We give thanks and praise to God Almighty for being able to organize the 2020 Christmas day celebration with the prison inmates and Officers on duty across the country. We are eternally grateful for the material and financial support we received from faithful members and friends of the Prison Ministry as well as some Church Partners.
Over one hundred and fifty appeal letters were distributed to Heads of Partner Churches, corporate bodies and organizations, and members and friends of the Ministry. Follow up calls were made, as well as WhatsApp and text messages were sent to members for support in cash and kind.
The total budget for the party was GH₵ 116,498.55. By the grace of God, the Ministry received support of 50% of the total budget from its International Director Mr. Jim Thomas. The Ministry locally received cash donations and items including bags of rice, gallons of cooking oil, tin tomatoes, assorted drinks and biscuits, and boxes of carbolic soap.
Seed monies including service charge totaling GH₵ 15,000.00 were sent to the regional and district teams (with the exception of Forifori, Kumasi, Sunyani, and Sekondi prisons) through mobile money and bank account to assist them organize the Christmas celebration with the inmates in their respective regions/district.
In all, 3,800 inmates and Officers on duty were taken care of. Cooked food (jollof rice, chicken and fried plantain) was prepared and distributed to them. A week to Christmas day, bags of flour, buckets of margarine, yeast, spices and GH₵ 2,000.00 for labour and gas were presented to the Nsawam Female Prison to prepare and bake bread for the inmates of the Nsawam Prisons. On Christmas day, the cooked food, soft drinks, biscuits and carbolic soaps were presented to 3,840 inmates and Officers on duty at the Nsawam Prisons i.e. male (2,900), Female (130), and condemned (180). James Camp Prison (185), Senior Correctional Centre (315) and Osu Remand Home (100) were also presented with the same items as Nsawam prisons. Dry ration of bags of rice, boxes of chicken, gallons of cooking oil, boxes of tin tomatoes, soft drinks, biscuits and boxes of carbolic soap were presented to the Akuse Prisons and Awutu Prison Camp to enable them cook and serve the inmates on Christmas Day.
Visits to the various prisons were made up of members and friends of the Prison Ministry and members of the Baptist Women’s Convention who joined the number in a Praise and Thanksgiving service to celebrate the Saviour’s birth.