Vietnam policemen teaching inmates to read and write creating a positive outcome for people’s lives within the rehabilitation facility.

Known to be the prisoners’ teacher – Captain Ngo Sy Thuong, a police officer at the Gian Trung Prison in Gia Lai encourages inmates to practise reading and writing in Vietnamese.

His assignment at a prison facility began right after his graduation at a police school way back in 1993. In 2007, he then started a literacy class and has been a teacher since then. Accordingly, illiterate inmates have to undergo a two-year literacy education before they can be endorsed to primary level.

Every week, these inmates have to religiously attend four classes wherein each week they would spend 8 hours honing their skills in reading and writing.

Mr Thuong has been a literacy teacher for the past 10 years and albeit teaching special students can be challenging, hundreds of inmates learn to read and write all thanks to him. He was even initially confused as to why he was given such a task whereas he never had taken any teaching course.

He also mentioned that the students vary depending on age. Some inmates are teenagers and some are even more than 60 years old. According to Mr Thuong, some of these students never had the chance to learn the language while others only reached until grade 3.

Creating and planning the lessons for these students were difficult for Mr Thuong but thanks to her wife, who is a teacher, he learns the skill needed to pull through the task. He even takes teaching courses every year to improve his abilities.

Aside from teaching literacy to the inmates, Mr Thuong would also try to inspire his students with helpful social skills and good behavior thus giving them ample determination needed to improve themselves and connect with society.

Nguyen Duy Coi – 60 years of age, one of Mr Thung’s students said that the teacher is very caring. He hopes to learn how to read and write so as to be able to read books and newspapers or at least to sign his name when he returns to society. Coi was a school drop out at a young age of seven thus he is unable to read and write.

Another inmate named Nguyen Van Tru who is 26 years old has taken Mr Thuong’s class for 6 months. He says a lot of people laugh at him due to his illiteracy and this made him upset. However, thanks to Mr Thuong, he is now able to read, write and understand more good things about life.

Touching a prisoner’s heart – another story of one of Vietnam policemen teaching inmates to read and write.

Captain Nguyen Tien Hung has been a prison superintendent for more than 10 years at the Ha Tinh Public Security Detention Center. According to him, people with the same rank as him must have the professionalism and awareness to further have a better grasp of the situation, feelings and aspirations of each of their inmates and suspects.

This helps them to have a proper education process, miscommunications, in cell sabotage and escape or worst, inmate suicide.

Mr Hung and his team face hundreds of dangerous and rogue bandits in an isolated and secured area sealed with high walls and barbed wire fences.

According to him, new inmates are typically confused and anxious at the same thus it is essential to provide them with reassurance to appease their minds. For this, every prison police officer must remain humane and ethical to motivate inmates and convicts – helping them build up their morale to obey rules within the detention center.

Prison superintendents in general always stick to the law and aim to help both inmates and convicts return to society and get their lives back.

The Supervisor of the detention center – Senior Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Huy Chuong said “ the center always organizes effective activities in the fields of detention, management, rehabilitation, and education for prisoners. The detention center has strictly implemented the policies for inmates serving prison sentences; the special amnesty consideration ensures fairness, democracy and publicity; the work of considering and reducing the prison sentence term is more and more effective.”

One of the inmates at the detention center who is grateful for Captain Hung is on a death row list. He is a Lao named Chinda KcoVISot – proclaimed to be guilty of buying, selling, and illegally transporting international narcotics. While waiting for his execution schedule, he has been contemplating life and family – shedding regretful tears. Albeit his crimes can’t be erased and regretting what he has done is too late, he is still thankful for meeting Captain Hung.

He says Mr Hung made him look at life meaningfully, he is really nice and gentle. And although there are times that he doesn’t understand Vietnamese, he was taught how to speak and write, he doesn’t feel lost in the center.