Banis Nius

Date: 27^th August, 2017

“In the face confusion, disasters and social disorders, criminal activities arise, rapes increase, including corruption….We as a team, as a people, has to come together and do the right thing…we definitely need our land to be healed by our God,” Pastor Samson Koiti said during the National Repentance Day service in Bomana Prison in August, 2017

Pastor Samson Koiti from Seventh Day Adventist Church quoted the Bible text on Psalms: 32, Verse: 5 as he delivered his messages to prisoners and correctional officers with their families in Bomana Correctional Institution during Repentance Day.

“In the face confusion, disasters and social disorders, criminal activities arise, rapes increase, including corruption. What can we do about this? Government can talk and talk and pump so much money trying to solve one problem here and several others pop up on the other side.  We as a team, as a people, has to come together and do the right thing too. I appreciate this day because God used our leaders to appoint this day to do something. And so we definitely need our land to be healed by our God,” he said.

“We definitely need our department, our government to be healed by God. That is why this day is very important. Nobody will bring about this healing but the God who created this world and universe, He alone will bring healing to this nation. And the sons and daughters of this country, the authorities, the church leaders, need to come together and say sorry, we must come together and say sorry to God and forgive and forget the past and look on to God and move into the future. Then we will never go wrong.”

He said we need to right [correct] wrongs, this is our time to right to wrongs. We need God in our organisation on top of our accountability. This country needs God, then the healing will take place.

Commissioner for Correctional Service Michael Waipo who attended the ceremony acknowledged the message delivered. He re-iterated that on February 2014 when he first appointed as the Acting Commissioner he committed the organisation to God seeing the importance of God being the centre of all dealings of the organisation.

“God is good and looked after us until this far. The evidence is what you are seeing right now. This is not a mistake. This day also gives us the opportunity to truly say sorry and ask God to forgive us. The powerful message given by servant of God help us to evaluate ourselves and seek God for forgiveness and today is the opportunity,” he said.

Date: 10^th April, 2017

Forty three participants from Kerevat Correctional Institution in East New Britain Province completed two weeks of training-based workshop on Creative Writing on 07^th of April, 2017.

The workshop was facilitated and delivered by two lecturers from Language Department of University of Papua New Guinea.

Commenced on the 27^th of March, the participants were guided through basic writing principles, script writing and editing as they worked on their autobiographies and short stories.

The draft script of more than 180 pages was finalized during the final week of the workshop and was presented to Superintendent Steven Kaspou, the Director of Rehabilitation Programs and Prison Industries in Correctional Service.

The participants were 18 detainees, 21 correctional officers, 3 police officers and one wife of a correctional officer. 

The training was made possible by National Literacy & Awareness Secretariat of the Department of Education.