Anita* was devastated when her dad moved out. She was just seven years old.
Despite his drug and alcohol addiction, she idolised him, and wanted to be just like him. Anita’s sense of loss was immense and although she was able to visit him every now and then, she longed to be close to him.
Her mother and grandmother did their best to raise Anita and her brothers, sharing their faith with them and praying over them each night.
But Anita struggled, and her school grades suffered. At 15, she moved in with her dad and became just like him, drug addiction and all.
A series of toxic relationships with drug dealers saw her charged with multiple offences. She tried to start afresh but felt drawn back to her dad and to old habits.
Anita almost felt relieved when she was finally sentenced. A surprising peace came over her, and in her prison cell, she had time to reflect on her childhood and her mother’s prayers over her.
So, when a prison chaplain arrived one morning, Anita was ready to talk.
Anita shared about the wound her father’s departure from her family had left in her heart, and how she looked up to him and had become just like him. She was ready to change.
When Anita discovered she was pregnant, she felt numb. She didn’t know what to do. Prison chaplains provided the encouragement and support she needed to feel empowered and equipped to be the mum she had always wanted to be.
Eventually, she joined a bible study – led by another inmate – and started planning her new life so she’d be ready upon her release to create a new path, instead of returning to her old bad habits.
Today, Anita is free from prison and free from her life of addiction. She was welcomed into a local church, where she received practical and emotional support as she began life as a new mum – and a new creation in Christ.
She helps to run the church play group, encouraging other mums on their faith and motherhood journey. She is also studying to become a social worker, so she can help others to escape addiction and find wholeness.
Anita said: “I honestly don’t know where I’d be today without the support of prison chaplains. I don’t know if I would have had my little girl, who I adore. I can’t imagine my life without her. Prison chaplains gave me hope and made the life I have now possible. I’m so grateful.”
* Name has been changed and a stock image used.