More than 100 inmates of the National Palace of Corrections (NPC) in Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County, are benefiting from vocational skills training including laundry soap making.

This training was recently introduced at the facility with support from the Government of Liberia and UNMIL’s Corrections Advisory Unit (CAU) in collaboration with UNHCR and the NGO German Agro.

NPC Director Joseph Sumo says the move is meant to provide the inmates with employable skills that would make them contribute meaningfully to nation-building upon leaving prison.

The vocational programme was launched following a needs assessment coupled with a hands on approach to building the capacity of inmates and reducing attempted jailbreaks.

“Inmates are not to be placed in a cell without acquiring certain skills. They are part of society, so they must be trained with desirable skills to contribute to nation-building,” Sumo emphasized.

Sumo stressed the need for additional funding to the programme, adding that the inmates have produced more than 1,000 cakes of soap to be used by them and sold on the local market.

Susan Wulfu, a mentor from the Corrections Advisory Unit recalled that the prison being a rehabilitation center must be able to provide the needed skills to inmates while serving their time.

Wulfu said UNMIL, in collaboration with partners, was able to get some funding to train inmates in soap making, tailoring, tie-dying, agriculture and counseling at the facility.

“We are appealing to the Government of Liberia to put more effort aimed at helping these inmates, because without them being helped, they may go back to the society and redo the same crimes and return to prison. When they learn certain trade here they would become meaningful upon their release,” Wulfu said.

James A. Ballah, soap production trainer from German Agro, acknowledged the enthusiasm of the inmates in participating in the training programmes.

“They are supportive of the training and we are now producing the 72 per cent kind of laundry soap,” Ballah said.
The inmates have expressed hope that the training will enable them to support their families after they have left prison.