Religion of Saturday, 2 July 2011

Source: GNA

Christian NGO supports prisoners, orphans

Sunyani (B/A) July 2, GNA - Pastor Moses Kyeremeh, Founder of Glorious Victory Ministry, a Christian non-governmental organisation, has presented three bales of second-hand clothing to inmates of Sunyani Central Prisons. Two bales of the clothing are to be distributed among the female inmates whilst the remaining one is for their male counterparts. The ministry also donated a bale of similar clothing to inmates at the Compassion is Love in Action orphanage at Yawhima, near Sunyani.

Making the presentation, Pastor Kyeremeh said in addition to promoting spiritual growth and development, the ministry supports the needy in society, especially widows and prisoners. He expressed concern about the deplorable conditions in the prisons stating, 93Like all other Ghanaians, prisoners also have the right to basic amenities such as toilets." Pastor Kyeremeh appealed to the government to improve on the sanitation situation and also called for an increase in the daily 60 pesewa feeding fee per inmate in the prisons. Senior Chief Officer Mohammed F. Ganda, who received the items on behalf of the prisoners, thanked the ministry for the gesture. He said the central prison had 805 inmates made up of 791 males and 15 females.

Senior Chief Officer Ganda expressed concern about overcrowding among the male inmates indicating that instead of the proposed intake of 500 the prisons sometimes accommodate more the 800 inmates. He appealed to the government to improve on the sanitation situation, saying, 93even though there are supposed to be toilets in each cell, inmates have to queue for the general toilet." The Senior Chief Officer noted that the reformation of inmates was a shared responsibility and advised society to embrace them after they had served their sentences.

At Yawhima, Madam Shallot Osei Kwarteng, founder of the orphanage, also thanked the ministry for the items and appealed to other NGOs to support in the upbringing of the inmates. She said currently the orphanage had 30 children comprising 20 boys and 10 girls.

In another development, Mr. Raphael Godlove Ahenu Junior, Chief Executive Officer of Global Media Foundation, an NGO, presented 70 pairs of used shoes and sandals to the Frontier Mission Network, a charity organisation operating in the Northern Region to be distributed among the needy and vulnerable in that region.