Charity gives hope to child inmates 
Once written off as
street vermin and thrown into a college of crime, Edwin can now read, write and
use a computer for the first time in his 13-year life
11.30AM, Mon Feb 6 2006
ITV News correspondent Chris Rogers continues his series on the scandal of child prisoners in the Philippines.
Six months ago we found 13-year-old Edwin imprisoned in a cramped adult jail accused of stealing a necklace.
His cries for help were heard by a children's charity. They came armed with a court order to release Edwin into their care. We were there moment he took his first steps to freedom.
Now, six months later I met a very different Edwin.
His life beyond the bars has transformed him from a broken, silent, frightened child into a student, basketball player and a cheeky chap who likes to play tricks on you. Every now and then he would give me a hug.
I couldn't understand the affection but then I was told he associates his freedom with everyone who came to his jail and took him away. Of course , I was simply doing my job and filming his escape from abuse, Edwin sees it as the day his life changed forever. To him I played a role in that.
There are no overcrowded cells at the Preda Care Centre. Although Edwin still bears the physical scars of prison life.
In the last year the charity has won custody of more than a hundred children like Edwin. They are rehabilitated not punished at Preda.
Once written off as street vermin and thrown into a college of crime, Edwin can now read, write and use a computer for the first time in his 13-year life.
He's also learning how to come to terms with his tormented past.
"The cell was so small, we had to find some space on the floor to sleep" he told me.
"One night a male prisoner dragged me into the toilet and demanded sex, I think he had a knife, I could feel it digging in my ribs.
"When I refused he made me pick up poo that was in the bucket, then he said if you don't let me have you I will kill you".
We returned to Edwin's jail of horrors, secretly filming we found some of his young inmates are still there, now confined to a tiny cell like caged animals.
Six months after Edwin was rescued from here his court hearings continue, he would have spent all that time in the cell.
We tracked down Edwin's home in a Manila slum. We took him back to the streets where the police arrested him and hit him over the head with their guns. That was nine months ago and he has not seen his family since.
I have filmed hundreds of children in Philippine jails now but when I saw Edwin run into his mothers arms, it suddenly occurred to me that each of them has a family they've been snatched from and only a life saturated in poverty to return to. Without the care of the charity Preda, Edwin faced an endless cycle of poverty and imprisonment.
Edwin is a symbol of abuse and freedom. A child of hope and courage.
His plight should shame a government that despite so many promises, continues to lock thousands of children behind bars. [End]
