A groundbreaking initiative has been launched in Abia State, southern Nigeria, to train prison inmates in compassion.
The programme hopes to eventually train over 8000 prisoners at the Umuahia Custodial Centre in how to offer compassion to themselves and others as well as in skills that can increase their employability upon release.
The project has been spearheaded by Compassion Connectors Nigeria, a movement that aims to help individuals and communities live with compassion and use solidarity and connection to tackle some of the country’s most pressing issues. They are a part of the Global Compassion Coalition [1], an international charity based in the United States.
Research shows that the biggest predictors of reoffending by released prisoners is a lack of employable skills combined with difficulties integrating back into society. The latter issue is often compounded by a sense of alienation felt by the prisoners.
The Compassion Champions program aims at tackling both of these deficits by not only equipping prisoners with technical skills – such as in carpentry, digital design, and plumbing – but also helping them to cultivate their compassion for self and others. This emotional toolkit can help individuals address some of the impulses and thought processes that contributed to their original offense as well as helping them better communicate with and relate to others.
Compassion Connectors Nigeria hopes that the success of this programme in Umuahia will demonstrate the value of a fresh approach to the treatment of prison inmates. They are encouraging other authorities across Nigeria to engage with them, learn about the programme, and launch similar initiatives at their own custodial centres.
The launch [2], which took place on Monday 23 September at Umuahia Custodial Center, was attended by prison inmates, representatives of the Umuahia Custodial Centre including the Deputy Controller of Corrections, as well as dignitaries including faith leaders and members of other state-wise NGOs.
Uwalaka Uchechukwu, National Coordinator for the Nigeria Compassion Connectors, said:
“This is about showing we can and must do things differently. If we continue to punish and demean prisoners all we do is alienate them further from the rest of society. That’s bad for them and bad for the rest of us. It leads to more crime, more violence, more conflict, and a weaker society. The Compassion Champions programme aims to bridge that divide and restore humanity to the way we in Nigeria approach the treatment of our prison inmates.
“And I hope that what we do here will serve as an example and a message to all the states across our country. We know many authorities are struggling for resources. The magic of what we are doing is that it is scalable and, crucially, can not only change the individual lives of prisoners but – we hope – the culture of our prisons and of the society that these prisoners return to upon their release.”
Matt Hawkins, Chief Operating Officer at the Global Compassion Coalition, said:
“The Global Compassion Coalition exists because we believe we need to see an urgent reawakening of our common humanity across the world. Conflict, division, inequality – it all stems from a mode of living that emphasises difference, competition, and, at the extreme end, hatred. We have to move beyond that. We have to reconnect. Uwalaka and the Compassion Connectors Nigeria project at Umuahia is an inspiring and perfect example of that ideal in action. They are showing that our humanity has to have no boundaries. They are showing that we have to see the potential in all. And they are demonstrating that to change our societies we have to be courageous and brave. Thank you to Uwalaka, thank you to the Connectors in Nigeria, and thank you to all who have supported this daring new initiative.”
