The last week of October is National Correctional Consciousness Week in the Philippines. It was a declaration made by President Fidel Ramos in 1995 in recognition of the dignity of offenders, of prison personnel and volunteers and the goal of the system at large being a venue for rehabilitation.
Almost 25 years since that declaration the Philippines has risen to the top of the world’s list for occupancy levels in the prison system at 464% occupancy level. (1)
With the increasing demise of the Filipino penal system, how does an organization like G.O.D. International promote a heightened consciousness of individuals within the correctional system?
In large part, we keep doing what we have been doing - weekly visiting the Tacloban City men and women jails and providing facilitated activities to promote social, mental, physical and spiritual well-being.
Only this week, at the request of the Tacloban City jail personnel, we created a special event for both men and women. So, we helped women inmates enjoy what we called “A Day of Good Vibes.” That means they enjoyed photo booths, a mani/pedi station, an art corner, snacks, and word puzzles.
The women loved being cared for and considered, some even commenting that they felt for a little while like they weren’t even in jail anymore. One of the guards joked that it didn’t look like a party because so many of the women were crying. One inmate corrected the guard, “We are crying tears of joy.”
The gathering for the men had a different tone, as our personnel were asked to conduct a values formation seminar. The men were asked to make a timeline of their lives, both from the past and hoping into the future. They set physical, mental, social and spiritual goals to work towards. And of course, it wouldn’t have been a Filipino party without games and snacks to help the men feel loved.
In the face of such a daunting future for these inmates, they need people in their present moment who love them and want to walk alongside them as they navigate what can be a harsh and unhopeful day-to-day experience.
Part of becoming conscious of the correctional system is highlighting that the system is full of very vulnerable individuals, who need advocating for, who need educated, who need given enough attention to know that they matter and that they have something to keep moving towards.
Pray for our team in the Philippines as they consistently invest in this forgotten population during their weekly gatherings.
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