“Moments like this I hope this was not my story, but yet I wake up every Friday morning and reality hits. “Good Morning old soldier wake up, your visitors are here”. In excitement I get myself ready, look in the mirror….my sight is getting worse with the years passing by. I try to hold on day by day but yet times can get hard. I say my Prayers, ask the Lord to keep me and set me apart. I count the minutes, hours, days and years….this is my life I can’t shed no more tears.
“Old soldier are you ready, let me take you….your people are waiting”. Every 1st en last Friday’s are the best days of the month. There are these youngsters who come to talk, pray & bring me some goods. Special goods many get in a fight or deal for…”
This is the story of a prisoner we met years ago. Many are forgotten and their voices are not being heard. Guilty or not Guilty, a place of forgiveness can be the key to make the change. Even though they are locked up abroad, they are prisoners of their own past. Family members use to come, Loved ones use to say ‘I love you’, Friends use to say “Hello”… after years of trials ….“Actions speak louder than words,” they say. But gradually the voices mute themselves to a point of no return.
Many have no family or friends visiting them. They are known to be the John and Jane Do’s who are forgotten. Yet there is a group of young people who have decided to make a difference. A few times in the year they get a list from a certain prison with the names of those who are “forgotten”. They take time, find out their background and see how they can be of help. By visiting them twice a month, having a simple “how are you? talk” for 10 min; has made a huge difference in their lives.
Can you imagine going to a prison ward as a visitor, staying in a queue for almost two hours to see the inmate for only 10 min? The Brighter day has worked in and outside the prisons with male inmates for almost four years and came up with this cause called “Beyond the Prison Gates”.
Once a year the Brighter Day sends a box to the Forgotten prisoners with sanitary items:
Towel, Face towel, Toothbrush, Toothpaste, Soap, Plastic cup, Slippers, Underwear & Socks.
The items will be sent in a box with a letter of encouragement.
