Convicted of various crimes and misdemeanors, ranging from robbery to murder, inmates inside the prison live in very difficult conditions. Therefore, any gesture or activity other than their routine is an encouragement to them, and they are grateful for it. Salesians who go to prison do not judge them for their past; rather, they accompany them in the present and into the future, help them and show them the beauty of the Gospel.
So that they can earn an honest living once they leave prison, Fr. Bartol taught them the art of soap making: first he taught them how to make soap powder and then liquid soap. "That's how we help the prisoners. They learn how to make soap so that after they serve their time, they can produce it for sale and earn a living with dignity," the Salesian explains.
In Cameroon's prisons, as in many other African prisons, inmates live together regardless of their crimes, convictions or age, in numbers far greater than those for which the facilities are designed. Such conditions of overcrowding, heat and scarcity of water and food make the lives of the inmates very difficult and also promote the outbreak and spread of many diseases.
Fr. Bartol, knowing all this, tried from the beginning, not only to accompany the inmates, but also to help them. With his attitude and actions, he gained their trust and it was not difficult to start activities with them.
"We organized not only courses for soap-making, but also for learning to read and write, because not everyone was able to do that. And during vacation periods or holidays we also set up sports tournaments," the Polish missionary says.
For the soap-making project, Fr. Bartol enlisted the help of a soap-making professional to organize a comprehensive course inside the prison. They first explained the theoretical part to the prisoners and then set up a workshop with the practical part. Prisoners are given notebooks in which to write down the proportions and how many scoops or caps were needed to make the soap; on the other hand, there was no way to do otherwise, since no one had a scale to measure the weight.
The finished products are packaged in containers and sold with stickers that read, "Soap produced in Ebolowa Prison under the direction of Don Bosco." In this way, new materials and chemicals can be purchased with which to continue production. In the end, it is a simple, but very concrete project for the inmates, which is repaid with the satisfaction of seeing them active today and leaning toward a future of true freedom tomorrow.
