Ron Sutherland: Amy Ward - Womens' Prisons in Guatemala
Thu, Sep 24th 2015 at 7:00 pm - 8:55 pm
Weekly meeting with guest speaker.
Vice-President Jim Walker chaired last
week's meeting of the Rotary Club in the absence of Mairhi Trickett who is
hospitalised. Several wives were also in attendance to hear Amy Ward, Selkirk,
give an excellent illustrated talk on her spell working in Los Garionnes Women's
Prison, Guatemala, Central America. In an emotive address she related how she had been suffering
from a serious and debillitating illness for 7 years and, when she recovered in
2013, she felt a calling to offer her services to a needy organisation well out
of her comfort zone and, as a result, through the Volunteer Latin-link Christian
Group she was posted to Guatemala to teach in the women's prison there.
The prison houses girls from 13 to 18 years on conviction and they serve out
their sentences there for serious crimes, usually murder. There is a strong
gang culture in the country which almost controls the place and no business can
operate without supporting the gangs. The consequences for refusal are
dire and there is a high murder rate. There are 146 inmates in the prison
and only 8 guards responsible for them. Amy met a man Ignacious who was a
convicted murderer and former gang member but who found salvation in religion
and somehow he held the respect of the gang members and inmates. As a
result of the association Amy learnt the gang's lingo which was a language of
its own. Amy's talk mesmerised the evening and Ron Sutherland reflected
this in his vote of thanks.
