Recycled Newspaper Boats, an inmate's past time

Text and Photographs By Loreen Neville
June 1st 2009

 

Apart from work and family, both my hubby and I, are involved in some social work activities or another. My hubby, a former high ranking government officer and the former president director of Jamsostek, is known as Bapak in Indonesia and has a stream of followers up till this very day and many of whom he had helped.  I can say that it is not easy to be his wife because there are so many people to deal with, and you cannot turn them away especially when they arrive from the villages to visit. Understanding and compassion is required here.

For three years now, we work together in engaging some social work and sports in the prison. For example, I had Telkoms through the heads of prisons, (later followed by all heads of prisons) to install pay telephone facilities, so that the inmates can call home and their love ones. This is also to avoid drug pushers using their cellular phones to conduct illegal activities within the prison walls.

My husband often created friendly soccer matches between the inmates and the employees of Jamsostek, this was to create a healthy sporting atmosphere within high walls.

 

Every year we would share and donated meat during the Muslim’s Idul Adha religion, to make the inmates happy, our small way of saying that, although in prison, life is not that bad. However, in my observation, a lot of rehabilitation is needed. The only social work currently conducted in the prison by NGO’s are from the Christian fellowship and some Muslim clerics who would visit to counsel the inmates. In late 2008, some form of education programs slowly emerged.

 

 

 

 

One of our happiness is seeing the results from the inmates we try to help. Like this recycled paper boat made from old newspapers and magazines. Yanto, is one of the 8 inmate boys, that both my hubby and I, often supply old newspaper and magazines to. He made this detail sampan or boat out of the old newspapers. It was remarkably and beautifully detailed. So far, I already have a collection of newspaper yachts, motorcycles, bicycles, and trishaws. I buy these from the boys at about IDR: 50,000 rupiah a piece. Instead of staying idle, the boys or inmates now have a productive past time, in our small programs of handicrafts and I am the only buyer so may God bless me for it.

Committing a crime is really bad, going to jail for it, is correct. However, not all prisoners are criminals or hard core criminals. Therefore, society should play a role into helping theses prisoners to rehabilitate so that they too one day, can rejoin society instead of being an outcast. Those who went to prison, it means that they have paid their dues. Remember I do not patronized criminals, especially thieves and rapists.  But once they have served their time, society should not hold it against them, unless it is a repeated offender.