It is not often that inmates are fare welled officially by the Commissioner of Prisons with scorns and tea when they are released from prisons.
But the release of Francis Kean and Penaisi Kunatuba were specifically momentous.
The morning tea was a show of appreciation by Commissioner Ioane Naivalurua and the staff of the correctional service for Mr Kean and Mr Kunatuba for their contribution in the launching of the Yellow Ribbon Project and the hosting of the 2nd Heads of Pacific Islands Corrections Conference.
The occasion also marked the end of Mr Kean’s sentence which he had been serving extramurally for four months and the release of Mr Kunatuba to serve the remainder of his sentence on extramural.
Mr Kunatuba, a former senior officer in the civil service, who was the first inmate to ever been used to work at the prison headquarters headed the HOPICC secretariat. He will continue to assist at headquarters after initial arrangement to serve at the Ministry of Agriculture where he was permanent secretary. 
Mr Kean thanked the commissioner for his confidence and trust in making them part of the YRP and HOPPIC. Both events were outstanding successes. 
“I thank the Lord that in prison I came to know God and the Bible,” he said.
Mr Kunatuba said the correction service was going through a time of change but the future looks bright. “I have learned a lot in time in prison and I thank God for the process that I have gone through.”
The tea was prepared by wives of prisons officers led by Mrs Naivalurua.