Harden (fifth left) with the facilitators of the course.
SRI AMAN: The recent Malaysia Prison Dharma Teaching Course here taught 23 volunteers from non-governmental organisations how to counsel and advise prison inmates.
Organised by the Malaysia Buddhist Association in collaboration with the Prisons Department and Sri Aman Buddhist Association, the course focussed on how to assist detainees, particularly those involved in drug offences, such as addicts and pushers.
When officiating at the event, Assistant Minister of Welfare, Community Well Being, Women, Family and Childhood Development Datuk Francis Hardin Hollis said the programme aimed to impart the knowhow and skills needed to interact with inmates to help them change positively when returning to society.
It also sought to share the Buddhist Dharma teachings of moral values, discipline, and positive aspects of living. The nine facilitators were counsellors from various Buddhist associations in Peninsular Malaysia.