The Kenya Prison Service chaplain has urged parents to be present in their children’s lives by mentoring them as this will make prisons emptier.
Newsroom (15/08/2023 10:23, Gaudium Press) At the award ceremony at St. Jude Donholm school in the Archdiocese of Nairobi, Kenya, Fr. Peter Kimani, chaplain of the Kenya Prison Service, stressed that if parents were more present and available in their children’s lives, and aware of their duties, the country would have fewer inmates.
The Kenyan priest said that children whose lives are guided by their parents not only have principles instilled in them but also know their goals for the future and can thus have direction throughout their lives.
On the other hand, those with poor upbringing and education often have “a meaningless life where there are no limits, no freedoms, and no moral and ethical boundaries”.
“Parents,” Fr. Kimani warned, “let your children know why you do things. If you as a parent can answer correctly to your children the reason behind your actions, then we can have a society with good morals.”
If parents have a goal and show that to their children, then the children will also have a goal in life. He added: “If they don’t know the reason why they are in school; why they should go to church, and how they should behave, then they will not have a goal. Let’s be there as parents who guide and show the children who they are.”
If parents are responsible and able to explain their actions, including who are good friends for their children, in prisons, there will be very few people,” the priest stressed. “The good morals of parents instilled in their children will contribute to a country with stable families; and a church with stable Christians, devoid of hypocrisy and pretense.”
He also stressed that: “We go to school to hone the wisdom God has given us. We receive this wisdom from God but we enhance it through books, the knowledge we acquire, the skills we acquire in school to solve problems and know the difference between good and evil.
Fr. Kimani pointed out that schools play a vital role in improving students because contemporary society no longer knows the difference between good and evil. He added: “We live in a society where everyone sees good as evil, and evil as good.”
The priest, however, lamented that knowledge acquired in schools can be useless if not well used to help the weak and vulnerable, just as power without control is useless.
Fr. Kimani encouraged the award-winning students in Nairobi school to support and help those who will not be awarded, and to walk with them in their studies.
Compiled by Dominic Joseph
