18 inmates graduate from carpentry, anger management classes

Jul 26, 2018 News

The Possibilities: A few pieces of furniture produced by inmates who participated in the recent carpentry and joinery classes

The Timehri Prison on Tuesday hosted its second graduation for the year. The event saw 16 inmates graduating from two of the training programmes offered at the location. According to Gladwin Samuels, Director of Prisons (ag), eight inmates graduated from the Anger Management Programme facilitated by Solutions Training Consultancy and Counselling Services headed by Mr. Wil Campbell. The other eight inmates graduated from the Carpentry and Joinery class facilitated by Lansdale Chapman.

“The Anger Management class has been instrumental in fostering behaviour changes among the inmates. The class taught them to accept that anger is an emotion within us all and it cannot be denied but instead managed. They also learnt to accept responsibility for their actions when they are angry, this is followed by positive coping methods that can be used to combat an explosive response with a passive one.”

This programme encourages logical thinking and improving decision making. The carpentry and joinery class brought out some of the pieces, which were showcased at the graduation.

“This class teaches a skill that can be used outside of prison to obtain finances as opposed to returning to a life of crime. The pieces showcased were a chest of drawers, combination chairs and bar chairs.”
The Anger Management Programme is currently at three locations and is expected to commence at a fourth location in August 2018, Samuels disclosed.

The graduation was a success as family members of the graduates were allowed to attend and lend their support. There are at least four programmes that are expected to be restarted in the new academic year, including CSEC Maths and English.

According to the Prison’s Chief, despite the constraints the Guyana Prison Service will continue to fulfill one of its main responsibilities – rehabilitation.

“We believe that changing the thinking of inmates and equipping them with marketable skills could result in a reduction of our recidivism rate.”