While Riahna (not her real name) was in prison in 2019, she wrote a story titled Together We Grow, to remind her two young children that she loves them.
In her story, the sun and rain — representing her two sons, now aged six and 10 — take care of a seedling and gives it strength. She is the seedling.
On Saturday (March 13), President Halimah Yacob read the story to a group of 28 former female inmates and their children at the Istana.
The visit was the first Garden Tour @ Istana in over a year since the coronavirus hit Singapore.
The book Love Beyond The Walls, an anthology of 10 stories written by mothers who were previously incarcerated, was launched at the event.
Riahna's story is part of the anthology.
An audio recording and printed copy of the stories, written by the mums while they were in prison, were given to their children during an open visit to the prisons in December 2019.
The charity New Life Stories, which works with incarcerated mothers and their children, guided the women in the writing process, collated the stories and published the book.
The book, of which 1,000 hard copies will be printed, is available for purchase on Giving.sg from Saturday.
Each book costs $35, with $5 covering postage. Proceeds will go towards supporting the charity's programmes.
New Life Stories executive director Saleemah Ismail hopes the book will help break down the wall between the formerly incarcerated mothers and their children.
She added: "This book shares the mother's expressions of love which can be used to rebuild the bonds that they have lost with their child and to eventually create new life stories with their families."
Riahna, 27, said that since her release from prison in September 2020, after serving a six-year drug-related sentence, she has been working hard on rebuilding her relationship with her children.
The three of them live with Riahna's grandmother, who cared for the children while she was in prison.
She still reads her story to her sons occasionally.
Now that they are a bit older, they better understand her message, and particularly enjoy the parts of the story that represent each of them, she said.
She added that she was honoured to have her story read by the President.
"I haven't really done much for the kids, and yet I can see that my children are really proud of me, especially my older son. I can see so much pride in his eyes," said Riahna.
On Saturday, the visitors were also taken around the Istana gardens with Madam Halimah and volunteers from the National Parks Board, and got to learn about the plants by using their five senses.
Speaking to the media later, Madam Halimah said research has shown that when female prisoners feel that they have family and social support, the likelihood of reoffending is much lower.
"So as a society, we need to continue to add ways to support mothers and children of mothers who are incarcerated," she said.
