A project in Kenya is educating inmates and teaching them legal skills to represent themselves in court.
Alexander McLean started the African Prisons Project (APP) in 2004 to educate prison inmates. According to Al Jazeera, The project aims towards bringing immediate improvements to the prisoners’ life and to create models for rehabilitation.
McLean found that there are about 57,000 inmates in Kenyan prisons which more than double the country’s official capacity of 27,000 prisoners. One of the contributing factors for high crime rates is the lack of education, which urged McLean to pursue the project.
APP teaches prisoners how to read and write first and foremost, and then goes on to help inmates in gaining legal skills so that they can represent themselves in court. APP also empowers men and women in prison by informing them about their legal rights and obligations.
Talking to Al Jazeera, McLean says, “Very often, it’s the poorest and least educated who find themselves in prison. And often their lives have been incredibly difficult and they’ve not had opportunities. And their inherent potential and gifts and talents have not been realised during their childhood or their adult life before entering prison.”
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