So, this morning we went to the Luzira Womens Prison. Last August we visited there to take the knitting group (!!!) but this time we took an art class which somehow turned into a music class - well you know me, always take an opportunity to start a choir!! It was fabulous - approx 60 women in the class. The prisons here all encourage education at every level, from primary to university standard. The education system here is very different from the UK. For a start you have to pay, so if one year you cannot afford the fees it means that school year is on hold until you can. Of course, some people can never afford to go to school at all. The class we took this morning was at Primary levels 1-6. The women were so receptive, keen to participate and very motivated. Just because they are prisoners doesn't mean that they just sit around all day - they are desperate for things to do and getting an education that they have missed out on can be very important.
Our class was mixed with prisoners of all ages and all levels of conviction from remand, those with short sentences, those in for life and those condemned to death. The art went very well and we have some amazing pictures to bring home for our exhibition in the summer.
If a women has a child under the age of two when she is admitted to Luzira Womens Prison that child is admitted with her. Currently there are 10 children and we met a very gorgeous little girl called Linda who quite happily participated in our class.
Now, I am sure that teachers in the UK do not get asked to sing to their students whilst they are busy working - but we did. Christopher was a bit mortified but soon got into the rhythm! It was amazing to sing with these women whose harmonies are so beautiful.
Daphne and I also managed to spend some time talking to the O.C (Officer in Charge) about Palliative Care and explaining our training manual. This was a very beneficial meeting as this was the first time anyone had gone in specifically to discuss what happens with their dying patients. She was so grateful that she almost grabbed my hand off. So training is now set up there for medical staff, warders and prisoners which is wonderful and a great step forward.
I tried to put a picture in here of a piece of the artwork from the prison but unfortunately it didn't work - sorry!
This afternoon we visited Kigo Womens Prison to deliver art supplies to them. Over the next few days they will also be completing pictures for our exhibition. Kigo is a very small prison with only 46 prisoners, including 4 children. The atmosphere there is very different as most of women also work on the prison farm. This can mean that they are very tired a lot of the time, so it will be interesting to see what their pictures are like.
Hope you are all well.
Catherine and Christopher xx
Sounds like a wonderful day :-)
ReplyDelete