The National Capital District Commission Sports, Youth and Civic Engagement Branch yesterday reaffirmed its commitment to detainee rehabilitation and community development through a food donation to the Bomana Correctional Services Institute in Port Moresby.
Both organizations have a growing partnership.
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The donation, presented by the branch’s manager Christhoper Topa and Detainees Rehabilitation and Reform Officer Thomas Lennie Marinae, included 17 cartons of lamb flaps, five cartons of chicken and 20 cartons of saveloys for detainees at the main compound today.
Mr. Topa said the initiative was part of the NCDC’s new structural reform aimed at strengthening rehabilitation programs and community partnerships.
“As part of the NCDC restructure, we are looking at ways where we can help detainees and upskill them while staying here,” he said.
“It’s not just about them staying here until they come out. We want to look at programs such as TVET, food preparation, technical training and other skillsets they can learn while in custody.”
Mr. Topa said the Social Development Directorate viewed detainees as part of the wider community and believed rehabilitation programs could help them become better citizens after release.
“The overall goal is to provide opportunities and programs that will enable them to become better people from a life-value standpoint and also through skill development,” he said.
He added that the NCDC preferred to support and strengthen existing community programs rather than duplicate efforts.
“We see where programs are already being implemented in the community, and instead of reinventing the wheel, we add value to the good work already being done on the ground,” Mr. Topa said.
He described the food donation as the beginning of stronger engagement between the two organizations and said future discussions would focus on identifying further areas where NCDC could assist.
Chief Superintendent and Commanding Officer of Bomana Correctional Services, Mr. Yelly Oiufa thanked the NCDC team for the donation and acknowledged the ongoing partnership between the correctional institution and the commission.
Mr. Oiufa said detainees had previously worked alongside NCDC in city cleaning activities aimed at keeping Port Moresby clean, safe and beautiful.
“These detainees and prisoners are also human beings who are here from all parts of the nation’s capital and across the country,” he said.
He revealed that NCDC had now established a dedicated correctional services and detainee rehabilitation office under its reform structure to work directly with Bomana Correctional Services Institute.
Mr. Oiufa also confirmed that a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was currently underway to formalize the partnership.
“In the past we worked together without an official document, but now an MOA is underway that will strengthen this partnership and guide our work moving forward,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Marinae, a former inmate himself, said additional support, including band sets and sporting equipment, was also being prepared and would be presented to the institution once ready.