Forgotten Victims?:

When a prison gate closes behind a convicted parent, society often assumes the punishment ends there.

But for thousands of Ugandan children, that prison sentence quietly extends into their own lives—through interrupted education, stigma, trauma and poverty. They have committed no crime, yet they carry consequences they never chose.

For Mary Naguja, the day her father was imprisoned marked the beginning of a childhood defined by uncertainty.

“I was staying with my father alone because my parents had separated,” she recalls. “When he was incarcerated, it affected me psychologically. My school performance deteriorated because I had lost the person I was closest to.”

Mary was still a young child when her father was sentenced to prison. Although relatives initially cared for her, the emotional burden of separation left lasting scars.

“I became very quiet. I was traumatised and reserved. Even in class I couldn’t concentrate.”

Children with incarcerated parents often disappear from public conversations about justice. While attention focuses on prisons and offenders, little is said about the children left behind—many forced to leave school, live with relatives or shoulder adult responsibilities long before their time.

According to Mrs Ellen Eva Ssubi, Co-founder and Executive Director of Wells of Hope Ministries, the organisation was created after its founder, Mr Francis Ssubi, experienced prison firsthand.

“People focus on the inmate,” she says. “Yet the inmates’ greatest concern is the families they leave behind, especially their children.”

After spending 68 days on remand before being acquitted, Mr Francis Ssubi witnessed how imprisonment affected entire families. That experience inspired the creation of Wells of Hope Ministries in 2002.

For the past 24 years, the organisation has supported children whose parents are serving life sentences, long prison terms, death sentences or are living with HIV/AIDS in prison.

To date, the organisation has supported more than 500 children and is currently caring for 218 children alongside 121 caregivers through education, psychosocial support, health services and economic empowerment programmes.

“Our biggest achievement is seeing children regain hope and complete their education while rebuilding their families,” Mrs Ssubi says.

Education is only one part of the support children need.

Mrs Majorine Lunkuse Lwanga, Programmes Officer at Wells of Hope Ministries, says trauma is often the biggest barrier to learning.

“Many children appear normal, but inside they are deeply traumatised,” she explains. “Some witnessed the arrest of their parents. Others constantly worry about the caregiver they left at home or the parent in prison. All this affects their concentration and academic performance.”

Many children also experience rejection from relatives or discrimination within their communities.

“The public sometimes labels entire families because of one person’s crime,” Mrs Lunkuse Lwanga says. “That destroys children’s confidence and affects how they perform in school.”

To address these challenges, Wells of Hope provides counselling, prison visits, sports, talent development, camps and mentorship to help children understand that their parents’ actions do not define their future.

One annual camp focuses on answering the difficult questions children often carry silently:

“Is it my fault my parent is in prison?”

“Does having a parent in prison make me a bad child?”

The answer, counsellors repeatedly tell them, is no.

For Mary, that message changed everything.

After joining agemenWells of Hope Primary School, she says she finally found the love, stability and encourt she had been missing.

“My performance improved because I was loved and cared for,” she says. “They helped me understand that I am important like any other child.”

Her educational journey continued through secondary school before she enrolled to study Bachelor of Laws at Uganda Martyrs University.

Today, she has completed her degree and is awaiting graduation while volunteering with Wells of Hope’s Access to Justice Programme.

“I now see my future becoming brighter,” she says with a smile.

She believes she is living proof that children of prisoners should never be judged.

“If I had been ignored, maybe I would have ended up on the streets. But because someone cared, I am now an aspiring lawyer ready to serve society.”

The impact of imprisonment is not limited to children.

When a breadwinner is imprisoned, caregivers—often wives, grandmothers or aunts—must suddenly provide for entire households with limited resources.

For Pastor Cissy, a mother of three, life changed dramatically after her husband was imprisoned for murder.

Left to raise their children alone, she struggled financially until she joined Wells of Hope’s economic empowerment programme.

Through financial literacy training, savings groups and vocational skills development, she improved her tailoring skills and learned how to save money consistently.

The programme enabled her to rebuild her livelihood while continuing to care for her children despite her husband’s imprisonment.

Mrs Lunkuse Lwanga says economic empowerment helps caregivers become more resilient rather than dependent on aid.

“We equip them with financial literacy and practical skills so they can build sustainable livelihoods. While many still struggle with startup capital, the knowledge helps them make use of whatever resources they already have.”

Although the justice system punishes offenders they argue that children should never bear the consequences of crimes they did not commit.

“A child has not committed a crime,” Mrs Ssubi says. “Every child has a right to love, education, family and protection regardless of their parents’ circumstances.”

She believes investing in these children benefits society as a whole.

“When you support one child, you strengthen an entire family and ultimately build a stronger community.”

Mary agrees.

“I want people to know that children of inmates deserve love just like every other child,” she says.

“The way society treats us determines who we become. If you care for us, we will grow into people who positively contribute to society.”

Prison sentences are intended for those convicted in court—not their children.

Yet every day, children across Uganda continue serving invisible sentences through stigma, interrupted education and emotional trauma.

Organisations like Wells of Hope Ministries demonstrate that with education, counselling and family support, these children can overcome extraordinary circumstances.

For Mary, that support transformed a frightened child into a future lawyer.

Her story serves as a reminder that justice should punish the guilty—but society has a responsibility to protect the innocent.