Tango 1

Inner- Change for Freedom Belize Program

The Inner Change For Freedom Belize Program (IFFB) was birthed on February 11, 2003 under the direction of Ms. Jean Goematt. She has been a volunteer at the prison for almost ten years. She is a retired teacher from Monroe, IA and has two daughters and five grandchildren.

A friend of hers, Marianne Smith, a long time missionary at the prison, was responsible for introducing Jean to the prison in Belize. Prior to this, Jean was involved as a volunteer in a prison in the US through Prison Fellowship.

There was a period of time that Jean took a leave from the prison in Belize and returned to the US. At this time she heard of the Inner Change for Freedom Initiative Program that was being used at a prison near Monroe where she lived. She volunteered in this program and immediately realized that she wanted to return to Belize to implement it there.

She returned to Belize thereafter in 2002 and presented the program to Mr. John Woods, Chairman of Kolbe Foundation. He further visited a prison in Texas that had the same program running, and agreed to launch the program in Belize. The IFFB is a faith-based 18 month long program.
from the rest of the buildings. The new intakes were to be isolated from the rest of the prison population. This allowed them to concentrate on the changes they needed to make without the distraction and ridicule from other inmates. These men are not allowed to break the prison rules but must it takes it one step further; they cannot use foul language or smoke. The building has specific rules that must be adhered to.

Tango 1 previously had been the home of gang members for many years. All this changed after the building was cleaned out completely and serious men who were interested in becoming better men physically, spiritually and emotionally infiltrated. The building was renovated by these same inmates.
At the end of the first three months, only 29 of the initial 47 men remained in the program. In order to conquer their vices, these men have to completely surrender themselves to God and realize that with the acceptance and belief in Him, good change can come about. Unfortunately, not too many grasp this concept, while a few fall short of our expectations.

These 29 men became the ‘core’ group to solidify the program. Most of the ‘core’ group have graduated and have been released from prison.

Again, after the first intake was considered a success, major construction in order to repair the building became the focus. Two cells that adjoined the small main classroom were reconstructed to enlarge the main classroom. A computer room was built with hopes of implementing a computer class. The roof was repaired to stop the deluge of water which came into the cells and offices during the ‘bad’ weather. The grounds in front of the building were cleaned to form a basketball court, football field, and volleyball court. This allowed the men exclusive control of their own grounds to play sports as well as separation from the rest of the male population.