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The Ghana National Tailors and Dressmakers Association (GNTDA) has donated food items, detergents, medical drugs and sanitary pads to the female department of the Nsawam Medium Security Prison.
The food items included 25 cartons of soft drinks, 25 bags of gari, 5kg of rice (17 bags), bottled water and seven gallons of cooking oil.
The detergents comprised a box of soap, six bottles of disinfectant, a bag of washing soap, as well as four packs of toothpaste and 30 packs of toothbrushes.
Other items were 42 packs of sanitary pads and two boxes of drugs, all valued at GH¢14,600, with GH¢3,000 cash.
At a short ceremony to hand over the items last Tuesday, the Secretary of the association, David Kwame Abotsi, said the donation aimed at addressing the basic needs of the female inmates to ensure their well-being during their incarceration.
He indicated that the sanitary pads would also cater for their menstrual needs while the food items would supplement the prison’s food supply.
The Secretary of the association said the gesture formed part of activities of their 2024 conference currently ongoing and that it was in line with its corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Mr Abotsi expressed the association's readiness to support the prison with a stitching machine to be used at the prison’s garment centre, to enable the inmates to learn a trade and be self-sufficient after serving their prison sentences.
Vulnerable womenMr Abotsi further stated that the association was concerned about the vulnerability of women in general and the female inmates in particular and that it would continue to provide for their needs since they were part of the society.
"Although prisoners are perceived to be outcasts in society, they can play meaningful roles and be beneficial to society after serving their prison sentences, and as such they must be embraced," Mr Abotsi stated.
The Assistant Superintendent in charge of the female department of the prisons, Sophia Ofori, received the items and commended the association for its kind gesture, adding that it would go a long way to support the female inmates.
ASP Ofori appealed to other benevolent organisations to come to the aid of the prison, particularly the female department, to support them.
"On behalf of the staff and inmates of this outfit, and on my own behalf, I wish to express my sincerest gratitude to you for donating these items and I am most grateful for the kind support exhibited," ASP Ofori stated.
