Prison Humanitarian Programs
“Prison conditions are harsh and life threatening due to inadequate food, overcrowding, poor sanitation, and insufficient medical care.” as described by the United States Department of States.
The report continues, “Physical Conditions: Severe overcrowding due to weaknesses in the judicial system and inadequate prison infrastructure is a serious problem. One penitentiary surpassed its official capacity by nearly eight-fold. There are 84 prisons and detention centers which hold well over twice the official capacity of 10,360 inmates.
A deteriorating prison infrastructure that often lacked sanitation facilities and potable water resulted in disease and insect and rodent infestations, although prison officials carried out extermination efforts against insects and rats, minor renovations, and small construction projects with financial support from the ICRC. Access to medical care was limited. Ventilation, lighting, and temperature control were inadequate or nonexistent in many of the smaller facilities.”
Key Statistics
- Overcrowding: Prisons are severely overcrowded, with cells built for one often housing multiple inmates. Amnesty International reports that some prisons have a capacity far smaller than the number of inmates they house, with some holding over 4,000 detainees when designed for only 800.
- Poor Conditions: Prison cells are described as dark, filthy, and lacking air or light. Sanitation and access to medical care are also severely lacking.
- Lack of Separation: Prisons often fail to separate pre-trial detainees from sentenced prisoners, and in some cases, children and adults are not separated.
- Insufficient Food: Prisoners report receiving inadequate food, often consisting only of cassava, which is not nutritionally sufficient.
- Pre-trial Detention: The excessive use of pre-trial detention, with many people awaiting trial for extended periods, contributes to the overcrowding and harsh conditions.
- Staffing Shortages: A lack of prison staff and training for staff members exacerbates the problems within the prison system.
- Limited Resources: Prisons often lack the necessary resources, including security equipment and adequate medical care, further contributing to poor conditions.
In this context, Friends of Madagascar Development’s goals are:
Provide Food
The cost of feeding the prisoners with quality food is very expensive. Currently, the prisons provide one meal per day. Prisoners rely on family and friends, and the occasional gift, for additional food. The sustainable goal is to have each prison raise their own food. The government allots land to each prison to grow food crops, but most of the land sits idle with no planning for food production.
How can you help?
- Gifts support providing supplemental food for the prisoners.
Improve the Prison Physical Condition
The physical condition of all prisons is poor and it is expensive for a non-profit to remodel a prison. We have begun to help remodel prison kitchens and sleeping areas.
How can you help?
- Gifts support kitchen renovations and sleeping area remodeling.
Vocational Training
Most prisoners are incarcerated because of stealing. The poverty of the country is severe. Developing vocational training programs is important for the future of each prisoner. Teaching a skill so after being released from prison they will have an opportunity to have a trade to support them.
How can you help?
- $2000 provides the funding to begin welding and sandal making vocational training programs.
- Any gift supports these vocational programs.
Literacy
Many prisoners have low or no literacy skills, adding an extra burden on their ability to become educated and forge a new life for themselves when they leave prison. The generalized poverty in Madagascar means that prisons are severely deprived in terms of funding. Literacy is very far down the list of prisoner support and even food and medical care are badly neglected. The prison literacy program we have initiated and funded provides prisoners with literacy skills that will enable them to make sense of the world through education, which in turn will enable them to make a better life for themselves on leaving prison. FOMD has a vision to make an impact in this area by expanding its current program to include all prisons.
Legal Advocacy
About half of the estimated 30,000 prisoners in Madagascar have not appeared before a judge for a trial and many are innocent of the crimes of which they are accused. The brokenness of the Malagasy legal system, as well as corruption of judges and within the police force means that people are vulnerable to be thrown into prison for no good reason. Once in prison, it may take years for prisoners to appear before a judge to receive the justice they deserve in a democratic nation. For poor people whose families are unable to raise the money for legal advocacy, it means that they spend extended times in prison without representation. FOMD advocates for prisoners in several ways. We are funding the legal education of a young Malagasy man who has the vision to assist prisoners through representation. FOMD raises the funds to support this process and we have already had successful representation of the rights of prisoners.
Post-Prison Integration into Society
Effective re-integration into society after serving a prison sentence means that prisoners have an opportunity to break the cycle of poverty, crime and imprisonment. FOMD works in close alignment with the Madagascar Ministry of Justice to develop and implement vocational training programs and our vision is to have programs in every one of the 83 prisons in Madagascar. The skills developed by prisoners through our programs give them a chance to make a new life for themselves when they leave prison. We are increasing the current range of training opportunities to include shoe making, welding and soft toy making.
Friends of Madagascar Development
PRISON HUMANITARIAN PROGRAMS
The goal of Friends of Madagascar Development is to raise funds to support the programs needed to give Malagasy people the opportunity to turn their lives around. Once they leave prison, they will have skills to support themselves, their families, and their communities. 100% of your gift will go to the program. Nothing will be taken out of your gift for Friends of Madagascar Development administration.