The National Capital District Commission’s Sports, Youth and Civic Engagement Branch has strengthened its partnership with Bomana Prison through a food donation and ongoing discussions aimed at improving rehabilitation programs and creating opportunities for inmates after release.
The donation was presented yesterday at Bomana Prison Camp in Port Moresby by NCDC Sports, Youth and Civic Engagement Branch Manager Christopher Topa, who said the initiative is part of a broader effort to support rehabilitation through skills training, partnerships, and community-based programs.
The donated items included 17 cartons of laplap, five cartons of chicken, and 20 cartons of sausages for inmates at the facility.
Mr Topa said the NCDC restructuring now gives the Branch more flexibility to focus on practical programs that can help inmates develop life skills and qualifications while serving their sentences.
“The overall goal of the branch and the Social Development Directorate is looking at community, including those who are part of our community here, and providing opportunities and programs that can enable them to become better people,” Topa said.
He explained that the focus is not only on keeping inmates occupied but helping them gain technical and vocational skills that can assist them after release.
“It’s not about just staying here cleaning. We want to look at programs where we can upskill them, whether it’s technical or vocational training,” he added.
Topa also stressed the importance of partnerships between organizations rather than duplicating community programs already being implemented.
“It’s about developing partnerships so together we can achieve a common goal,” he said.
Bomana Prison Officer in Charge, Chief Superintendent Yelly Oiufa, welcomed the donation and described it as a positive sign of a growing relationship between NCDC and the correctional institution.
He said Bomana Prison serves not only one province but the nation’s capital city, housing inmates from different cultural backgrounds across the country.
Chief Superintendent Oiufa acknowledged that communication between NCDC and Bomana Prison had been limited in previous years, despite the institution being part of the Port Moresby community.
However, he said both organizations are now moving toward a stronger partnership focused on inmate rehabilitation and reintegration into society.
“Other prison camp commanders from other provinces used to get major backing from their provincial governments, and here in the country’s capital there were only broken promises,” Oiufa said.
He confirmed that a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) is currently being processed between NCDC and Bomana Prison, which will support rehabilitation programs and includes plans for a rehabilitation office within NCDC.
“Now with the restructuring we will have an office at NCDC — the rehabilitation office. For jobs and programs, everything will go through that office,” he said.
Bomana inmate representative Billy Puio also thanked NCDC for the donation and the proposed rehabilitation programs.
“On behalf of the inmates here, we want to thank NCDC for the donation and the program that is coming,” Puio said.
“When we serve our terms, we can have qualifications to become somebody outside.”
The initiative reflects growing efforts by authorities and community organisations to focus on rehabilitation, skills development, and reintegration as part of broader correctional reforms in Papua New Guinea.
