My name is Edward. I am from New Zealand and have worked in Australia for the last nine years as a pro chef.
I have been in prison for 10 months now. I have always loved reading your monthly letter. I have been cooking pro for 22 years and have been doing art since I was 15 years of age.
I have done a lot of art courses in NZ including a Degree in Arts. But I still struggle with spelling, but that still never stopped me from getting educated. Since being in prison I have realised so much about how much I relied on money and thinking success was about money. And trying to please too many fake people.
From being blessed with the gifts God has given me I now share it with other inmates. Drawing cards for their loved ones, birthday, anniversaries etc. The prison have noticed my talent and over the last six months I have painted murals at work and in all four pods of our prison. And I am about to paint in the clinic.
After working in so many restaurants in Sydney, why is it that painting these murals means more to me than cooking for thousands of people in the restaurant? The murals are a mixture of landscapes or Australia and animals, with every pod having the Nyora Memorial representing ANZAC. It to me is the only day all nations are one: PNG, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, NZ, Torres Strait, Aboriginal and Australia.
So I have been doing what I have always loved doing – art and cooking. Sharing with inmates what I can make even with the simplest of ingredients. Sometimes that’s all it takes. The simple things in life mean so much more.
So to all the team at About Time, I thank you. We thank you.
My name is Edward. I am from New Zealand and have worked in Australia for the last nine years as a pro chef.
I have been in prison for 10 months now. I have always loved reading your monthly letter. I have been cooking pro for 22 years and have been doing art since I was 15 years of age.
I have done a lot of art courses in NZ including a Degree in Arts. But I still struggle with spelling, but that still never stopped me from getting educated. Since being in prison I have realised so much about how much I relied on money and thinking success was about money. And trying to please too many fake people.
From being blessed with the gifts God has given me I now share it with other inmates. Drawing cards for their loved ones, birthday, anniversaries etc. The prison have noticed my talent and over the last six months I have painted murals at work and in all four pods of our prison. And I am about to paint in the clinic.
After working in so many restaurants in Sydney, why is it that painting these murals means more to me than cooking for thousands of people in the restaurant? The murals are a mixture of landscapes or Australia and animals, with every pod having the Nyora Memorial representing ANZAC. It to me is the only day all nations are one: PNG, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, NZ, Torres Strait, Aboriginal and Australia.
So I have been doing what I have always loved doing – art and cooking. Sharing with inmates what I can make even with the simplest of ingredients. Sometimes that’s all it takes. The simple things in life mean so much more.
So to all the team at About Time, I thank you. We thank you.
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GROW is a community-based national organisation that works on mental wellbeing using a 12-step program of personal growth, mutual help and support. It operates through weekly peer support groups.
Hello to everyone in Australia. My name is Tricia. I was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I am serving a life sentence, and, for those of you who don’t know, a life sentence in Pennsylvania means your entire life.
In New South Wales, there were previously three levels of protective custody for vulnerable inmates, such as myself, who have autism spectrum disorder and other mental health issues.
I am writing to you about my one and only older sister, Alithea. RIP. It’s been 2 months since I lost you.
Help keep the momentum going. All donations will be vital in providing an essential resource for people in prison and their loved ones.
All donations of $2 or more are tax deductible. If you would like to pay directly into our bank account to avoid the processing fee, please contact donate@abouttime.org.au. ABN 67 667 331 106.
Help us get About Time off the ground. All donations are tax deductible and will be vital in providing an essential resource for people in prison and their loved ones.
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