Ebotse Development and Training Centre

Caregiver Programme in Prison

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Caregiver Programme

Every child deserves the best in life

This programme empowers the mothers in prison to bond with their children despite the harsh prison conditions. The children should suffer because of the deeds of their parents.

Challenges mothers with children in prison.

The prison conditions are not conducive for the mothers to bring up their children. The prison is not meant for children but for the prisoners to be punished for their crime and correct their behaviour so that they can rejoin the society. The children find themselves trapped between the high walls not being exposed to the normal environment that allows them to grow in every way possible. The mothers who are then incarcerated with their young children or who give birth to children whilst still in prison face the following challenges 
  1.  Taking care of their children like any normal mother would
  2.  Access to all the items like clothes, baby or children food and toys
  3.  Early childhood centre for the developmental needs of the baby or child
  4.  Interaction of the child with their father, family and siblings
  5.  No access for the child to the play ground for playing

What training do we provide to the mothers

The Caregiver Programme we provide to the mothers is to ensure that the mothers are able to provide their children with all the parental care that their children need for their proper development. The program is aimed at children from 0 to 2 years as this is the critical phase of the development of the child. The mother is provided the skills to bond with their children for the period that the child is allowed to be in prison with the child. We understand the conditions in prison and we constantly have to justify the need to continue with the program to the prison authorities as they have to balance between what the prison should be and also what they can provide for the welfare of the child without impacting the prison security. The mother's emotional state whilst in prison is not suitable for the proper upbringing of the child and to fill that gap they are then empowered through various modules of the program to deal with the condition.

The caregiver programme consist of 10 modules that cover rights and their responbilities. The course recognises that children might be born with congenital absences (birth defects) or inherited disorders (genetic disorders). The modules in course looks at child holistically from health and nutrition

  • HEALTH AND NUTRITION
  • PLAY AND CREATIVITY
  • PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
  • SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND CONFIDENCE BUILDING
  • INTELLECTUAL AND LANGUAGE STIMULATION
  • CHILD SAFETY AND PROTECTION
  • HEALTHY FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS
  • POSITIVE DISCIPLINE
  • GRIEF AND BEREAVEMENT
  • ME, THE PARENT/CAREGIVER

The Department of Social Development in Gauteng has been sponsoring the programme since its inception in 2010 and they have ensured that the children in prison are taken care of. We are grateful for their support together with the Department of Correctional Services at Johannesburg Prison to allow the programme to continue for so many years.

The prison conditions are not ideal for childrens development, over the years that we have conducted the training in prison we have better interaction and bonding between the child and the mother and the children managed to develop even though the spaces where they grow is confined. We have also seen the reduction to the level of anger that mothers use to have towards their children to that of compassion.

The children becuase of the restrictions in prison does not allow the mothers to provide for their children in terms of clothes, food and all the others items that they would normally buy for their children and thus as a result the children are deprived. We provide through variuos sponsors nappies, clothes, blankets and every year if allowed we pamper the children during festive seasons. Help in providing for this children will be much appreciated. The donations we appreciate are

  • clothes
  • toys
  • nappies

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