We were honored to be mentioned in Fast Company's 2023 list of World-Changing Ideas in May.
Our project, The Forgotten Children of Incarcerated Mothers, was highlighted under the social justice category among 15 other projects. This category features projects that help advance the cause of civil rights for marginalized people or groups.
The project uses technology to connect incarcerated mothers with their children, and leverages agriculture to give the same women the opportunity to earn income to support their children.
Objective: Reconnect children with their mothers in the criminal justice system
Provide a way for incarcerated mothers to support their children back home
Provide quality nutrition for the sick, pregnant and lactating mothers in prison.
Summary: When a mother enters the criminal justice system, they are forced to leave all children above 4 years behind. Most of them completely lose touch with their children often due to financial challenges that make bus fare for visits inaccessible. Going years without seeing your child is torture for any mother. Through partnering with the children's department and the Nakuru women's prison welfare department, we initiated a project to restore family connections by exploiting technology. 24 children were visited and successfully reconnected with their children through virtual calls.
The Forgotten Children of incarcerated mothers is a greenhouse and open irrigation project, meant to help incarcerated women support their children financially, from agricultural proceeds. While tracing the families of the first 25 women involved in the project through our virtual connection program, we discovered that the children live in tough conditions. In less than a year, we have managed to trace 15 families with about 33 children among them.
In Kenya, most schools require students to wear uniforms 8 hours a day for 5 or 6 days a week. Some children can only afford one set which if torn or worn out can result in bullying. We have been able to raise $843.29 so far; $140.55 has been plowed back to the farm while the rest has been used to purchase school uniforms for 22 children since December 2022.
The agricultural project at Nakuru women's prison had a successful first quarter, recording profits of about Ksh80,000/$598.13. These profits will help purchase school uniforms, among other basic needs, for their dependents at home. Expectant and lactating mothers, young children, and sick inmates enjoyed tomatoes, spinach, beetroots, and indigenous vegetables from the open drip irrigation farms and greenhouses provided by our partner Amiran Kenya.
No. of children: 33
Partner Background: When a mother enters the criminal justice system, they are forced to leave all children above 4 years behind. Most of them completely lose touch with their children often due to financial challenges that make bus fare for visits inaccessible. Going years without seeing your child is torture for any mother. Through partnering with the children's department and the Nakuru women's prison welfare department, we initiated a project to restore family connections by exploiting technology. 25 children were visited and successfully reconnected with their children through virtual calls.
Partner Voices
Our partnership with Kitechild and their role in helping us start the Shamba (Kenyan for farm) and dairy farm has eliminated expenditure for vegetables and milk improving the children's nutrition and health greatly. The water borehole, the vegetables and the milk has also brought the community closer to us, as they come to get water and buy milk and vegtables. We are now coexisting well.
Wasilwa Lusweti, Watoto Wema Director
Kitechild doesn't give us handouts or tokens, they give us VALUE. They provided us with the seeds and funding to build two greenhouses and today we have greenhouses full of green tomatoes and are expanding the farm to grow onions and potatoes outside in the open air. This is never heard of before in Masai land, growing one's own food, but with their help we did it.
