As the Worldwide President I sometimes have the great honour of visiting other countries and regions. I have now spent almost a week in Ethiopia and have had the pleasure of meeting some very good and engaged prison chaplains, a coordinator and volunteers. Tomorrow I am leaving for Zambia and would like to share some thoughts that have come up during my visit.
First and foremost – thank you for letting me be a part of the team for a couple of days and for showing me the work you do.
Even more so – thank you for all the work you put into prison chaplaincy. It was an honour to be able to meet some of the inmates at Sheger prison outside Addis Abeba. I joined the service, both in the male and the female prison and had the opportunity to say a few words. And – of course – give them a blessing. One of the most moving parts for me, was when me and my two colleagues, pastor Alemu and pastor Tadele, were to leave the female prison and all the women wanted to give us a blessing. To bless somebody is such a powerful act and a message from God saying, “You are loved”.
Even though we all know that in many prisons all over the world, clean water, food, sanitary pads and that kind of basic needs might be much more important – at least by the first look of things. When one experiences the commitment and the hope shared by the chaplains and the inmates serving as church assistants. One realizes how much hope of something better is a factor to overcome the worst parts of every day live in prison.
I also had the pleasure to travel to Awasa in south of Ethiopia and visit Yirgamel Prison. Together with pastor Tadele, the local pastor Nega and a volunteer, we meet the commissioner and talked about the importance for inmates, leaving prison to come to a community far from the ones they came from. Even though a prison needs the more worldly things mentioned above, it also needs religion as a part of the healing process. And might be the start of a journey into a new community or a congregation. And together with the new contacts start building a life without crime.
After our meeting with the commissioner, I had yet again the opportunity to be a part of a service. One with the male inmates and one with the female – as a visitor it was obvious to me how much the local pastor means to the inmates. I don´t understand a word of Amharic or the other languages spoken during the services. But I do understand connection between the one speaking and the ones listening. I also understand respect – and all of that was what I meet during my visits.
It made me happy to see that the local pastor could make all the inmates laugh. I think we all know how much those seconds of laughter might give us strength to carry our burden during the day.
I want to send all my blessings to IPCA Ethiopia – the parts of the team that I meet and the ones yet for me to meet.
Marie-Louise Norozi
President/CEO