The Ashanti Regional Centre for National Culture (CNC) has trained about 40 inmates of the Kumasi Central Prison in batik, tie and dye and printing. Mr Peter Kofi Marfo, Acting Regional Director, CNC, said the move was to bolster the beneficiaries' ability to start their own businesses, generate income, and live productive lives upon release from prison. He explained that the Centre's mandate to implement programmes for the preservation of culture, promoting educational systems, and motivating and stimulating creativity, Dwelled largely on Ghanaian traditions and values. It was, therefore, important to render such skill sets to inmates as a form of empowerment while securing them a future livelihood upon their exit from prison, he said. The training was also a medium for fostering a sense of belongingness by providing convicts with a supportive environment where they could learn, grow, and interact with others in a positive setting, Mr Marfo said and assured the Prison Management of continuous collaborati on. The CNC team would extend the training to the Manhyia Prison to offer similar skills to the inmates. Mr Marfo promised to provide the Prison Service with a space at the crafts shop to sell their productions and participate in the Arts and Crafts Exhibition/Bazaar at the Centre whenever they were organized. He appealed to corporate organizations and the public to support to the Prison to acquire raw materials to perfect their skills, explaining that 'continuous practice makes one perfect.' Madam Grace Agyapong Fosu, the Head of the Visual Art Department, at Kumasi Cultural Centre, expressed appreciation to the management of the Prison for the warm reception and the total cooperation of the inmates towards the training. She assured them of continuous training when necessary to impart knowledge. The Deputy Director of Prisons, Eric Ainoo-Ansah, Regional Commander of Kumasi Central Prison, commended the CNC for identifying and selecting inmates for such a lifelong skill set and called for continuous col laboration. Source: Ghana News Agency