By Kudzai Chingwe
July 12, 2017 | HARARE, Zimbabwe (UMNS)
Inmates at a prison in Harare, Zimbabwe, have learned to grow food through a program organized by The United Methodist Church and the Zimbabwe Prison and Correctional Service.
This year, 17 inmates at Kentucky Prison graduated with certificates in horticulture after completing the one-year nutritional gardening course. …
Luke Mhere, chief correctional officer in the Zimbabwe Prison and Correctional Services, said the institution has adopted an approach to equip inmates with skills rather than simply punishing them. Mhere said equipping inmates with skills can help them successfully rejoin society and live as law-abiding citizens.
“If one acquires some life skills while in prison, it returns the confidence required to rejoin the society,” he said.
One of the beneficiaries, Moses Makina, said the acquiring of horticulture skills was a milestone in the lives of prisoners.
“As prisoners, we are delighted and we have seen that there is no condemnation in being a prisoner, as our lives will never be the same,” he said.
