TRURO - Inmates and staff at the federal women's prison have teamed up to help people they'll likely never meet.
During the past year, the Nova Institution for Women held a series of fundraisers and the facility's inmates committee donated funds towards a project for Ryan's Well Foundation.
"Stories such as this inspire us and we see there's still good out there and we want to give back," said April Constantine, a 23-year-old inmate from St. John's. "It's a chance for us to give to somebody else in need and to take the thoughts away from ourselves and our situations and realize there's other things that are more important."
Through the Nova's Well of Hope fundraising, $7,941.27 was raised and will go towards one of the foundation's projectS, such as improving access to clean drinking water in Haiti.
The money was raised through activities, such as a comedy show, silent auction and letter-writing campaign, organized by staff and inmates and supported by the community.
"It's a phenomenal story of a community coming together," said Susan Hreljac, whose son is the foundation's founder, "and I think that's magical. I am so, so grateful for your generousity, for putting other people first. To me it's one of the best feelings in the world."
Her son Ryan was in Grade 1 in 1998 when he came home and told his parents he needed $70 because he wanted to build a well for people who didn't have clean drinking water.
Susan admitted they initially ignored him, but that changed during an evening dinner shortly after he made the request.
"He turned to me and he had this scowl on his face and said, 'Mom, you don't get it.' He said, 'someone just died because they don't have clean water and you didn't help them' and he waved his finger at me. I thought, 'whoa, he's serious.' "
The parents told Ryan he could do more chores to raise the money, never thinking he would. Four months later he had the $70, only to later find out it would cost $2,000 for the well. Not to be deterred, Ryan raised the money and since then his story has flourished.
Since the foundation was formed in 2001, it has helped build more than 600 water and sanitation projects in 16 countries to bring safe water and improved sanitation to more than 685,000 people.
Ryan, a Kemptville, Ont. native, is now attending school at the University of Kings College in Halifax. For more about the foundation and his story visit www.ryanswell.ca.
The staff and inmates at the institution will be sitting down in the near future to determine which specific foundation project they want the funds to go to.
During fundraising last year, staff and inmates also made a donation of more than $8,000 towards the Watoto Child Care Ministry in Uganda.
There are about 75 inmates at the institution in minimum, medium and maximum security.
congratulations for going online so in a remote place like munich, germany i can read your articles. as for the ryans well foundation article and grandmother's comment on it: the idea of a jail is not to torment people until they lose all will to live. the project seems to me a fantastic possiblity to help inmates take up responsibility and create a sense of community. people who commit crimes have been hurt badly to be able cross that border. punishment should never be an act of revenge.