Inmate Aisake Qiolele is grateful to the Fiji Corrections Service for the Yellow Ribbon Project as he now has a source of income by selling his paintings at the Tagimoucia Art Gallery.
Qiolele has been serving more than 20 years at the Corrections Facility due to a wrong decision he made when he was young.
He was sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of murder.
While speaking to fijivillage News in the iTaukei language, Qiolele says the Yellow Ribbon Program has given him a second chance in life.
He says the program and the gallery have ensured that he has a good source of income when he is discharged from the Corrections facility.
He also says that when he joined the gallery in 2019, he did not know how to paint or draw, but through the support of the staff, and painter, Jane Ricketts, he now knows how to paint and mix different paints.
When asked about his message, Qiolele says making good decisions will bear good fruits, but a wrong one will end up with rotten fruits.
He says he was brought up in a poor family, and his mother always encouraged him to be good.
He adds that he made one wrong decision, which cost him his freedom and landed him in prison.
Qiolele is also encouraging the public to turn up in numbers tomorrow in Nausori, where the Corrections Service will be holding a march for the Yellow Ribbon Project.
The Yellow Ribbon March will start from Ratu Cakobau Park to Syria Park at 6.15am tomorrow.
The celebration will be held at Syria Park tomorrow.
