Christmas behind bars: Inmates given opportunity to share meals with loved ones

Women prisoners graduate from a skills development programme

As 2025 draws to a close, the Guyana Prison Service is reflecting on key rehabilitation initiatives that are transforming the lives of inmates.

Speaking on the final 2025 episode of Prison in Focus, officials highlighted a number of programmes aimed at strengthening family connections, supporting inmate development, and preparing inmates for reintegration—efforts that are particularly meaningful during the Christmas season.

Superintendent of Prisons David Shepherd explained that the annual Christmas Family Bonding Initiative remains one of the most impactful interventions for inmates and their loved ones. The programme allows incarcerated individuals to spend structured time with family members, sharing meals and moments that restore emotional balance and hope.

“The family bonding initiative was set up to create that psycho-social impact that is paramount to the sustenance and preservation of the family institution, because it gives the inmates that psychological relief through the brief socialising with their loved-ones, children, parents whom they were estranged from for a particular period. It gives them that comfort. It gives them that hope, and we know that with hope all possibilities can be achieved,” he said.

Shepherd added that the impact is especially profound for incarcerated mothers, whom he noted benefit emotionally from interacting with their children during the visits.

According to welfare officers, these connections play a critical role in shaping inmate behaviour. They explained that when family bonds are maintained, inmates are more motivated to follow prison rules and engage in self-improvement programmes.

Welfare Officer attached to the Georgetown Prisons, Marcelle Alison, noted that some inmates become withdrawn when relatives stop visiting due to distance or emotional strain.

In addition to family bonding initiatives, the Prison Service has strengthened its focus on rehabilitation through skill-based training programmes. Welfare Officer Dawn Sumner-London highlighted the Fresh Start Initiative, which equips inmates nearing release with practical skills and tools to support lawful livelihoods.

“The inmates are very much excited for some of the programmes. They have something to look forward to. Some would inform you that since they would have completed school they never were engaged in any formal training programmes. Some persons, they would like to better themselves, so we have the Fresh Start programme. Once they are trained, upon their release from prison we will provide them with the tools necessary to start their own business,” she noted.

Under the programme, inmates are assessed based on skills such as carpentry, welding, or agriculture.