15th April 2003
Under the “Big Book Share,” a new project launched recently at Magilligan Prison in County Londonderry, imprisoned fathers and their children can select a book together during a prison visit, which the father then records onto an audio tape. When the child returns to visit, he or she is presented with a “gift bag” containing the tape and a copy of the book. The project, a collaborative effort by the Northern Ireland Prison Service, the Western Education and Library Board and NIACRO,is an extension of the child visits program under which jailed fathers and their children spend 90 minutes together on a visit over lunch.