Maghaberry Inmates Produce Braille Books For Malawi Children

Inmates at Maghaberry Prison have this week finished and handed over a consignment of Braille books for blind children in Malawi.

Justice Minister David Ford was at the Braille Unit in the prison for the handover of story books and a children’s Bible to a Finvoy-based Presbyterian Church group, for use in a school for blind children.

The Church Group has a long relationship with the Ekwendeni Mission Station in the Northern part of Malawi. Carrowreagh Primary School in north Antrim has established a link with Ekwendeni Primary School, to share cultural and educational ideas.

Minister Ford said: "This is an excellent example of where prisoners are making a real difference to the lives of people. Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world and poverty is an every day reality. These books will prove invaluable to a school which has very limited resources.

"The prisoners who produced these books have had the opportunity to give something back to society. I know their efforts will be appreciated by the children and teachers in the school in Malawi who will use them.

"The Braille Unit is one of the success stories of Maghaberry, giving prisoners a real and demonstrable chance to rehabilitate themselves. At the same time it provides them with a range of transferable skills which will be extremely beneficial to them post release. I commend the staff and prisoners of the Unit. I know that they will continue to make a significant contribution to the needs of the blind and partially sighted people in Northern Ireland."

Finvoy Presbyterian Church group member and former pupil of Carrowreagh School, Roberta Moore said: "It has been a privilege in the past to have visited the unit for blind and partially sighted children at Ekwendeni. In recent months it has also been exciting to see the development of this project at Maghaberry Braille Unit.

"I know the staff and children at Ekwendeni would want me to pass on a warm and heartfelt ‘thank you’ to the officer in charge and the men who have worked so hard and enthusiastically to print and produce these beautiful and very useful books and the copy of the Children's Bible. I know that when the books arrive safely at Ekwendeni there will be much rejoicing! Thank You so much."

(IT)