D

ayu Alit was only 16 years old when she was admitted to Kerobokan prison, sharing a room with adults back in 2012. She was sent to the notorious prison after police caught her with a packet of crystal methamphetamine.

The stint in jail was hard on the young Dayu. However, with the discovery of a new hobby, painting, her malaise began to subside.

She spent several bored, stress-filled months at the prison before deciding to join a painting class, an art program set up and run by Bali Nine member Myuran Sukumaran several years ago.

'€œI found a new spirit in life after taking Myu'€™s painting class,'€ Dayu said, referring to the drug convict by his nickname.

Dayu completed her first painting, that of an old man, in 2012. '€œIt wasn'€™t so bad,'€ she said, smiling.

Dayu has since been released from prison and studies at a senior high school. She expects to graduate in May, and continues to paint.

Dayu joined fellow former inmates and painting-class members for a group prayer Tuesday at midnight, just hours before Sukumaran and fellow Bali Nine convict Andrew Chan were taken to Nusakambangan prison island in Central Java.

Sukumaran, Chan and seven other Australians were found guilty of attempting to smuggle 8.3 kilograms of heroin from Bali to Australia in 2005.

The two are among at least 10 other death-row convicts slated to be executed in the coming few days.

'€œI feel very sad. I feel like I'€™m losing a family member,'€ Dayu said. Another former painting-class member, Anna Adriana, said she was praying for divine intervention.

'€œWe pray that God may open [the government'€™s] eyes. Myu is a kind person. He deserves forgiveness,'€ Anna said.

Many ex-prisoners have turned to art because of Sukumaran'€™s program, and there are plans to open a gallery. A gallery showing their work was scheduled to open next week in Legian. Dayu said the plan would go on even if the execution took place.

'€œIt will keep going. But we hope the execution doesn'€™t happen,'€ she said.

In addition to the painting class, Sukumaran and Chan also set up computer classes, philosophy classes, cooking classes, and bible study.

While serving his sentence, Sukumaran held an auction of artwork to raise money for the prison programs. In the last auction held in November last year, Rp 43 million was raised.

Another auction was planned to be held at the Hard Rock Cafe on Saturday. Myuran'€™s friend, Øivind Klungseth Zahlsen, who has supported the painting program for several years, said the auction would raise money to support the jail programs.

Until the day before he was notified of his execution, Sukumaran planned to continue with the program.

'€œHe expressed his worry about the project and wanted to bring in as much money as he could to help prisoners, ex-prisoners as well as Indonesia,'€ Zahlsen said, recalling a conversation he had with Sukumaran on Tuesday.

Zahlsen added that the auction would proceed, as would the idea to replicate the program in other prisons across Indonesia.

'€œThis is for the best for Indonesian prisoners and Indonesian ex-prisoners. That'€™s what is in the mind of Myuran. So, we will do what we can do to support this,'€ he said, adding that another inmate had expressed a willingness to take over the prison program from Sukumaran.