Prisoner training and rehabilitation
Uganda's prisons are in crisis: prisons designed to hold 20,000 people now hold over 50,000 and the prison population is growing by 10% annually. Reoffending rates are high and with prisons struggling to provide adequate food and sanitation, the social rehabilitation of prisoners is neglected.
Prison statistics reveal that over 80% of the inmates in prison are youth with an education level below secondary level and only 6% are able to access it in prison. The strong link between poor education, lack of employable skills and crime is incontrovertible.
The biggest challenge prisoners face on release is a lack of skills and certification. This has been strongly linked to re-offending rates in many studies
One Brick is bringing its expertise in vocational training and delivering education facilities to improve the situation at Fort Portal Regional Prison (1,300 male inmates) and help give prisoners the chance to rebuild their lives.
Vocational training centre development
At Fort Portal Regional Prison, the existing carpentry workshop is underequipped with both material and machines and lacks space. This means less than 1% of the 1,300 inmates are able to access the training programme in carpentry.
With the support of Irish Aid and Tools with a Mission UK, we are developing the prison's workshop along the lines of a social enterprise. By providing tools and material and establishing partnerships with local gifts shops and setting up a carpentry showroom, inmates can now be trained and certified by the Ministry of Education in carpentry whilst generating income from their work to fund further trainings.
Prisoner work exchanges
Many prisoners in Uganda are forced to work. Often the work is little more than drudgery: clearing land or digging and it does little to equip them with meaningful skills for their release.
Having supported the development of Fort Portal Regional Prison carpentry, we have engage prisoners to work on our projects and give them onsite work experience alongside our teams. Most recently, a team of prison carpenters constructed and fitted over 50 window frames and a set of partition doors: giving them the real skills and practical experience that will help them find employment.