PS BEACCO UNDERSCORES ROLE OF RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS AS ST. LUKE CATHOLIC CHAPEL IS CONSECRATED

By Nicholas Kigondu

Correctional Services Principal Secretary Dr. Salome Beacco says the department is employing various strategies to foster positive change among those in correctional facilities. 
Speaking at Nairobi West GK Prison during the official opening and consecration of St. Luke Catholic Staff Chapel, the PS said spiritual nourishment remain a powerful tool in reforming offenders through identity transformation which in turn help in their re-integration back to the society.
 “As you are aware, our prisons chaplaincy services, comprising the Islamic, Roman Catholic, and Protestant faiths, play a vital role in the holistic rehabilitation of those in our care. Chaplains, catechists, and Maalims are spiritual shepherds whose pastoral outreach cannot be overstated.” Said the PS.
Saying that faith based programmes are a critical pillar for officers working in correctional settings, the PS observed that the Chapel will offer peace for the weary and comfort for those who bear the burdens of the noble calling. She said the programmes can play a vital role in creating safer, more rehabilitative prison environments necessary to support ongoing efforts meant to reduce recidivism.
“It is my candid prayer that St. Luke Catholic Staff Chapel will be a place where mercy, compassion, and faith is domiciled; where officers draw strength for their ever-evolving complex role in offender management; and where lives, both inside and outside the prison, are replenished.” She said.
Speaking after presiding over the consecration of the chapel, the Catholic Bishop of Maralal Rt. Rev. Hieronymus Joya said the facility will address the spiritual needs of those living within the prison compund and its environs even as he urged those tasked with taking care of inmates to offer them spiritual nourishment.
Commisoner General of Prisons Patrick Aranduh said the chapel is not only  a place of worship but a sanctuary of hope, healing and transformation. 
Constructed at a cost of about 8.7 million shillings, the chapel consists of 5 small Christian communities namely; choir, CWA, CMA, PMC, youth and MYM and are affiliated to the Archdiocesan lay movements.