Leading members of the International Prison Chaplains Association, Ghana (IPCA GHANA), led by its National Chairman, Rev. Steve Mensah, were in Lublin, Poland, for an International Prison Ministry Conference.
The conference, which was held under the auspices of the International Ecumenical Conference of Prison Chaplains, was held at the Catholic University of Lublin.
The event, “Programmes Supporting Resocialisation; A Survey of Continents”, was attended by participants from Poland, the USA, Ghana and Denmark, among others.
Key speakers included the Rector of the Catholic University of Lublin, Rev. Prof. Miroslav Kalinowski, Father Gregory Draus, who is IPCA representative in Poland and a key organiser of the conference and Rev. Mensah of IPCA GHANA.
Prevention
During the event, Rev. Prof. Kalinowski took the participants through the topic ‘What to do to prevent prisoners from returning to Prison’.
He also presented a unique higher-education programme for prisoners, implemented by his university.
For his part, Rev. Mensah, who was one of the key speakers, spoke about the principles for a successful Prison Ministry.
He also gave key highlights of the success of Prison Ministry in Ghana, including IPCA GHANA’s novel anti-crime talks in senior high schools.
Apart from the Catholic University of Lublin, some of the sessions were held at the Lublin Remand Prison and the Caritas Centre in Siedlince.
Discussions
A delegation of the conference participants, including IPCA GHANA Chaplains, also called on the Mayor of Lublin for some fruitful discussions.
The IPCA GHANA Team included Deaconess Dr Mrs Angela Tena Mensah, Chaplain, Mrs Gifty Azeko and Chaplain, Esther Mensah.
They have since returned home.
