NINETEEN inmates and a correctional officer from the Fort Augusta Adult Correctional Centre graduated from a customised art and craft and beaded jewellery course last Wednesday at the institution on Port Henderson Road, St Catherine.

The eight-week-long training programme was jointly sponsored by Heart Trust/NTA, which provided some of the course material as well as the instructor, and the European Union which provided financial support.

Similar programmes are in place at the Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre and the St Catherine Adult Correctional Centre.

Executive Director of Stand Up For Jamaica Maria Gullotta, who has been working inside the prisons to rehabilitate Jamaican inmates and who was instrumental in getting the programme started at the facility, commended the recent graduates for successfully completing the course.

Gullotta expressed joy at the items on display at the graduation ceremony, and also commended the inmates for their creativity. Beaming with pride, she further announced that some of the jewellery would be featured during this year’s staging of Caribbean Fashion Week at the National Sports Indoor Centre in Kingston.

The human rights advocate also mentioned that the jewellery would be on exhibition at Island Village, Ocho Rios, for a special fund-raising event on June 23.

“We are very happy about the work that the students are doing in the facility. We started with the CXC subjects and I am very proud that last year your Math passes were one of highest in Jamaica,” she said, noting that her organisation would be increasing the subjects from two to four next year.

According to Gullotta, the art and craft graduates have already received offers and have sold some of their jewellery.

“We want to get them on the market as we already have a brand … made in jail,” she added.

Gullotta, who expressed happiness with the outcome of the programme, also used the occasion to encourage the inmates to take advantage of the opportunities that they are afforded in the facility.

“This place is not a bed of roses, you can decide in the time you have to spend here what you want to do,” she said.

“You can decide if you want to be bad, or depressed or if you want to be the best at what you do. This is the time for the start of a challenging change.”

Head of the EU delegation in Jamaica, Jesus Orus Baguena, also commended the inmates and encouraged them not to be daunted by their situation but to get involved in the different programmes and to learn a skill.

Melody Palmer, project and partner specialist at Heart Trust/NTA, praised the inmates for the “excellent work” that they had put in, while noting that their grades were in the 90s and 80s.

Palmer described the participants as being “very bright, creative and talented” and disclosed that Heart Trust/NTA is looking at continuing the programme with a phase two.

Meanwhile, the inmates who participated in the programme expressed gratitude for the opportunity to learn a new skill, with some indicating that they intend to earn a living from the new knowledge when they are released.

“It was a very good opportunity, I enjoyed it and it’s very marketable, so I can go outside, do it and make a living,” said a 23-year-old inmate.

Another inmate, who is 55 years old said: “I decided to do it because at my age I can’t go and look work, so I decide to learn a skill. I learn floral arrangement, sewing and now I am learning computer skills.”

According to her, she also plans on using the skill along with other things to keep herself afloat when she is released next month.