Children of Incarcerated Mothers
We work with children accompanying their mothers to prison to ensure positive outcomes in the children’s later years by intervening in the early years.
The Problem
Kenyan law permits children aged 0-4 years to accompany their mothers to prison.
Even so, Kenyan prisons have lacked provisions with which to care for these children. Most prisons lack an age-appropriate diet for the children. They have no daycare centres or play areas or access to specialized medical care.
Children and their mothers are housed among the general population. Their caregivers lack adequate training in responsive caregiving.
Prisons lack budget allocation from the national government leaving these children dependent on donations from well-wishers to meet their needs of baby items such as diapers and clothing.
Our Mandate
We advocate for responsive care-giving and call for a childcare framework within the prisons and policy change in terms of aftercare for children exiting prison.
We also carry out resource mobilization, collecting donations of clothes, diapers, toys and learning materials for the children in prison.
The Solution
Policy Reforms
We advocate for policy reforms and the implementation of policies around the care of children of incarcerated mothers.
Training Programs
With our partners, we offer training in responsive caregiving to the prison officers and nannies who look after children in prison.
Resource Mobilization
Thanks to our friends and partners, we have been able to collect and distribute donations of children’s items to the prisons we work with.
