The government has appealed for more partnerships in order to empower female inmates in the country's correctional facilities.

According to State Department for Correctional Services Principal Secretary Dr. Salome M-Beacco, there is need for more partnerships especially from the private sector in training and empowering female inmates with different skills.

Speaking in Mombasa during the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of Chandaria Shimo La Tewa Women prison workshop, PS Salome said already there are different programmes and initiatives from the government in conjuction with stakeholders aimed at empowering the inmates.

"I'm happy to report we are also collaborating with mama Rachel Ruto through her Carakana project which involves crotchet which is a whole new ground which we are taking this year to train our inmates and it has been very succesful in Langata Women prison where we also have another Chandaria foundation project. Our female inmates have gained alot of skills and money, in Langata some of them have earn upwards of kshs 48,000 in a very short while and therefore we see this as a way of increasing the scope of vocational programmes taht we are giving this Women, because Women are very important in the stability of the society" said PS Salome.

Adding " We need more people and volunteers to come out and partner with us in these initiatives which are aimed at equipping our inmates with the necessary skills that they will use even after leaving the facilities."

The workshop at Shimo La Tewa  will encompass a bakery, tailoring and an ICT hub section. It will also hold the 'Karakana Project', an initiative by H. E the First Lady, Rachael Ruto where the female inmates will be trained on cross crocheting.

The workshop is a partnership between the State Department, Chandaria Foundation and Safal Building Solutions Ltd. At the Shimo la Tewa Borstal Institution, the PS handed over Ksh. 350, 000 worth of paint donated by Kansai Plascon East Africa.

PS Salome noted "We are hoping this workshop will go along way in training our inmates in the skills of bakery as well as tailoring and IT hub which is a new frontier we are exploring."

"We are hoping that we will be opening this workshop by mid or end next month (February). It is an initiative of Chandaria foundation and we are encouraging more foundations come out and do the same."

Carakana is a Mama Doing Good project under the Women Economic Empowerment pillar in the Office Of The First Lady. The program seeks to facilitate the transfer and preservation of indigenous skills, in the production of quality handmade items, for sustainable livelihoods and the well-being of vulnerable groups. 

Since 2016, the project has trained over 1,500 women and 537 women have produced quality artefacts that have earned them Ksh 5.15 million.