Crime Check Foundation, CCF has responded to the distress call of the Ghana Prisons Service with a donation of 100 mattresses worth Twelve Thousand Ghana Cedis.
The gesture is to help inmates sleeping on the bare floors to have comfortable spaces to lay their heads.
Presenting the items, the Executive Director of CCF, Ibrahim Oppong Kwarteng said the welfare of inmates should not be ignored especially in the COVID-19 period. He said for the Prisons Service to effectively execute its mandate, it must be adequately equipped, hence the need for individuals and corporate bodies to support the Service with the items that would go a long way to significantly reduce congestion in the prisons and minimize contact to contact situations.
“We thought it prudent to talk to donors of our Foundation to quickly come to the aid of the Ghana Prisons Service. We have brought 100 pieces of mattresses to help our brothers and sisters in prisons, especially at this crucial time of the COVID-19 pandemic. We know that for the Prisons Service to carry out its mandate of reformation and rehabilitation it is the responsibility of all Ghanaians to come to the aid of the Service. We hope that other well-meaning Ghanaians will also follow suit.” He said.
Mr. Oppong Kwarteng who also doubles as the Ambassador Extraordinaire of Ghana Prisons appealed for support for the Prisons Service.“We would want to use this opportunity to appeal to Ghanaians all over the globe to help support the Prisons. They need sanitizers and other PPE’s. This is not the time we should turn our back on them but rather fulfill a Godly responsibility which is enshrined in both the Bible and Quran on the need to go the aid of prisoners.”
Receiving the items on behalf of the Ghana Prisons Service, the Director of Prisons in charge of Welfare, DOP Leopard Kwame Amoah Ansah thanked CCF for its relentless support towards the work of the Service. “You have been with us and you know the inside out of our facilities. So we are grateful that you are responding to our request to assist us. Certainly, you know the overcrowding situation in our facilities.” He said.
Speaking to crimecheckghana.org, DOP Amoah Ansah said the donation is timely as it will help improve the well-being of inmates during this COVID-19 pandemic. He appealed to corporate bodies to assist the Service in improving its service delivery and also called on the government to increase the feeding fee of inmates which stands at one Ghana Cedis Eighty pesewas.
“I add my voice to corporate Ghana and indeed organizations that are interested in corrections to come on board and assist us. In addition to the PPEs, we need nutritious meals for our inmates. The few medical infirmaries we have we also need support to renovate and refurbish them. We appeal to government to push forward our request for an increase in the feeding rate of inmates.” He said.
CCF has been instrumental in facilitating the execution of the reformation and rehabilitation mandate of the Ghana Prisons Service through its support programmes that seek to improve the welfare of prison inmates.
