The start of something new": Custodial centre to offer football matches for inmates on Christmas Day
Global Compassion Coalition
Our mission is to build a world where people and nature are cared for and thrive.
19 December 2024
The inmates at Umuahia Custodial Center in southern Nigeria will take part in a football match on Christmas Day in celebration of inclusivity and compassion.?
The now annual game, inaugurated in December 2023, sees members of the centre compete to win the “Compassion Cup” along with prizes including Best Behaved Fans and Best Behaved Teams.
For the finalists, the day marks the culmination of a tournament that started out with 16 teams before a series of knockout matches whittled it down to the final two.
This year’s final will see the GCC Stars - named after the Global Compassion Coalition [1], a partner in the running of the tournament - go up against the Alabama All Stars.
The football match is part of a major shift in Nigeria’s justice system being championed by the Nigeria Compassion Connectors [2].?
They want to see a move away from the use of custodial centers and prisons as places of punishment to ones of education, training, and self-growth. They point to evidence which shows these kinds of approaches have significantly better outcomes when it comes to reducing reoffending rates and promoting reintegration [3].?
Uwalaka Uchechukwu, Coordinator of the Nigeria Compassion Connectors, said:
“As a society, we have a choice. Do we want our inmates to leave prison feeling angry, bitter, and isolated? Or do we want them to identify strongly with their communities and have skills they can use to contribute? It shouldn’t be a difficult choice and yet for decades we and other countries have somehow opted for the former - punishing and alienating their prisoners rather than seeking, where possible, to bring them back into the folds of society.?
“Our mission at the Compassion Connectors Nigeria is to change this. Through our Compassion Champions training and education program and initiatives like the Compassion Cup we’re showing our inmates the values of teamwork and solidarity and demonstrating to them that they do have valuable skills and experiences that they can use to help others. Our hope is that Umuahia is start of something new - that we will soon be seeing centres across Nigeria adopt our approach to rehabilitation.”
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Matt Hawkins, Chief Operating Officer at the Global Compassion Coalition, said:
“We are so pleased to support this fantastic initiative. If we want to live in a more compassionate world, we have to be prepared to take compassion where it is difficult and where it is most needed. That is exactly what Uwalaka and his team are doing - showing compassion to those that society has often looked to punish and reject. Compassion Connectors Nigeria are showing there is another way - one that’s better for prisoners, better for prisons, and better for society.”
ENDS
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Notes
[1] The Global Compassion Coalition is an international movement of compassion researchers, teachers, practitioners, and advocates working to spread and embed compassion across society. It has over 155,000 members. Read more here: https://www.globalcompassioncoalition.org/
[2] The Nigeria Compassion Connectors work across Nigeria to promote compassionate values, living, and communities.?
[3] See for example: