PORA
Prison outreach and reintegration association-pora is a registered private voluntary organization established to assist former prisoners reintegrate into mainstream society through income-generating projects initiated by pora with the assistance of well-wishers and donors. MISSION
To build a strong platform for the reintegration of all former prisoners into mainstream society and see that the
y fend for themselves and their families so that they will never go back to prison again. PORA endeavors to be the leading interventionist humanitarian organization for the welfare of prisoners and former prisoners in Zimbabwe and Africa. Make sure that each and every prisoner in Zimbabwe’s prisons has a bible, a hymnal book, is well-fed, well clothed, well catered for and is happy despite being in prison.
2. To make sure that prisoners understand that prison is not the end of life and that there is more to them than them being in prison.
3. To make sure that prisoners understand and draw hope in the fact that JESUS loves them as they are and before GOD they are just as good as those outside prison, and they are worthy to be called HIS children.
4. To have a PORA CENTRE that will cater for released former prisoners to practice their skills acquired in prison and then look after their families.
5. To spread PORA activities to all provinces, districts, wards and other places so that communities share the responsibility of assisting and accepting former prisoners as equal members of society, and help them never to go back to prison.
6. To build a network that will ensure that former prisoners are catered for and have reformed totally.
7. To convince the government that people who serve in prison can reform and be changed to responsible citizens who can be employed even in government departments.
8. To foster partnerships with stakeholders in the rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners and former prisoners through various income-generating projects. PROGRAMMES
Pora runs ten (10) programmes or departments each with a different objective and function, whose end result is to mould a former prisoner into a transformed law abiding citizen ready to contribute meaningfully to the wellbeing of our society. Projects Formulation and Reintegration
Education and Skills Development
Tracking and Communications
Health
Chaplaincy
Give a Bible
Finance and Administration
Research and International Cooperation
Special Needs
Cultural Services
Projects Formulation and Reintegration
This department is responsible for the designing and formulation of projects tailor-made to suit each former prisoner according to their skill/skills acquired while in prison; or as assisted by Pora through its Education and Skills Development department. Pora liaises with the Zimbabwe Prison and Correctional Service in coming up with a project for a former prisoner three months before they are released. An official from Pora goes to prison for interviews with shortlisted inmates, collects data and information before a project is finally decided for them to do after release. This exercise is done in all the +-63 prisons countrywide. This programme is also the flagship of the Pora’s activities as it spells out the core business of the association of reintegrating former prisoners into society so that they leave crime and become honest citizens of Zimbabwe. Education and Skills Development
This department assists prisoners and former prisoners to further their education, or complete their educational programmes started while in prison. There are many prisoners who would want to undergo trade tests, write examinations, do driving tests, provisional driver’s licenses, do studies or take professional courses but have no financial resources. Tracking and Communications
This department is responsible for the business of taking information from prisoners, especially those whose friends and relatives are reluctant to visit them, or are not aware about their whereabouts, who may not know that their relations or friends were arrested and sentenced to certain periods in jails, to their families. The department tries to connect prisoners and their communities. It fosters dialogue between the offender and the victim to find common ground. There is also counseling of both the offender and the victims so that they accept a crime was committed, the perpetrator was arrested, and justice was done, and that there is no more going back on the issue, but to go forward positively, forgiving each other. This is a daunting task for Pora, but there is the Chaplaincy which effectively deals with this issue. Tracking and Communications is also responsible for the documentation of the activities of Pora, recording, writing and archiving of all information using various means. Health Department
The department serves a crucial service of checking on prisoners inside prisons (with government permission) through the Zimbabwe Prison and Correctional Service with the view to assist those prisoners who may need specialized medical attention. This includes those who need fruits to fight blindness, and Pora has, in the past supplied fruits to those who need them. The Health Department is also responsible for checking on former prisoners who are released. The first port of their call is the Pora Clinic which is manned by qualified medical personnel, who give their service free of charge. This is very important for Pora, because it will know the condition(s) of each person before they are enrolled for reintegration projects, and before they re-unite with their spouses. Everything is done with total consent of the concerned member. There are various short term medical campaigns and programs which the department undertakes such as: The Stop Smoking Campaign, HIV/Aids Awareness Campaign, Diet and Nutrition Campaign, Crime Awareness Campaign, among others. The department is one of the busiest departments within Pora. Chaplaincy Department
Pora believes through experiences that while counseling maybe important in moulding both the offender and the victim, the word of God is vitally of great value in assisting those who may want to hold on to grudges of past times. From time to time, monthly and at given times, Pora preaches to both those in prisons and their relatives at home in different communities. Nothing consoles more than the word of God. The Chaplaincy distributes bibles, pamphlets, Bible lessons, reading material, etc to those in prisons, and also preaches to them the word of God so that they see life with a different view. This is one of the most effective ways seen by Pora to bring together the offender in prison and the victims or communities outside. The program encourages both sides to forgive, and urges the communities to give the offender another chance. Give a Bible Programme
To compliment the work of the Chaplaincy Department, the Give a Bible Programme is there to make sure that every prisoner in Zimbabwean prisons has their copy of the most read and life-giving book, the Bible. Pora will stop at nothing to make sure that every prisoner has a bible in their possession. The Bibles are given along side with clothing and bus fare as prisoners leave prison to go home. Those who serve lengthy sentences in prison may find that their clothes they came in many years ago are no longer of their size and fitting. So Pora provides some clothing for these as they go home. To err is human, and to forgive is but divine, goes the saying. Divine things are found in the Bible, hence an important book which everyone ever erred, even those who never were incarcerated, should have. Finance and Administration
Pora is donor-funded, so every cent should be accounted for, and books put to standard audit to the satisfaction of all stakeholders, including the donor community whose hard-earned resources Pora uses to alleviate the plight of the prisoners; and their families. This department is manned by qualified and tested financial managers who make sure that everything is done above board. Administrators will make sure that time deadlines are met, programs are followed and goals are achieved as per plan. Research and International Cooperation
This department makes sure that Pora is up-to-date with worldwide trends of looking after prisoners through relevant research and program exchange with other organizations which do similar work to Pora. The department watches events, change of laws and regulations on the general welfare of prisoners worldwide, and recommend to the government certain areas if need be for the betterment of our own prisoners. Pora commends government for emphasizing the need to correct offenders, rather than punishshing them as it were, through re-naming the responsible authority from Zimbabwe Prison Services (ZPS) to Zimbabwe Prison and Correctional Services (ZPCS) in 2013. This was an achievement and a commendable move as the government puts emphasis on correcting the offenders and rehabilitates them so that they remain useful upon leaving prisons. Special Needs Department
This department looks at the special needs of prisoners in diet, welfare of the aged and their needs, those who need special diet which may not be readily available in prison such as fruits and other foods. The plight of women and more so their children. While mothers will be serving sentences for crimes they committed, their children will not be offenders, and they need special care, realizing that they cannot be removed from their mothers due to age and other reasons. The department looks at the needs of these children and the elderly members of the prisoners. Cultural Services
The department is important when former prisoners are about to go back to their communities, especially in the rural areas where it may not be easy for them to be accepted by their community due to the nature of the cases they committed. The department is headed by a chief and has the responsibility to liaise with other chiefs in different areas when prisoners go home to make sure that they are received despite the crimes they committed. It is difficult for communities to receive certain former offenders because of the type of crimes they would have committed, hence counseling, mediation, communication and the help of the community leaders to diffuse some potentially would be explosive situations. Pora Leadership
The PORA board of trustees is comprised of professionals who have varied experience in various fields including that of looking after prisoners and their needs. Above all, these are men and women who are committed Christians and sacrificial and also understand the challenges of prison life, and the plight of those in prisons, understanding how THE LORD instructs and commissions Christians to look after those in prisons. These include public administrators, qualified accountants, pastors, journalists, prison officers, police officers, doctors and nurses, lawyers, social workers, academics and volunteers among others. CONTACT DETAILS:
PRISON OUTREACH AND REINTEGRATION ASSOCIATION-PORA
SUITE NO 305 HATLEY HOUSE
NO. 27 JOSIAH TONGOGARA AVENUE
Harare
Mobile: 0774 368 260, 0773 214 643, 0774 222 397, 0712 698 744
Email: [email protected] website: www.pora.org
(f) Facebook: pora Zimbabwe
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