Prison Fellowship of Nigeria, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) has trained 50 children of inmates serving various jail terms at the Keffi Medium Security Correctional Centre on bread baking.
Evangelist Kpame Andrew, Acting Chairman of the fellowship in Nasarawa state made this known at the closing ceremony of the two days training held recently in Keffi local government area of the state.
Andrew said the initiative sponsored by the Karu Zone of the NGO is through the NGO’s Promise Path Project (PPP) which also offered the kids career mentoring and how to draw closer to God.
Andrew who stated that PPP is designed by God to reach out to children of inmates, while the job of the caregiver group is to follow God’s instruction, added that PPP has been a success since it’s inauguration.
He then called on the children who are beneficiaries of the project to ensure to avail themselves for the training packages to enable them put into practice what they have learnt.
In a similar vein, both Dr Kolade Emmanuel, Chairman Northern Zone, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and Rev. Grace Oloyede, Coordinator, PPP also praised the impact of the project in the lives of beneficiaries, adding that the effort is an opportunity for the children of inmates to recover what was lost.
Speaking to newsmen, Pastor Taiwo Adekunle, Zonal Coordinator, Prison Fellowship of Nigeria, Karu Zone explained that the NGO is part of Prison Fellowship International which is in 120 countries all over the world.
“Our job is to visit the inmates just as Jesus Christ said that ‘when I was in prison you visited me’, that is our vision. And we do not only visit them in prison, but we also visit their families to look after them.
“Those who want to go to schools, we pay their school fees as well as those who want to learn trade.
“One of our projects is Promise Path Project (PPP) that is why we are here for the two days camp. Through PPP, we cater for the children of inmates. From research we discovered that because their parents are incarcerated most of their kids dropped out of school,” he said.
He added that Nasarawa State chapter of Prison Fellowship of Nigeria is one of the pioneering chapters of the PPP and since the inauguration of the project three years back, the chapter has been paying school feels of the children of inmates.
“We get to know about them through the inmates. When we get their addresses, we visit caregivers or their families to take-over the welfare of these children.
“Only for this Zone, we take children as far as Shafa, Gwagwalada and other places in Federal Capital Territory, since their parents are incarcerated here in Keffi.
“We visit them, pay their school fees, we visit their schools, encourage them, and then we give them school materials. We ensue that they are in school,” he said
He pointed out that the project is not only for children of Christian inmates but for all inmates irrespective of religious background.
“As we speak now, we have about 50 children under our payroll for the past three years. Some of our children have graduated while some of them are about to finish secondary school.
“We don’t just want to be paying their school fee, that is why we bring them here to camp them and have them encouraged. We also want to introduce God to them. We also teach them skills. In this camp for instance, we have taught them how to bake bread.
“Last year, we taught them soap making, making of small chops and so on. Also, we orientate them about career choice. So, we are also mentoring them. Our belief is that for one to become a good citizen of Nigeria, he or she must be spiritually and physically sound,” he said. END