Hi Willie I guess in the Philippine the 1500 convicts who became famous for dancing to Michael Jackson tunes performed in Cebu Provincial jail was all over in Youtube and create quite a sensation . As for Singapore Correction service they took much more low key approach of contributing back to society. I still remembered some meaningful project back than.
This particular type of bird posed no ‘flight risk’for inmates. Instead, it provided them with the opportunity to contribute back to society. The ‘Cranes to Grains’project encourages the spirit of giving through the simple activity of paper crane folding. Each paper crane folded can be exchanged for a bowl of rice donated to the poor and needy by sponsors.
The South East Community Development Council (CDC), who developed the project approached grassroots, community, private organizations and public institutions to support the project. In the end it had collected a total of 840,000 cranes which is equivalent to 84,000 kg of rice! Singapore Prison Service had also participated in this meaningful project by involving our inmates in the folding of the paper cranes. Between 6 December 2006 to 7 January 2007, more than 1,000 offenders from Cluster A, Selarang Park DRC / Prison,Changi Women’s Prison and Kaki Bukit Centre folded over 100,000 paper cranes which translated to 10,000 kg of rice that was distributed to the poor and needy. To close the campaign, the paper cranes formed part of the decorations Inmates doing their part to help less fortunate From Cranes to Grains of a float for the Chingay parade held on 24 February.
They were given out to the audience along the parade route. Determination and Satisfaction The offenders should be proud of their
significant contribution which formed almost 12% of the total amount of cranes folded. According to them, it was not as simple as it seems. Doing it for long hours puts one’s patience and determination to the test and ‘David’,a 25-year old offender shared, “In my dormitory, my friends and I sat in a circle and completed the folding of the paper cranes within 10 hours in a single day. Even though the work was tiring and back-breaking, we did it for a good purpose and we are thankful for the rice we have indirectly contributed to the needy.” ‘Juan’, a 20-year old offender who just completed his GCE “O” Level at KBC, “ We can be useful citizens and we are happy to contribute to society by helping the needy and less fortunate.”10 related, “In the beginning, it took me 15 minutes to fold one crane, but after a few rounds of practice, coupled with my enthusiasm to earn more rice for the needy, my productivity improved tremendously. I derived a great sense of satisfaction in knowing that I could still help the needy while serving my imprisonment.” ‘Prem’, a 20-year old offender gave his thoughts on the significance of participating in the community project.
