SSD 15 - A DROP OF JOY FOR WAU PRISON
Project Location
The project is being carried out in Wau, the second city of South Sudan, a country devastated by a civil war that has caused hundreds of thousands of deaths and millions of displaced people. The situation of justice and prison are unspeakable. Hundreds of prisoners, many of whom are incarcerated on summary charges or have not yet been brought to trial, survive in extremely small spaces with no minimum hygiene requirements, fed once a day with a type of polenta and without access to appropriate medical care.
Unfortunately, many are suicides, especially among young people. Although unofficial, the death penalty is applied. Poor families with an imprisoned head of household who cannot afford a lawyer find themselves in a desperate situation with no way out.
Project description
This project aims to support women prisoners in meeting basic needs such as laundry soap, slippers, medical bills and more. Some of these women are in prison due to criminal cases, but most of them are put in prison by their husbands and close relatives due to domestic abuse while they are trying to defend their rights. Because of this, these young mothers are left without assistance even by their own family members. Due to the stressful and poor environment they live in, these mothers are also exposed to some diseases that require medical care, which they are unable to afford.
The project also aims to offer psychological support to the male and female prisoners in Wau prison. The conditions in prison are stressful and prisoners need a space where they can rejoice, have different food than everyday food, and share the meaning of holidays (especially Christmas) even if they are far from their families. Due to the poverty of the country, the prison cannot offer them this space and that is why every December, two sisters supported by a group of collaborators work to give prisoners the opportunity to celebrate Christmas and the end of the year so as to encourage them to see the future with hope.
Objectives
- Improve the hygienic and health conditions of women prisoners
- Provide material, psychological and spiritual support to prisoners
- Create a space to promote healthy coexistence among prisoners
- Give prisoners the joy of Christmas and hope for the future
Beneficiaries
Direct: 900 male prisoners, 30 female prisoners and 90 children
Indirect: their families
Referent sisters of the project: Sr. Maria Teresa Carrasco and Sr. Karugaba Macklean
Project's costs