Musical Gift to Prisoners atNorthward
Kenneth Watler with OfficerTyrone Farnum
by Sandra Catron
Given the turmoil last October at H. M.Prison at Northward which created the needed attention of thecommunity and Government authorities, it is encouraging to seethat strides are being made at continuing improvement.
One local businessman, Kenneth Watler of Funky Tangs, has demonstrateda willingness to contribute to the prisoners' rehabilatation bythe donation of a Yamaha keyboard for recreational and musicalactivities.
Press Relations Officer, Mr. Tyrone Farnum, accepted the gifton behalf of the Prison, explaining that this musical partnershipcame about because officers at the prison are trying to encouragethe natural talents of the inmates.
He stated, "Many inmates at Northward are very talented andwe are trying to support them as much as possible. It is hopefulthat this encouragement will allow them to pursue their talentsonce released from prison." Mr. Watler, stated that as alocal business owner he feels socially compelled to do his part."We are just trying to help out the community."
Mr. John Forster, Director of Prisons, stated that there are toomany prisoners sitting around not making productive use of theirtime. He notes, "when prisoners are not being productivethey are not making effective use of community monies."
He stressed that the Prison is under a new regime and there willbe a specific order to which prison programmes will be given priority.Mr. Forster further stated that among the Prison's priorities,are:-
- Addressing offending behaviour issues by offering courses suchas drug rehabilitation and anger management.
- Preparing inmates for release by allowing the prisoners to learnjob skills.
- Allowing inmates to work on various building projects both offand on site. These include building a new purpose built workshopand making needed improvements to the visitors' area.
- Allowing the inmates to participate in leisure activities.
The Director expressed his desire to keep these objectives ina very specific order. He states that allowing inmates to makeconstructive use of their leisure time, whilst important, is nota top priority. He states, "By all means, encouraging musicaltalent is encouraged. However, one has to remember that as anoffender there are more pressing issues to be addressed, suchas rehabilitation and preparing the inmates for release back intosociety."
He is extremely grateful for the support from the community andemphasised, "The support has been overwhelming; without itwe would not be able to move forward at the rate that we currentlyare."
Mr. Farnum agrees with the sentiments of the Prison Director andstates, "There are many programmes that inmates can get involvedin if they so choose."
The prison offers programmes such as wood working, mechanics andan opportunity to obtain a degree via correspondence schools.These are done in hopes of giving inmates the necessary skillsto be successful upon their release from prison.
It is a known fact that the re-integration of prisoners back intosociety can be a difficult process. The donation by Funky Tangsis an encouraging initiative for others to follow.