They’re sisters, but that’s not the only thing Samantha, 25, and Janelle, 20, have in common. Moved to want to share the love of Jesus with inmates’ families, they both volunteer at Prison Fellowship Australia’s Camp for Kids. These week-long campstays give prisoners’ children a fun and safe space to be kids, no matter what else is going on in their world. Here Samantha and Janelle share some of what makes this ministry so special.
You’re sisters, and you both made a decision to volunteer on Camp for Kids. What motivated that?
Janelle: Growing up our family did foster care. I think it gave me insight into a world I didn’t really know existed. I got to experience what life can be like for some kids. To have foster kids as part of your family when they don’t have other family, or when they’ve lost someone to prison. You see how that impacts them. How they long for a place to belong.
Samantha: I think it’s really important to connect with kids when they’re young. When children feel loved from a young age, it means they can carry that feeling into the rest of their lives. I saw the camps as a beautiful space where I could meet some amazing kids who are going through some really difficult things. The experience of prison may not be a space I encounter in my day-to-day life, but it doesn’t mean it’s not there. And it doesn’t mean there aren’t kids going through it. This is an opportunity to bring Jesus and love into that space.
Why is a ministry like this – one that supports the families and children of inmates – important?
Samantha: People shouldn’t have to go about things alone. Going through something like this can make you feel really isolated, and isolation brings so many challenges on top of what you’re already going through. Programs like this bring kids and families together to feel supported and connected – to feel seen.
Janelle: Many families move to be closer to their loved one’s prison, and sometimes that means leaving their families, friends and communities behind. I love the idea of being able to help them build a new community so they know they aren’t alone – so that this can feel like home for them.
The other side of it is, when families have members in prison, it can often become a generational cycle. Family situations really do impact a person’s future. What you go through as a child, it can form who you become. Programs like this are so important in stepping into that situation, letting a kid know that yes, what you’ve been through is going to have some influence on you, but it’s how you respond to it that decides whether you continue in that cycle or whether you’re able to step out of it.
Without an organisation like Prison Fellowship, some of these kids and families would never see a different way of living. The camps and mentoring encourage them to be the best versions of themselves. They help kids know they belong somewhere – that they have a home.
What do you think can happen if a child doesn’t feel like they have somewhere to belong?
Janelle: Kids will look for that home elsewhere. Regardless of whether that’s in a dangerous area with people who aren’t making great decisions, they’re going to look for that sense of belonging. So giving them a safe space to feel at home is really important in a kid’s life.
Have you found that there are common struggles the children of inmates go through?
Samantha: Trust is a really big one. Obviously, a child’s trust may have been broken. That takes time to build. Trust is a big deal for anybody – but especially in this space – it’s a bigger topic. It’s harder to build. At a camp, they are out of their normal environment with people they might not know very well. They are asking themselves: ‘Can I trust these people? Can I trust them to look after me?’
It’s important to recognise that you can’t put yourself in their shoes. You don’t know what they go through day to day. That means what you see is not always what you get. That’s where empathy comes in. A kid might be having a tantrum, or they might not want to go to sleep. It’s important to recognise there’s likely more to it. People talk about trauma using the example of a fire and smoke. What you see is the smoke, not the fire. Empathy really helps you have grace in those moments so you can work it through with the kids, realising that maybe what I’m seeing is not fully what’s going on. But here’s how I can show up for them at that moment.
How do you think camps create that safe space for kids?
Samantha: Children respond to people showing up for them. Camp offers multiple days where we can be consistent for them, loving them, getting to know them. When you are with people overnight for days in a row, you can get to a different level of connection. The more time you spend with people – the more consistency there is – the more the walls come down. They feel safe to open up, if they want to.
Janelle: I’ve seen that being the person who’s there to wake them up in the morning really helps the kids build trust. You were there when they went to sleep, and you were there when they woke up. Many of the kids really appreciate having the chance to get to know the leaders and ask us questions. They love the idea of having someone who’s stable and present to listen, no matter how many times they push you away or how many times they get upset at you – you always come back.
If there wasn’t a space like Camp for Kids, what do you think these children would be missing out on?
Samantha: I’ve found that with a lot of people, if they have fond memories from when they were a child, those can be really influential throughout the rest of their life. Camps are a space where these kids can be kids. They’re able to make those fond memories, ones filled with safety and trust. Without camp, maybe they’d miss out on those moments when you can look back at your childhood and see where God has been in your life. If one day they do encounter faith in a deeper way, then maybe they can recognise, ‘Hey, God was in that moment for me.’
Janelle: Camps also provide an opportunity for kids to push themselves out of their comfort zones. That may just be in the fact they are leaving mum or dad or their grandma and coming to camp on their own; sleeping in a place that isn’t their usual bed. That can be really daunting for kids. Often, some of the activities we do, the kids have never experienced before. So it really gets them to challenge themselves, and in that, it also offers them the biggest reward when they overcome that challenge.
What does a typical day at camp look like?
Samantha: Volunteering on camp is a big day, but it’s great because you’re with your team the whole time. You don’t even notice you’re up from probably 6am to past midnight. Most of the kids are up bright and early because they’re so excited. You eat meals and clean up together, and it’s a great space to have fun and build connections. Then it’s off to activities. The campsite we used was right on the water. We got to do some swimming, which the kids loved. Sometimes you might do a ropes course, or go tubing, or hiking or kayaking. We’ve flown drones at night. We also did an indigenous cultural walk, which the kids loved, learning about bush tucker.
We do Bible sessions each day. Short and sweet, as relatable as possible. We have conversations with the kids. When they ask us why we’re there, we’re able to let them know we do this because of how much Jesus loves them. At camp, you’re able to have conversations you may not have outside that space, about faith and everything. The kids are pretty open to chatting about it.
Janelle: The kids ask why you’re there. It absolutely throws them when they find out you’re not getting paid, that you’re a volunteer. They just sit there and ask, ‘Why would you do that?!’ And you’re like, ‘Well, let me tell you!’ I’ve been able to have some really interesting conversations. They recognised I was up until 2am every night, then waking up at 6am the next morning – just go, go, go the whole time. And they just couldn’t understand why I would do that for free. So getting to talk to them about the love I get from God and how that encourages me and fills me to then share that with them – I think it changed their perspective on love, on why all the leaders loved them so much and were so patient and kind with them. It’s definitely interesting to have conversations about God’s love with them.
Thinking about the inmates themselves, how do you think caring for their kids impacts them?
Janelle: One thing I think is really great about these programs is that the inmate is usually included – they are often reached out to first to see if the family wants to be involved, keeping them as part of the family.
Samantha: I think it comes down to how we show these kids that we love them and care for them. Even if you don’t know them, you’re showing up for them. Not many people do that in the world these days. I imagine it can make the inmates feel cared for as well… That they’re not isolated and they’re not alone.
What does God say about how we should treat inmates?
Samantha: God says love your neighbour as you love yourself. I think it’s pretty simple. Jesus came to earth for sinners – for everyone. We’re all sinners, too.
Janelle: What comes to my mind is the story of the woman when they threw stones at her, the adulteress. I think of that idea of placing judgement on people when you are not sin-free yourself. These kids and families, I’m sure so many people place judgement on them, same as the prisoners. That Bible story is so perfect where Jesus tells us, ‘Well, you can throw the first stone if you haven’t sinned,’ or ‘Why do you feel like you can place judgement on them when they are my children as well?’ The Bible talks about sin and what it means to God – and my sin means just as much to Him as their sin does.
Finally, what do you think Jesus is saying to these kids and their families, and to inmates?
Samantha: I love you, I see you, I care for you. And I died for you.
WOULD YOU JOIN WITH US IN PRAYER? Please pray that every child who attends Camp for Kids or day camps would come to know the love of Jesus, and that each volunteer feels the courage, strength and wisdom of God. Click here to sign up to receive regular prayer updates.
