The interviews below were conducted by Lia during her latest mission to Uruguay. They offer firsthand—and valuable—reports from those participating in the carpentry course that AMU supports in two Uruguayan prisons through the “Ripartire” project, in collaboration with the local association “El Chajá.”
This program represents a real opportunity for social reintegration in prisons, offering inmates professional skills and hope for the future. Click here to find more details about the project. For privacy reasons, the testimonials are presented anonymously.
Learning a trade to start over: the voices of the protagonists
Testimony 1 (male): “The beauty of being part of a group where you support each other.”
Since we started the carpentry course, friendships have developed with many of our classmates, and together we’ve achieved many goals: we’ve built furniture and shared ideas for new creations. We help each other, and that’s the beauty of it: being part of a group where we support each other. And if we can do this, how much more can we do?
If today we can make benches and tables, tomorrow we’ll be able to make cabinets or carved doors. I’ve always loved carpentry. I think about the day I get out of prison: who knows if I’ll be able to find a job like that. It’s a quiet job that requires a lot of concentration, which is why I like it.
Testimony 2 (woman): unity, mutual help and desire to grow every day
It was a wonderful experience for me too, from which I learned so much. I really enjoyed it because among those who participated, there was unity and mutual support, and that’s the most important thing.
It’s worth it to keep fighting and keep growing every day. What struck me most about the course itself were the machines we used. At first, they were scary. Then, little by little, I learned how to use them.
Testimony 3 (man): “You never stop learning: the beginning of something great.”
This carpentry course awakened something in me that I didn’t know I loved. Although I already had experience working with wood, I had never had the opportunity to learn so much.
Yet, it seems to me that this is just the beginning of something much bigger. You never stop learning; there’s always something new.
Well, I can say that this course has reawakened in me the desire to continue learning. And God willing, I’m not saying that the day I graduate I’ll open a carpentry shop, because I don’t know what might happen that day, but I’d definitely like to do things for myself, for my home.
Start from there, and then we’ll see. But I feel like the desire to learn will always be there.