Counting the days left, jailed kids write dreams

Thu, 07/24/2008 10:40 AM | City

Childhood is supposed to be happy time, full of laughter. A time when children - the hope for the future of humankind - can build their dreams.

But a happy childhood is not for all, certainly not for the kids who pass their childhood inside prison walls.

Tangerang Children's Penitentiary tries to create a proper environment for the children who end up there. It has formal schools from elementary to high school levels for the inmates, most of whom are in jail because of drug abuse.

It also offers extracurricular activities such as training in printing, car repairs, gardening, sewing, computer skills and musical instruments.

Still, jail is no home. These children long to go home, to be able to play with friends and breathe the air outside the jail compound.

They also dream of a better life in the future - better than any life they have in the penitentiary.

On National Children's Day, July 23, the children marked the day their own way: They wrote letters, each containing a wish, for no prison can vanquish their hopes and dreams.

- Photos and texts by R. Berto Wedhatama

WAIT FOR ME, GIRLS: Rino, an inmate in Tangerang Penitentiary, looks at pictures of his female friends from before his prison time. WAIT FOR ME, GIRLS: Rino, an inmate in Tangerang Penitentiary, looks at pictures of his female friends from before his prison time.

OUR HEARTS' CONTENT: Deden looks over his fellow inmates’ drawings and jottings, displayed on a board provided so the inmates can express their feelings. OUR HEARTS' CONTENT: Deden looks over his fellow inmates’ drawings and jottings, displayed on a board provided so the inmates can express their feelings.