adminThe Herald, 4 May 1998
THE Prison Fellowship of Zimbabwe has loaned over $700 000 to 250 former prisoners and their families to help them start income-generating projects under its Global Economic Outreach Programme started two years ago.
Executive director Mr Peter Mandianike said last week that his organisation had been impressed with the success of the programme and was planning to decentralise it to other parts of the country.
He said almost 80 percent of all former prisoners who had borrowed money to start new projects had already repaid their loans.
“We are very happy with the way things have been going so far and we are planning on spreading our services to the rest of the country.
He said the programme had so far benefited former inmates from Harare only because his organisation was being cautious and did not want to lose money on people who would not repay their loans.
“Yes, we needed to be very careful as to whom we gave the money. We chose the beneficiaries very carefully as we did not want to include into the programme people who would later on default on the repayment.
“Now we are confident that there are ex-prisoners who are really serious about doing something with their lives and we are prepared to help them wherever they may be”.
The organisation intended to establish its outreach programme in five provinces.
Mr Mandianike said the organisation was also considering the setting up of a half-way home, where released prisoners who would have been rejected by their families would stay while looking for something to do.
“We have found out that there are some prisoners who would have committed certain crimes who are not welcome back into the houses of their relatives. Former prisoners under such circumstances end up deliberately committing other crimes so that they could go back to prison because that is the only home they know”.
He said apart from encouraging former prisoners to start their own income-generating projects, the organisation was also helping them find employment.
LESSONS FOR TODAY
Complete crime prevention interventions must include effective measures to prevent repetition of offences, and to stop the cycle of failed adaptation by repeat offenders.
Successful crime prevention strategies should also address factors contributing to crimes committed by individuals who would have served a jail term and failed, to integrate into the community as law-abiding citizens upon their release.
The absence of material, psychological, and social support at the time of their release, can give offenders a very difficult time, thus breaking the cycle of release and re-arrest.
The period of transition from custody into the community can be particularly difficult for offenders and contribute to the stress that is associated with being supervised in the community.
Institutional programmes designed to prepare offenders to re-enter society can include education, mental health care, substance abuse treatment, job training, counselling, and mentoring.
Empowerment programmes must also incorporate entrepreneurship training, loan schemes. Released offenders should also have the opportunities to access mining concessions and own land for agriculture.
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