Minor #9, or “Ian”, is one of the most innocent looking boys and is just an incredible joy to be around. His is usually the first smile that I notice each day I show up and one of the first hands I shake. It’s easy to tell that our visits are very valuable to him and he loves having us around.
Ian is one of the more privileged (I use that term lightly) boys in the cell and seems to have the best opportunities to shake his past. I was able to meet with the DSWD last week, and his is the first case that they will take over. Later this week, he will have a hearing that will hopefully transfer him to one of the detention centers several hours away. In this center, he will have a chance at rehabilitation by continuing his studies and also be provided with some job training. This is what we hope to provide the minors of this area with, but many boys don’t get the chance to go there because it is so far away.
With any hope, we will be able to start one of these centers for this province as well, so all the boys will have an equal shot of being transferred. Ian is excited about having the chance to move out there, but he is also one of the boys that has spent the longest time in the cell, so it will be tough to leave so many behind. When I see Ian, I just wonder how a boy like that ended up here. It shows you what poverty and a lack of education can do to even the most joyful of people. He stole to survive and because of bad influence, now he has a reputation that will follow him.
The good news is that as he spends time in this detention center, he will slowly be able to leave his past behind him and get closer to age 21 and a clean record. However, he will be going to a home that is already overcrowded, so a lot will rest on his own shoulders to make smart choices. He will have to make his own decisions and live the way he knows he’s supposed to in order to move forward. Ian is definitely one of the ones I trust the most with this next step. I do believe he will make smart decisions and create a new life, leaving this old one behind. Of course, it’s hard to believe any of these boys are ready to leave, but I think you always want longer with the people you raise and train.
So, with any luck, we’ll be saying goodbye to Ian this week and he will be moving on to the next step. That’s so hard to say or even think about, but it’s what we’ve been praying for. We want these boys out of this prison because it is the worst option for them right now. The only problem with that is that it’s the only option we have with them, so it’s hard to see them go. I never expected these boys to become like kids, but they have. I’m beginning to see why my parents worried about me all those (these) years…
