SCORES of children of convicted mothers survive on donations from well-wishers, as they are not catered for in the national budget, the Zimbabwe Prison Services (ZPS) has revealed.
Albert Ncube
ZPS Matabeleland region public relations officer, senior prison officer Bothwell Bosha revealed this at the just ended Matatbeleland South Agricultural Show, where they exhibited under the theme “Another Chance, Another Life”, which is aimed at transforming the lives of prisoners and ensuring their successful re-integration into society.
“Currently the government does not cater for children who are born in prison and are staying with their mothers, however, we continue to receive donations and food hand outs from well-wishers,” he said.
Bosha said children stayed with their mothers for two years before they were handed to guardians. He said conditions in the country’s prisons had improved tremendously thanks to contributions from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
“Through the help of ICRC we have managed to improve conditions in prisons and now some of the prisons are using flushing toilets instead of the bucket system,” Bosha said.
He said during winter prisoners received five blankets each and they have been able to do that through donations from the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority.
