A youth organization held a Thanksgiving event for inmates in a prison in the Kachin State capital of Myitkyina on Sunday as a way to provide hope and compassion for those serving time.
The dinner was the 18th of its kind, sponsored by the Youth for Christ Center (YCC), which also teaches the Bible to prisoners and holds religious services.
There are nearly 3,000 prisoners in Myitkyina, most of whom are Christian and who have been handed lengthy sentences in drug-related cases.
Kachin singer N’ding Ah Ja is a founder of YCC and said that the Thanksgiving is a way of offering encouragement.
“They are imprisoned for years. They have had to be separated from their families. Some of their children have been sold in China, and some have lost their education,” he said. “We are also taking care of the prisoners… we have tried to give encouragement with the Bible. That’s why we hold activities in the prison,” N’ding Ah Ja explained.
Sunday’s event at Myitkyina prison was attended by Kachin politicians, artists, as well as members of civil society and religious groups.
Ethnic Kachin communities typically hold Thanksgiving events annually after the completion of their rice harvests.
