SINGAPORE: When Sandy (not her real name) was incarcerated in Changi Prison for drug-related offences, she had to give up her mobile phone – an iPhone 3.
It was the year 2013. TikTok was non-existent, Instagram was just gaining global popularity and messaging app Telegram had just been launched.
All this has remained alien to Sandy, who is serving a 20-year jail sentence. Being behind bars also means she does not have access to a computer or the internet.
This changed almost two years ago. Eager to gain some skills for when she returns to the workforce, she indicated her interest in joining a contact centre staffed by inmates like herself.
It was not all smooth sailing – it took her some time to relearn the basics of sending emails and using Microsoft Excel, and even how to talk with members of the public.
“It taught me how to prepare myself even though it’s been so long here, and taught me how to interact with society before I step outside,” she told CNA in an interview last month.
Sandy, now 36, expects to be released next year due to the usual one-third remission for good behaviour.
“It made me have my own confidence that I can do it; I can live a better life.”
Sandy is one of 35 to 40 female inmates working at a contact centre in Changi Prison that provides call centre services and marketing for various companies in the public and private sectors like healthcare and consumer goods.
The contact centre at Institution A4 – Singapore’s only women’s prison – is run by social enterprise Agape Connecting People, which has worked with Yellow Ribbon Singapore (YRSG) since 2014.
Source: CNA
