By Dundas Whigham
Rev. Gyasi Kwaa, National Director, Third Dimension Institute
The National Director of US-based Third Dimension Institute (TDI) Rev. Gyasi Kwaa has said that the institute is committed not only to providing the physical needs of inmates, but also the spiritual transformation and providing counselling and mentorship to inmates which will put them back on track after prison.
He made this known in a telephone interview after the institute together with research and education think tank, the Africa Centre for International Law and Accountability (ACILA) had presented a cheque [ads1]of Ghc10, 137.50 to the Senior Correctional Centre of the Ghana Prisons Service in Accra.
The donation will be used to assist 45 inmates register for this year’s National Vocational Training Institute (NVTI) examinations.
“After a person has gone through the system [prison], he needs some skills to reintegrate; he gets those skills but the skills are not enough. We believe that it is not enough to provide the material support, but also providing spiritual guidance and counselling so that they can put their lives back together and be on track. So that is where Third Dimension Institute comes in”, Rev. Kwaa noted.
In his remarks following the presentation of the cheque, he stated that TDI, which was founded by Dr. Frank Opoku Amoako, believes that it is essential to extend spiritual assistance to the inmates along with effective mentorship
to ensure that they can fulfill their God-given destinies. He added that this will go a long way to equip inmates in order to build upon their potentials, adding that the institute will continuously extend their support.
“We have to help them to re-make their lives and re-fulfil their destinies. Prisons should not end a person’s life and truthfully if we don’t do this, what will happen is that if they come out of prisons and are not totally reformed, the likelihood of some of them going back to prison is quite high. Already, available statistics indicates that almost a quarter of prisoners end up going back to prison. It could even go worse”, he said.
He explained that anyone can make a mistake and fall into the grips of the law but once they have served their term, they have to be successfully re-integrated into society to prevent the ex-inmates relapsing into crime.