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A program that reunites children with their jailed fathers will move into the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola – once called the most violent prison in the nation – and already more than 1,000 children are scheduled to have time with their dads.
The Returning Hearts Celebration program is to be the largest such event ever staged by the Illinois-based Awana organization.
“Returning Hearts is a time when the walls come down between kids and their
fathers,” said Lyndon Azcuna, Awana director of cross-cultural ministries. “This special day gives children an opportunity to be with their fathers
physically and to hear them say, ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘I love you.’ It’s also a
place for children to experience God’s love through the changed hearts of
their fathers.”
The event is part of Awana’s Lifeline program that also includes “Malachi Dads,” to offer spiritual, parental, vocational and educational training for inmates; the Awana Lifeline Church Program, to give urban churches training to start programs for children of inmates; and the Lifeline Handbook Program, which creates long-distance relationships between the dads and their children.
Lifeline was launched in 2003 when Warden Burl Cain of Louisiana State
Penitentiary, the largest maximum-security prison in the U.S., invited Awana’s president, Jack
Eggar, and co-founder Art Rorheim to speak to the prison’s fellowship
of Christian inmates.
The Christian leaders were surprised to discover that the
prisoners wanted a program to help their children grow
spiritually and morally.
“These fathers do not want their children to end up in prison,” said Eggar. “So they are intentional in encouraging and teaching their children to pursue a life of character and faith.”
Because of the expertise Awana has working with children, parents and
churches, Cain invited the ministry to help meet the need.
Angola on March 28 will be overrun with 1,000 kids, officials said, for a day of activities and events that promote reconciliation and healing within families.
Last year, 730 children participated in the program, which is a joint effort between the prison and Awana. Games, food, crafts and pony rides are used to let the children and their dads, some of whom may not have seen their sons or daughters for years, begin reconnecting.
The goal, in part, is to break the cycle of crime in families. Awana cites statistics that reveal children of an incarcerated parent are seven times more likely to end up in prison than their peers.
Months after the 2007 event, Awana surveyed the children’s guardians and found 68 percent thought their children’s behavior had improved at home and school following the event.
That success has prompted Awana officials to make plans to expand the program to at least seven more prisons, including San Quentin.
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