General News of Tuesday, 20 February 2007

Source: GNA

Nsawam Prison gets library

Accra, Feb 20, GNA - A library facility was on Tuesday inaugurated at the condemned block of the Nsawam Medium Prison with the hope that it would help as a tool of change for inmates.

The library was provided the New Life Christian Love Fellowship, a Non-governmental Organisation.

Miss Ama Lokko, president of the Fellowship, expressed the hope that the facility would enable inmates read widely to update their knowledge and skills.

"We opened the library so you can read and upgrade yourselves," she told the inmates.

The Ghana Book Trust and some individuals provided the books, which covering social studies, fiction, religion and literature. There were also reference documents.

Miss Lokko urged the inmates to read and conform to changes that evolve around them so as to reintegrate into society, thereby doing away with the stigmatisation from the public.

She appealed to the prison authorities to expand the condemned block and provide enough ventilation for the inmates. Mr Samuel Kofi Esubonteng, a member of the Prison Council, who performed the inaugural ceremony, said called on Christians to give love and care to the prisoners. He noted that the library would greatly enhance facilities in the prison service.

"This is a transformation of the condemned block to a more humane place for inmates to read and write," he said, noting that education is a pivot around which development evolves. The Director-General of Ghana Prison Service, Mr William Kojo Asiedu, expressed the hope that it would transform the life of the inmates.

Mr Asiedu announced that inmates would soon have the opportunity to participate in a distance learning programme and a computer facility to be provided with support from the Church of Latter Day Saints.