The five-day AHAPPY Training of Trainers organised by AJAN has been a deeply enriching experience for me. It has helped me to understand myself better and to reflect on the kind of person I am and the legacy I want to leave behind.

One of the most important lessons I have taken from the training is self-awareness. Before coming here, I had not taken enough time to ask myself who I really am. Now I have begun to understand myself better and to reflect on how others know me and experience my presence. I have also started asking myself an important question: when I eventually leave the service, what will people say about me, and what will I have left behind? For me, that is about legacy.

The training also challenged me to reflect on communication. I asked myself, “Am I really a good communicator?” I have learnt that effective communication is not only about speaking; it is also about the response we receive from others. If we communicate poorly, people may not listen or respond in the way we expect. This has encouraged me to become more intentional about how I communicate with the inmates I serve.

What I have learnt from AJAN will not remain with me. I want to put it into practice among the inmates, but I know that the change must begin with me. I personally want to change first, and then I can accompany others towards change.

My desire is to empower the inmates I serve. People may call them offenders or criminals because of their past actions, but I have learnt to look beyond the offence and see their human dignity. In the eyes of God, they are still God’s people, created in His image and likeness. This understanding will guide me as I accompany them through their rehabilitation.

The training has also strengthened my understanding of how to accompany people living with HIV. In the prison setting, some inmates come in already knowing their HIV status. As a catechist, I work closely with their leaders and the professionals within the prison to understand their needs and follow up on those receiving care. Where someone faces additional challenges, I try to offer whatever support I can.

Sometimes this support may be as simple as providing milk or fruit when a person needs it and the facility cannot provide it. Beyond material support, we talk, encourage and remind them that life does not end with an HIV diagnosis. Whatever circumstances led to their infection, they remain valuable human beings, and life must continue. When they are released, I encourage them to remain connected and give them my contact so that they can reach out if they face challenges.

Stigma is another challenge we continue to address. Sometimes the stigma comes not from the person living with HIV but from those around them. We bring inmates together and encourage them to put themselves in the shoes of another person. We remind them that today it may be someone else, but tomorrow it could be them or someone close to them. These conversations have helped create greater understanding and acceptance, reminding inmates that people living with HIV are human beings like everyone else.

One of the most significant lessons I am taking away from AJAN is that accompanying prisoners cannot be limited to spiritual support alone. People have physical, social, economic and spiritual needs. As I reflected during the training, “You cannot feed somebody on spiritual matters when the stomach is empty.” This has widened my understanding of ministry. I now want to explore ways of helping inmates develop skills and opportunities that can support them economically, both while in prison and after their release.

Most importantly, AJAN has challenged me to change the way I see the people I serve. When I look at an inmate, I should not see only the offence. I should see the person, and I should see God in that person. This is the perspective I want to carry forward in my ministry.

As we concluded the training, we developed a one-year workplan outlining activities that we will undertake key activities which am planning to see it though.

By, Ms. Pauline Atieno,

A catechist at Kibos Medium Prison, Kenya Prison Service Nyanza Region.