Our project match for the 2011-2012 fiscal year will be to support and partner with the  Soroptimist Club of Kisumu, Kenya in their effort to provide support for women inmates, released prisoners and their families. Our region goal is to raise $2,000 to help support SI of Kisumu. We hope all ten clubs in the northeastern region will participate. Donations from club and individuals should be mailed to the region treasurer, Kathie Lang, 21 Susan Lane, Meriden, CT 06450. Please clearly mark your check "Donation for Project Match".

We have a status update regarding "Project Match". As of April, 2012:

• A $2,000 donation from the Northeastern Region was made available to the SI Kisumu club on November 2, 2011.
• Approximately $1,500 has been collected to date by six clubs providing various contribution levels and the proceeds from the Fall Workshop raffle.
• SI-Kisumu has provided an update of the program with photos.
• This update is available in PDF format.

Complete details of the Soroptimist Club of Kisumu, Kenya project follow. You can also download to view and/or print the information about this international project at this link. The document is in PDF format..

About the Project:

General Information:
Name of Club :  SI Kisumu   Region/Union: Kenya
Name of Contact person: Christine Achola
Email Address of Contact Person: christineachola@gmail.com
Name of the project: Support for women inmates, released prisoners and their families

Brief description of the project:
Background:
Women are to a great extent the backbone of many families and the Country at large. It is unfortunate that many women will do anything and sometimes even engage in criminal activities to put food on the table for their families. There are 140 women inmates and 20 children between the ages of 0 and 4 years at any given time at the prison. Over the years the number of inmates has increased and their needs are many.  This is a project to support the women inmates and their children with basic needs such as counseling services, toiletry, food, reading materials, learning and playing materials for the children, payment of school for those at home in secondary school, purchase of school uniforms and providing other school requirements.  

Immediate Needs:
The school at the Prison lacks furniture and learning materials. The requirements are: Purchase of desks - 500 US dollars
Teaching and learning materials - 562.50
Feeding programme - 375

The support for inmates includes basic needs, beddings, food, stationery
Support for inmates with basic needs - 750 US dollars

Total: 2187.50 US Dollars

1. Goals of the project:
The main objective of the project is to support the female inmates, released prisoners and their children with basic needs. 

Goals of the project

• Train the released prisoners on business management

• Establish small businesses to generate additional income for released prisoners

• Purchase school uniforms and pay fees for girls in secondary schools

• Provide counseling services to inmates once in two months

• Donation of food, TV, sports equipment, reading materials, toiletry and other requirements

• Establish open days when prisoners can meet with their relatives and friends. SI Kisumu will provide refreshments and interact with the prisoners

• Equip the nursery school for the children who are staying with the inmates

• Provide beds, bed linen, crib and crib mattresses.

2. Need project is addressing:
Kodiaga women's prison is in Kisumu District and located in Nyanza province. It is the second largest prison in Kenya. There is a greater need to support women inmates and their children and to integrate released prisoners into society. The prisoners also have a right to dignity. The aim of following up the released prisoners is to break the cycle of poverty and reliance on benefits once women have transitioned from prison to the community.

The majority of the prisoners are illiterate and this could be one of the reasons for them engaging in crime. Education plays a major role in reforming inmates, but there is a lack of qualified teachers, learning materials and desks. Some prisoners now sleep on the floor since there are not enough mattresses. Inmates are crammed into small cells, food and drugs are inadequate. The sanitation is poor leaving prisoners prone to diseases which has resulted in many deaths.  

State the specific problem that the project is addressing;
The specific problem is lack of basic needs. The project seeks to address this by providing support to the women inmates and their children in terms of food, toiletry, proper hygiene, a better diet for the children, reading materials, learning materials for those in nursery school at the prison; by paying school fees, buying uniforms and providing for other school requirements for those living at home; and, finally, providing business loans to those released to enable the women to have an income by the time they return to their home.  

What led your club to initiate this project:
The Club did not have a project on human rights and felt that having a project with the Kodiaga women's prison would enable us to address issues on human rights.

The Club believed that prisoners were neglected and some were lonely without visitors. The Club wanted to start a project to visit the prisoners, interact with them and offer them sympathy. They have a right to dignity.

Some of those who were released were not being accepted back into society. There was a need to assist the released prisoners to be reintegrated into society and to assist them with an income to start a new life. The Club recognized the importance of taking children to school. The children staying at the prison with their mothers range from 0 to 4 years old. Children start nursery school at age 3 or 4 . The Club understands that to neglect this age group may result in lifelong challenges that may include physical and mental incapacity.

Kisumu District has one of the poorest populations and Kodiaga prison is the second largest prison in Kenya. There is a need to eliminate poverty through ensuring women's full social and economic right. The government does not provide enough money to run the prison and to make follow-up visits to released prisoners. The Club felt that they could assist the released prisoners in whatever way possible at least once every two months.

Another reason which led the Club to initiate the project was neglect of female prisoners by authorities due to poor prioritization of government policies. Also the conditions the prisoners and their children live in is primative and degrading.

How will this project benefit women and/or girls?

Girls

The girls who are unable to attend secondary school will be assisted by paying their school fees, purchasing uniforms and helping them meet other school requirements. Once they graduate they will be able to assist their families and improve their lives. The Club will have fulfilled the objective of ensuring equal access to education and training for women and girls throughout their life span. The children of the prisoners in the prison will be able to attend nursery school. This will establish a good foundation for the young children and break the cycle of generational poverty and illiteracy.

Women

The training will assist the women in making informed decisions, and having a source of income will help them assist their families Visiting the prisoners and providing them with personal items will enable them to go through their term at the prison with a more relaxed mind just knowing that there are people who care about them. By providing the women with a chance to be educated they will have the opportunity to have a career in the future.

3. Methods of implementing the project: Describe the specific activities that your club will undertake to achieve the goals of the project.

The specific activities the Club will undertake to achieve the goals of the project are:

• Providing counseling services once in two months
• Visiting the inmates and providing them with personal items
• Organizing open days on a quarterly basis when prisoners visit with relatives and friends,
  providing refreshments and interacting with them on such days
• Attending events like Women's day (8th March), sports day, the beauty contest (every
  August) and assisting to provide prizes and other requirements they might need.
• Providing children with a better diet and items needed for the nursery school.
• Providing teaching and learning materials and equipment to women inmates.

Who is responsible for the activities?

The Club will be responsible for the activities with the help of donations the Club will have received.

Where will the project be implemented ?

The project will be implemented at Kodiaga women's prison in Kisumu district, Nyanza province in Kenya

4. Expected Outcomes: Describe specific, measurable outcome(s) of the project.

The measurable outcome will be the number of women, girls and children who will have benefited from the project; the number of released prisoners who will re-join the community and are able to establish businesses by applying the skills they learned while in prison

For the children early intervention result in tangible and measurable returns as a preventive measure.

Describe the outcome or impact of the project on the target group

The girls will be able to gain an education after graduating from secondary school. They will be able to proceed to college, obtain employment and become responsible citizens contributing to the Country's development.

The children in the nursery would have an improved foundation in health and education which is necessary for children at that age. Early intervention achieves the maximum impact for young children to develop their mental and psychosocial abilities at the right developmental stages.

The released prisoners will have a source of income and this will enable them to provide for themselves and their families and have a better life.

Describe how the project can contribute to the well-being of the local community:
The released prisoners will be able to integrate into the society and they will be accepted. The community will then live in peace and harmony.

The skills acquired from prison will assist them set up business. They will then have  a source of income which will help them better their community and their living standard and well being  of the community will improve.

The children from the nursery will achieve the maximum impact for young children to develop their mental and psycho social abilities at the right development stage. This education they receive will offer them a good foundation and they will be able to continue with their education once they leave the prison and this will contribute to the benefit of the community. 

What will be the involvement of women and girls in the execution and follow up.

The women will be involved in that they were involved and consulted before the project was initiated and during the implementation stage. They will also be involved in the follow-ups since the club would be interested to know the outcome of the beneficiaries of the project. 

5. Partners:
Will the club be partnering with other organizations? Yes

Please list all other organizations involved in the project and describe the role that they will play.
 

Communication will be ensured by the Club President and the contact person

6. Evaluation:
How will you evaluate the success of the project?

The success of the project will be evaluated by the number of the beneficiaries of the project. The club will be responsible for the evaluation. 

Please describe when, how and what you will evaluate.

The evaluation will be done through holding club meetings and discussing the progress of the implementation of the project and even after the project is completed. Evaluation will be done by the club, writing and sending of reports to the union, federation and the donors.

The progress, success and failure of the project will be evaluated. Evaluation will be on quarterly basis and all stages will be evaluated. 

How the project be sustained:
The project will be sustained through income generating activities which will have been introduced. The prisoners will engage in income generating activities such as salon, poultry, dairy goat and other activities that will generate money. The proceeds generated from these activities will be ploughed back to the project to ensure the project continues to assist others in future. 

What Role will the club play in ongoing support and monitoring of the project:
Monitoring of the project will be done by the club and the union and the club will ensure the funds or donations solicited from donors are used for what it was intended for and according to the budget in the proposal. 

The club will continue providing the basic needs of  the prisoners from their account. Yes the club and the union will continue to monitor the project even after completion. What will you do with the information that you found?

III. Budget:
Please include an itemized budget for the project. The budget items must be fully itemized.

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