Special Feature
AS GOOD AS IT GETS
© UNICEF/JANNATUL MAWA
Exactly at 7 am, just as the big dong-like bell clangs, Shanto's morning starts off with a glass of warm milk. Then, with some light exercise and singing of the national anthem the adorable four-year-old begins his day at the day care centre; his two – and – a – half – hour study time, play time, bath time, lunch – his daily ritual follows a particular pattern in sync with the tolling of the bell. And exactly at 5 pm he returns to his mother.
From afar it may seem a little regimented for a day care centre to maintain such strict timing but that is how everything works at Dhaka Central Jail where he temporarily resides with his mother, as she awaits her court orders.
Confined yet happy
Children in Dhaka Central Jail spend 10 hours, from 7 in the morning till 5 in the evening, in the day care centre situated inside the jail premises. The airy, spacious room where the children spend their study time is clean and sunlit – although the high walls and heavy metal grilles frame the verandahs, but the atmosphere inside the day care centre is a positive and happy one. Children in their usual boisterous manner sing out their favourite rhymes and show off their drawings, eager to draw attention.
"My name is Suha and I can sing", "My name is Mim I have a red car", "I am Laboni" – they let you know their presence and are keen to impress as they sing out aloud while queuing for play time.
The play corner is a big room carpeted with floor mats, the room is filled with child-friendly plastic cars in the shape of various animals, but the star attraction is the small yellow slide that plunges the children into a pool of bright-coloured balls. There is a red see-saw, a pink doll house, puzzles, cricket bats. "My favourite ride is the slide but I love to drive my red bunny car," a well-dressed Shanto chirps, adding that play time is his favourite hour of the day.
"I came here when my child was only six months old and now he is three – and – a – half – year – old. He has never seen the world outside these walls but he is a happy child and I feel relieved when at night he recites his rhymes for me. I know that at least he is learning things. This play corner, which is a recent addition, gives these kids a chance to enjoy a part of life that is otherwise denied to them for the time being," says Lovely, a detained mother, who has been awaiting her court verdict for three years.
For Shahida and her two-year-old child, who came from Kamrangirchar two months ago, confinement is still new and hard to adjust. "My son Zahiul cries most of the time and is not interested in anything. The Matron apa summons me quite often to calm and soothe him, he gets upset if he sees too many people. He only likes the play corner," Shahida explains.
Adjoining these rooms is another spacious room where the children take their afternoon nap after their bath and a nutritious lunch of khichuri. The toddlers who are aged between zero to three are also kept here. The bathroom is clean and every room is spick and span, providing the children a very healthy environment amid confinement. Late afternoons are for outdoor games and the big verandahs are their playground for the time being.
Emphasis on early learning
It is a decent enough arrangement but still one that keeps them from the real world. © UNICEF/JANNATUL MAWA
"For the pre-schoolers like Shanto, Laboni, Suha and 32 others the day care centre by the Social Services Ministry at Dhaka Central Jail is a better choice than sitting in their mother's cell and soaking in her sulking mood. However, the recent addition of the spacious play corner by Bangladesh Shishu Academy in December 2012 with the support of UNICEF and medical health partner Institute of Child and Mother Health (ICMH) is like a breath of fresh air for the toddlers," explains Dipika Rani Shaha, Social Services Officer.
A safe place to sleep. Children at the day care centre take a nap.
She adds that the day care centre began in 2003 but it was in 2004 that the centre started its full-fledged function in a new building that was built adjoining the women's jail premises to accommodate the day care centre. She also mentions that Bangladesh Shishu Academy took up the education and early learning initiative for the children since 2009.
"Bangladesh Shishu Academy, with its awareness and advocacy policies, gives special importance to its Early Learning for Child Development (ELCD) projects and for which the academy works in vulnerable areas like the tea gardens and 10 central jails throughout the country," Md. Tariqul Islam Chowdhury, Programme Officer, ELCD project, Bangladesh Shishu Academy says.
"We feel it is vital to stimulate a child's brain during infancy because 80 percent of its development occurs during the first five years. At the Dhaka Central Jail we have a successful programme. However, there is an in-built hindrance because of the circumstances in which these children are bound. If the mother is released or is freed on bail, or if she is shifted to another prison then the child too needs to move with her. Thus children here are mostly passing through and cannot be given a continuous learning atmosphere," Tariqul felt.
Physical exercise, storytelling, rhymes and songs, reading and writing Bangla, pre-math, health and hygiene are all part of the curriculum and because of a dedicated teacher like Amina Khatun of Shishu Academy, every child gets special care.
For pre - schoolers the day care centre is definitely a better choice sitting in their mother’s prison cells. © UNICEF/JANNATUL MAWA
"Every day I see a new face or have to say goodbye to an old one, this is how my classroom runs but in general the two – and – a – half – hour study time following the Bangladesh Shishu Academy curriculum is helping the children learn many things. They get a good environment, good food and here the kids are well taken care of. In fact every person – the matron, the police officers and even the Jail Super love the kids and are keen to give them a better chance," says Amina Khatun.
"Those children who pass the pre-school age are transferred to Rupganj or Tejgaon Shishu Palli or Shishu Poribar with their mother's consent or sent to their guardians if their mothers so decide," says Tariqul.
"Jail code permits children up to four years to stay with their mothers but with the Jail Super's special permission the child can stay two more years," adds Dipika Rani Shaha.
A child's smile brings joy to all
"There are instances when a mother got transferred but the child did not want to leave because they became attached to the centre and the teacher," explains Nur Jahan, Chief Matron of the women's cell.
"The children call me Nanu (grandmother) and I do feel for them, and whenever we get orders from our Jail Super we bring cakes and chocolates for them," Nur Jahan adds, saying that winter clothes and other regular facilities are provided for them.
"The mother's mood affects a child and given the circumstances here, the day care centre is the best option for the kids and the mothers too are relaxed and assured that their children are well taken care of and are happy," she adds.
"The environment or societies these kids came from are not crime-free and neither is it child-friendly so if you consider that aspect of their lives I would say the children here are much better off. Having said that, I feel that growing up in a single room is not an ideal life either. A child needs to grow in a free environment in their own space where the good and the bad go along side by side. A bracketed environment like this bound by rules and regulations, which is nothing like the outside world, is not healthy. No one can lead a better life in imprisonment," says Md Farman Ali, Senior Jail Super, Dhaka Central Jail.
The play corner is a recent addition that has brought in the extra smiles. © UNICEF/JANNATUL MAWA
"We do not have funds of our own but as long as the funds continue we will continue the day care centre, we have no intention to discontinue. I strongly feel it is important to give these innocent little ones a chance; living in confinement with their mothers, amid depression and dirty talk, Bangladesh Shishu Academy's early learning project with the support of Unicef is as good as it gets for these young ones," Farman Ali emphasises.
Shanto, meanwhile, sits at the table along with his friends and reads from the Bangla alphabet chart that is hung on the wall. He is happy and secure in his own world, for the time being, even though he leads a secluded one away from the real world outside the jail walls.
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