Children in Kenya's Prisons

TEGACWO is committed in improving nutrition and use of essential health services for women and children in prisons. Incarcerated mothers of young children are often the primary or sole caretakers of their children. Kenya law allows incarcerated women to live with their children in jail between ages 0 to 4yrs. Once the children turn 5years old they are removed from the jail facility and returned to the community to live with their relatives or people willing to adopt them. Currently there are about 1000 children residing with their mothers in the 35 women prisons in Kenya, about 50% being below the age of 3 years. Children living in prison normally have a poorer health outcome than their contemporaries and are likely to be malnourished, suffer from infectious diseases and negative behavioral tendencies as they live together with their mothers in often overcrowded cells. They don’t have access to daycare facilities and have to accompany their mothers wherever they go within the prison including when performing minor labor tasks or going through educational rehabilitation programs. Our Goal is to establish prison daycares with similar standards to current daycare in Kenya. The daycares will promote nutritional services, health services including counseling and immunization programs, psychological and social services. Moreover, it will promote education and a healthy environment that is safe and conducive to nurture children.