An hour with Dad
Two years ago, Wang met the Min sisters through a juvenile protection center. Their mother is mentally ill and abandoned the girls after their father was imprisoned.
The sisters have a younger brother. He lives with a disabled relative who can't afford to also look after the sisters. Without any other relatives willing or able to raise them, the local juvenile protection center has become their unofficial guardian.
Last year, Wang accompanied the two sisters on a visit to their father in the prison for the first time since they were separated. This year they took a second visit. Wang said that these children rarely visit their parents because they cannot afford to travel.
Wang and her colleagues persuaded the prison authorities to allow the meeting to take place in a counseling room. This meant that unlike in most prison visits, in which the visitors and prisoner are separated by glass, the family could talk face to face and even touch each other.
When the sisters sat down, the father brought out two bags filled with all kinds of snacks, which stunned everyone in the room. He explained he had saved up to buy them for months so he could give them to his daughters when they came to visit.
Min Xin and Min Ling had rare smiles on their faces when they received their present. Then they started telling their father all about their lives, before playing guessing games with each other.
"When Min Ling won, I felt she laughed so hard that her face must have hurt," Wang said.
The prison guard watching over the meeting told them that their father, who used to be edgy and pessimistic, was now a model prisoner and had seen his sentence reduced.
The father told the sisters he had been given a phone card this month, so he could call them more often. He encouraged Min Xin to study hard for her university entrance exams. "Don't worry about the tuition fees. I will take care of them."
Wang could see that the family had changed. "One year ago, the sisters didn't talk much with their father and he looked very sad but now they have so much to talk about and the father has a more kind and loving smile on his face. I can see there is hope in his heart." Wang said.
