They made it possible
Very basic were the facilities for these children who have been compelled to stay with their mothers as they are very young, says Senior Superintendent of Prisons, Chandana Ekanayake, pointing out that the prison buildings are very old having been built during British times in the mid-1800s.
His humanity is obvious when he says that these children need special attention, for they are growing up outside their families, without their fathers and no guidance, in an environment not conducive for such young ones.
There was a dire need to develop the Lama Surekum Ward and it was then that the Hemas Group of Companies came forward with hands outstretched to these hapless women and their children.
“The gullies were overflowing and newborns were sleeping in a room nearby,” says the ‘doer’ behind the Hemas’ ‘Piyawara Singithi Diriya’ Prison Project, Shiromi Masakorala, who is Executive Director of the Hemas Outreach Foundation as she accompanies us around the Lama Surekum Ward along with the Foundation’s Manager Mindika Thilakarathna. Well-loved cricketer Roshan Mahanama is the honorary Brands Ambassador of the project.
Initially, Hemas looked into the meal plan of these children, under this project which is very close to their hearts, says Ms. Masakorala, explaining that they began supplying dry rations, milk food, samaposha and biscuits, along with other basic necessities such as pampers and soap. “Then we turned our attention towards the infrastructure to make ‘good memories’ for these children.”
It is Mr. Ekanayake who adds that it is a major effort to make the children have a “pleasant stay in an unpleasant place”. Earlier, along with his staff he had to go with the begging bowl for such items as baby food and pampers.
Usually, the children too would get the
‘baldiyen ena kaema’ (food from the bucket), we understand, with breakfast being rice and pol- sambol everyday except Wednesday, when for variety they would get bread and polsambol. Lunch would be rice, mallun, fish and one other curry and dinner rice, a starchy vegetable and chicken.
As we visualize how difficult it is to get little ones to eat their food even in homes where they can be tempted with that ‘extra something’, Ms. Masakorala says that the monthly nutritional expenses of the children in the Lama Surekum Ward are willingly borne by Hemas employees, while the refurbishment costing around Rs. 3.5 million has been primarily with personal donations from the Senior Management of Hemas and the balance by the Foundation.
The Hemas Project within the Welikada Prison has got the blessings of the Children’s Secretariat of the Women and Child Affairs Ministry, while the work at ground level was handled by personnel of the Civil Defence Force.
Maintenance and sustainability will be ensured through effective monitoring by the prisons authorities, Hemas and the Children’s Secretariat, assures Ms. Masakorala.