TEAM VISIT TO ETHIOPIA
January 2019
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
January 2019
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Trustees Bob Spratt and Di Gilmore visited Ethiopia in January 2019 accompanied by Di's husband Boyd and supporter Tim Coleman.
It is hard to find words to describe the impact on us of such visits. As well as helping us to be focused in our involvement there is the awe and wonder of witnessing and in a small way sharing in the Christ centred work of our partners Justice for All PF Ethiopia (JFA-PFE)
In addition to prisons visits, there was time in the office being brought up to date and to share in the amazing Conference with Chaplain Coordinators from all over Ethiopia.
The Conference was held in the World Training Centre in Adama which is south of the capital Addis Ababa. There were great times of worship and there was teaching as well as fellowship with opportunity for our brothers and sisters to learn from one another about the situations in their various parts of the vast country.
The Conference was also an opportunity to celebrate 20 years of partnership since Bob's first visit in January 1999 and to review some of the amazing things that have been achieved during those years.
Whilst in Adama it was possible to visit a secure vocational training establishment. Here some of the prisoners were running a business that prepared and sold meals. They even ground their own corn to produce the flour. The directors and employees were all prisoners! This establishment also runs several year long vocational training courses for prisoners from other prisons in the Region.
After the Conference the team travelled south to Assela Prison (around 100 miles south of Addis Ababa). Here they met with some of the young Twinkle of Hope children in prison with their mums and also their teacher/carer who was able to explain the current situation following the pardoning of many women on Christmas Day (7 January).
The following day's journey was to Fiche Prison 80 miles north of Addis Ababa. This is the prison where twenty years ago Bob was asked by the head of security to take a picture of the children. It was this picture that helped launch Twinkle of Hope . Here there is a play area with swings, roundabout, slide etc which is in memory of Bob's late wife Mary.
On the way back to Addis Ababa the road was closed due to crowds celebrating Timkat - the baptism of Jesus. There was a restaurant nearby so they decided on a meal and then continued their journey.
The final prison visit was to Addis Alem where the whole prison population was gathered to celebrate the opening of a new dormitory for the women prisoners - a joint effort by JFA-PFE and FPFE. Following this there was a meeting with staff and some prisoners when Bob was presented with a gift made in the prison.
The contrast between UK prisons where inmates can be locked up for 23 hours with no purposeful activity and the prisons visited by the team which are run as responsible communities with everyone unlocked and many at work in their own businesses was staggering.
It is hard to find words to describe the impact on us of such visits. As well as helping us to be focused in our involvement there is the awe and wonder of witnessing and in a small way sharing in the Christ centred work of our partners Justice for All PF Ethiopia (JFA-PFE)
In addition to prisons visits, there was time in the office being brought up to date and to share in the amazing Conference with Chaplain Coordinators from all over Ethiopia.
The Conference was held in the World Training Centre in Adama which is south of the capital Addis Ababa. There were great times of worship and there was teaching as well as fellowship with opportunity for our brothers and sisters to learn from one another about the situations in their various parts of the vast country.
The Conference was also an opportunity to celebrate 20 years of partnership since Bob's first visit in January 1999 and to review some of the amazing things that have been achieved during those years.
Whilst in Adama it was possible to visit a secure vocational training establishment. Here some of the prisoners were running a business that prepared and sold meals. They even ground their own corn to produce the flour. The directors and employees were all prisoners! This establishment also runs several year long vocational training courses for prisoners from other prisons in the Region.
After the Conference the team travelled south to Assela Prison (around 100 miles south of Addis Ababa). Here they met with some of the young Twinkle of Hope children in prison with their mums and also their teacher/carer who was able to explain the current situation following the pardoning of many women on Christmas Day (7 January).
The following day's journey was to Fiche Prison 80 miles north of Addis Ababa. This is the prison where twenty years ago Bob was asked by the head of security to take a picture of the children. It was this picture that helped launch Twinkle of Hope . Here there is a play area with swings, roundabout, slide etc which is in memory of Bob's late wife Mary.
On the way back to Addis Ababa the road was closed due to crowds celebrating Timkat - the baptism of Jesus. There was a restaurant nearby so they decided on a meal and then continued their journey.
The final prison visit was to Addis Alem where the whole prison population was gathered to celebrate the opening of a new dormitory for the women prisoners - a joint effort by JFA-PFE and FPFE. Following this there was a meeting with staff and some prisoners when Bob was presented with a gift made in the prison.
The contrast between UK prisons where inmates can be locked up for 23 hours with no purposeful activity and the prisons visited by the team which are run as responsible communities with everyone unlocked and many at work in their own businesses was staggering.