by Daniela Bosioc

19 October 2010

Torit, Sudan: “At the heart of volunteerism are the ideals of service and solidarity and the belief that together we can make the world a better place. In that sense, we can say that volunteerism is the ultimate expression of what the United Nations is all about," says former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.
 
Isaac Abuaku-Ameyaw of Ghana was on assignment with the UN Police in the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS). He was deployed to Torit as Correction Advisor at the Torit County Prison. His main role was to train, mentor and advise the prison’s staff (the majority being ex-combatants) in prison administration, human rights, treatment of prisoners, all in connection with local stakeholders. The Torit County Prison has about 200 prisoners, male and female. A special approach in the training is given to vulnerable prisoners, juvenile offenders, women and mothers with children.

His passion for the work at the Prison captured the attention of Jan Harm Schepers, Diederick Stoffers and Catharina Gerrits, three UN Police colleagues also with UNMIS at the Torit team site. They visited the prison with Isaac.

After several visits to the prison, they noticed that the only educational and recreational area the prisoners could use was an improvised shaky shelter. Jan proposed that his colleagues help the prison build a better space for the prisoners to use for education and recreation.

The Police Advisors got the prison’s administration on board, engaged the prisoners in the preparation work, designed the project for the structure, bought the materials and helped build it together with some of the prisoners and local carpenters.

After a week, the building was finished and now the prisoners from Torit have a new assembly area for inmate education activities such as literacy and family life programmes as well as recreation and church activities.

“As personnel of the UN, so much is expected of us,” explains Isaac, “and projects like this show that we identify ourselves with the local problems and create good will with the community.”

During their six month mission to Sudan, Isaac, Jan, Diederick and Catharina did not limit their activities to the county prison, they also worked with a women’s association, a community based organisation for the empowerment of women.

“We organised workshops to try to make women more aware of their rights and their position in the society, giving them a picture of international standards regarding the role of women,” says Diederick.

The four of them recently ended their mission in Torit but left a legacy behind, not only for the community, but also to their UN colleagues.

“We decided to undertake the project trying to make a difference. We wanted to do something more, outside of the UN Police duties we were here to do. It is within the reach of all of us who come to Sudan to go the extra mile and contribute for the betterment of the people of this country,” concludes Jan Schepers.