Women Prisoners Support Organization (WPSO)

In order to foster a crime free environment , WPSO envisions the following aims and objectives;

Advocate for provision and improvement of human services for women prisoners and their dependant children as well as better conditions of confinement.
Lobbying policy and decision makers on key issues regarding prisoners including the alignment of national policy and legislation with international standards affecting prisoners
Ensure that the prisoners access justice through courts of law
Provide support to ex-women convicts making a transition from prison to an independent sustainable life in the community through re-integration and rehabilitation programmes.
To help, protect, assist, love and generally care for children of incarcerated parents from infancy throughout their adolescence.
To foster and promote basic and life skills education for inmates in prisons to increase their skills and to provide opportunities for employment after serving sentences.
To promote and advocate for healthcare provisions including reproductive health for women prisoner (including pregnant inmates), women ex-prisoners and children born and brought up behind prison walls.

The Problem

In early 2005, a survey commissioned by WPSO found that children in prison are routinely denied access to suitable health care ,adequate nutrition and education. As well as violating domestic law and international human rights convetions, the debial of adequate food, water,medicine and education is detrimental to the health and development of of young children.

Most mothers complain of lack of food and access to clean water for their children.many mothers are unable to provide adequate breast milk for their babies. Food rations are meagre in prison and when shared between the mother and the child , they re totally inadequate. Malnutrition can cause serious damage to both the mother and the child. Medical facilities within prisons are almost non existent and most require some form of payment.