Ms Lee's advice to keep children 'at the heart of any anti-poverty drive' is commendable.

Sadly, poverty affects children most severely and in the least visible manner. As the most vulnerable, yet most promise-endowed sector of society, they are too often overlooked, devalued and misused.

We fail to miss the obvious time and time again - that children are bestowed to society as unique gifts and treasures to be cherished, nurtured and safe-guarded above all else.

Tragically, this is not the norm. And so strikingly true for children with imprisoned fathers and mothers.

Faced with having to cope with life in a dysfunctional family, children of the incarcerated are destined to experience the heartbreak of an absent parent and the painful social stigma of a 'prisoner's child'.

Life becomes a daily challenge as economic and emotional pressures stress the family unit to the point of collapse.

Inter-generational mobility is, sadly, downward as these destructive elements work in tandem to create a life stained by anti-social behaviour, poor self-esteem, suicide and criminal behaviour leading to imprisonment, like their absent parent before them.

Without external interventions to sustain the family unit and break the cycle of crime, a bleak future awaits literally thousands of children in Singapore.

Only a proactive response from public, private and community sectors will release these children from the poverty trap and onto the path of a bright hope and future. Without question, this is crime prevention at its best.

It's been well said that children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see.

For children impacted by crime, what message do we intend to convey to future generations? One of transformation and hope? Or continued despair?

Their destiny, for better or worse, is in our hands. If only we would care and dare to act - for their sake and those that follow on after us.

Jeannie Chiu (Ms)

National Director

Prison Fellowship Singapore

Neal L. Youngquist

International Services Director - Asia

Prison Fellowship International