SEVEN mothers who are serving parole sentences, were, on Thursday, presented food hampers by the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security in honour of Mother’s Day and quite a few of them responded that the kind gesture made them feel happy and special.
Some of the parolees have been incarcerated for a long period of time and hence were away from their children and the love and support of a family.
“They were unable to have that love and attention from their children and to be able to connect with them,” said Senior Probation and Social Services Officer, Sherilene Joseph.

The Prison Aftercare and Reintegration Services Section of the Ministry, among other things, deals with reintegrating and rehabilitating parolees.
A parolee refers to a prisoner who was released prior to their originally assigned sentence and who has agreed to abide by certain conditions.
It’s the first time that the parolees were honoured in this way, although there is a similar arrangement in place for women who are in prison. “They said to me they felt touched because they were away so long and they haven’t received this kind of pampering for a long time,” Joseph further mentioned.
Meanwhile, the initiative was conducted at the ministry’s Cornhill Street location. Also present at the event was Deputy Director of Social Services, Hamwanttie Bisesar.

One of the parolees expressed gratitude for all that the ministry has done for her and called attention to the fact that she continued to be helped even after she “back slided” on one occasion. “This ministry has done so much of things for me. For years I have gone through hell with my ex-husband and I come here to the ministry and in every step, they guide me,” she expressed. She urged her fellow inmates to always listen to the social workers. “Do what they say and you will get where you need to go. If wasn’t for them, I would not have been here today.”