Programmes
Religious ServicesVolunteers and organisations have an important role to play in the provision of religious-based programs and in assisting the inmate's integration back into society.
Spiritual guidance could facilitate in the inmate's rehabilitation. It provides the necessary emotional and mental encouragements for inmates to cope with life's experiences.
Spiritual support forms an important aspect of offenders' psychological well-being. It can give them the mental strength to maintain a positive outlook in life.
The religious services are provided by volunteers from the various religious organisations such as Prison Fellowship Singapore, Singapore Buddhist Federation, Roman Catholic Prison Ministry, SANA (Muslim), Sikh Welfare Council etc.
Inmates are given the opportunities to advance their educational qualifications, such that they can strive to be responsible and valuable citizens upon their release.
Besides providing a conducive learning environment for the inmates, support from individual volunteers in terms of supervising or tutoring them in their weakest subjects is important. This will improve offenders' learning capacity to achieve academic success. Volunteers not only help offenders academically, but also provide the encouragement and motivational support by acting as mentors and friends.
The therapeutic and creative energy from Art and Music can make a difference in theinmates' lives. There are many creative talents among the inmates. Exposing them to creative activities such as visual arts and performing arts can bring out the innate talent in many of them. Current programmes for inmates include choir, band, acapella singing, water-colour painting workshop.
Realising the importance of equipping inmates with the relevant skills to ensure their successful reintegration upon release, organizations and volunteers are engaged to provide skills training and workshops on a voluntary basis.
The enrichment programmes conducted by volunteers currently include anger and emotion management workshop, financial planning, speechcraft programmes etc. Such programmes provide the necessary skill sets, as well as positive habits and social values to inmates, so as to augment the rehabilitation efforts and allow effective integration into the society.
Volunteers impart new skills and knowledge through sports such as sepak takraw and netball, which gives inmates a chance to discover their potential and put talents into good use. It provides the inmates with avenues to channel their physical energy constructively, while picking up new skills at the same time.
