When Lakshmi* was eight, her father was sent to the Palayamkottai Central Prison in Tamil Nadu’s Tirunelveli district to serve a life sentence for murdering his wife. Lakshmi’s grandmother, despite abject poverty, did what she could to care for her granddaughter, but by the time she was 13, Lakshmi was on the brink of dropping out of school. That’s when K.R. Raja knocked on their door.
The timid Lakshmi who had reined in her aspirations is now a confident 17-year-old: she won a full scholarship last month to study at Chennai’s Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology.
Building strong children
For more than 200 children like Lakshmi, aged between three and 18, who has a parent in Palayamkottai prison, Raja, the founder of Global Network for Equality (GNE), has opened up a new world through education. Of these, 78 are children whose fathers are convicted of murdering their
Friends forever: Raja with the children.
spouse. Often raised by grandparents who don’t have the resources to educate them or attend to their needs, these children constantly struggle with behavioural issues, depression, and anxiety. For no fault of theirs, they are trapped in a system that has scant regard for their problems.
“It’s easier to build strong children than repair broken men,” says Raja, who believes that education is the only route for children like these. “I want to make sure they don’t fall into child labour or criminal activities themselves.” Seven years ago, he launched his programme to educate the children of prisoners who don’t have other means of support.
Raja has overcome challenges himself. As an infant, an injection to cure a high fever paralysed his legs forever.
It was while volunteering as a counsellor in Palayamkottai prison, after his Master’s in social work, that Raja discovered that there were 205 children whose mothers had been murdered and fathers were in prison.
It hurt him to see the stigma and shame these children faced. The children faced a double loss, one parent dead and the other incarcerated.
Bonding over stories
It wasn’t easy to gain their trust. But over storytelling sessions, picnics and games, Raja was able to slowly win them over. Soon he became ‘Uncle Raja’, available to them 24x7 either in person or on the phone whenever they wanted someone to talk to.
He assessed each child’s interest, and then began scouting for potential donors for their education. GNE works closely with schools, colleges and banks that help with admissions or opening accounts for students.
Many of his donors are private companies, and now there are also 79 individuals who directly help the children each year to pay the school fee. The programme appears to be making a tangible impact on the children’s lives. This year, eight of them won scholarships for different courses in Sathyabama Institute.
Muthukumar is from Tuticorin, and his father was imprisoned for murdering his wife in 2006. Muthukumar was separated from his little sister when he stayed in Tuticorin with his paternal uncle while she left for another town with their grandmother. With Raja’s help, the two are now studying together at Sathyabama Institute. Helped by two friends and a band of volunteers, Raja also checks in on the families and raises funds if they need living expenses.
Encouraged by the success story in Palayamkottai, Raja wants to now reach out to jails across Tamil Nadu. He has already calculated the number of such children in each district. In Madurai prison alone, there are 230 children whose mothers were killed and their fathers are serving time.
“I want to give them a shot at a future,” says Raja. “One day, I hope to cover every prison in the country.”
*Some names changed to protect identity.
