The women’s fellowship of the Global Evangelical Church has marked Mother’s Day early by showing love to female inmates at the Kumasi Central Prisons in the Ashanti region.

The group donated assorted items worth GH¢6,000 to the inmates over the weekend ahead of the Mother’s Day celebration.

The donation forms part of the church’s prison ministry aimed at improving inmate welfare and reminding inmates that they are not forgotten by society despite their incarceration.

Items donated included toiletries, foodstuffs, drinks, bottled water, and financial support towards the purchase of a gas cooker.

Speaking during the presentation, Presbyter of the church, Christi Bobobi, said the gesture was motivated by the need to support women facing difficult circumstances and assured the inmates of the church’s continued support.

“We have to share whatever we have as women. That’s what motivated us because we know some of them are in need as inmates. This will not be the last time. The prison ministry is one of the important ministries in our work and, now that we have revived it, we will ensure that, as regularly as possible, we come,” she stated.

Mrs. Bobobi further appealed to individuals, churches, and institutions not to neglect inmates, stressing that showing love and support to prisoners remains an important responsibility.

“To institutions outside, we want to encourage them not to forget our sisters who have been locked behind bars. There are so many of them and they have many needs, so those who can give something should come and make donations to them,” she said.

Assistant Superintendent of Prisons, Vida Elizabeth Owusu, expressed gratitude to the church for the support, describing inadequate feeding grants as one of the major challenges confronting the female section of the prison.

According to her, although government increased the feeding grant for inmates from GH¢1.80 to GH¢5.00 per inmate, the amount remains insufficient considering the rising cost of living and food prices.

“The feeding fee was initially GH¢1.80, and now the government has increased it to GH¢5, but you know GH¢5 cannot do much these days,” she explained.

ASP Owusu noted that donations from the public significantly help improve feeding and living conditions for inmates.

“When people help us like this, we add it to their feeding grant so that the quantity of food will be sufficient for them,” she added.

She further appealed to the public to support the prison with food items, medical supplies, and materials for vocational and skills training programmes to aid the rehabilitation and reintegration of inmates into society.

“We need the public to assist us with items so that we can train them in various vocational skills. We also need medical supplies such as first aid drugs to care for them whenever they fall sick,” she said.

The donation by the Global Evangelical Church forms part of growing efforts by faith-based organisations to support correctional facilities through welfare interventions, rehabilitation support, and social inclusion initiatives for inmates across the country.