The Ashanti Regional Commander of the Ghana Prisons Service, Deputy Director of Prisons (DDP) James B. Mwinyelle, has appealed to religious organisations to collaborate with security agencies to educate young people on crime prevention and help keep them out of correctional facilities.

DDP Mwinyelle made the call while expressing profound gratitude to the Kristo Asafo Mission for its continued benevolence and efforts to sustain the philanthropic legacy of its late founder, Apostle Kwadwo Safo Kantanka.

Speaking during a presentation ceremony at the Kumasi Central Prison, the Regional Commander noted that while state budgetary allocations support the upkeep of inmates, continuous assistance from faith-based organisations remains crucial to maintaining humane conditions for prisoners.

“We urge the church to open its doors to our officers so we can educate the youth on behaviours and activities that could lead them into conflict with the law. Preventing our young people from ending up in prison is a shared responsibility,” DDP Mwinyelle said.

The Prisons Commander’s remarks followed a major outreach exercise organised by the Bompata Branch of Kristo Asafo in Kumasi, with support from several sister branches, to mark the posthumous birthday of Apostle Safo Kantanka.

The church presented a large consignment of relief items and cash to the Kumasi Central Prison and the Kumasi Children’s Home.

The donated items included large quantities of food provisions and bags of rice, bottled water, assorted soft drinks, toiletries, sanitary pads and an undisclosed amount of cash to support operational needs, among other items.

Addressing the gathering, the Head Pastor of the Bompata Branch, Pastor Osei Kwadwo, said philanthropy was not an occasional gesture for Kristo Asafo but a permanent and sacred mandate handed down by the late founder.

Pastor Osei Kwadwo reaffirmed the church’s commitment to keeping Apostle Safo Kantanka’s vision alive by consistently reaching out to the poor, vulnerable and institutionalised across Ghana.

“Our father set a pace of giving and caring for the needy that we cannot allow to die. Though he is no longer physically with us, he is alive through his works and legacy. We are committed to obeying his words by celebrating his birthday every year with acts of charity that alleviate the suffering of the vulnerable,” the Head Pastor stated.

The gesture has since been commended by institutional heads in Kumasi, who described the church’s intervention as a practical demonstration of Christian charity and civic responsibility.