Kolbe Foundation, the Belize Central Prison, held its 5th Annual Family Day on December 26, 2006. Over 3,240 people including, families of inmates, church leaders and affiliated persons, showed up to spend the day with their loved ones.
On this day, the entire staff of the facility is called in to assist with the supervision. The weather was perfect and all things went well. BBQ was on sale, even though families were encouraged to bring that Christmas dinner and cake for the inmates. At the entrance to the prison compound, visitors were greeted by the sound of drummers and dancing by the prison’s Garifuna band.
The crowd actually picked up about 10 o’clock, and you could see them coming by the busloads and pickup loads. Some groups were as large as a dozen in number, from newborns to grandmothers and grandfathers. They all came with their arms full of goodies for the inmates they were visiting.
Although the atmosphere was very festive, no one got out of hand with his or her behaviour. Even though the number of visits was high, no contraband or illegal items were discovered. This spoke volumes for the respect and appreciation that the families had for the day. Also, no inmate gave any problems whatsoever. Their excellent conduct on this day is also a sign of their appreciation for this event.
Inmates are usually seen as the ones who benefit the most from these occasions, but family members also look forward to it. Under the Angel Tree Project anchored by Prison Fellowship Belize, gifts were procured and given to inmates for distribution by the inmates, to family members. This helped to restore self-esteem for the inmates and to further the bond between inmates and their children.
The day closed off at 3:00 p.m., with all visitors vacating the facility, all in good spirits. For those who had arrived early, they had spent the entire 7 hours with their loved ones, sharing meals and passing the time.
The only other times this is possible is the Kolbe Open Day, held in August, and during the year, competitions are held between buildings and the winner would get a family day, but it is then restricted to only those in that particular building, rather than the entire prison.
The great restriction on having this day is the cost associated with it. The rewards, however, of having the day is enormous, so through this medium, Kolbe Foundation wants to extend its sincerest gratitude to all those who participated in this year’s annual Family Day, and all the other functions that were held.
We look forward to your future support in the New Year ahead.
-press release-