child and Youth Care.

For Basheer’s family, the support has imbued them with hope and zest for life. His daughter Shameena is now a graduate and his son Shabeer a class X student. “Today my dream is to build a house and marry off my daughter,” said Basheer who works in a quarry

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