child receiving a free school lunch © Giacomo Pirozzi/Panos

Zimbabwe's food crisis presents an added challenge to female prisoners with children, writes Teclah Ponde

'ONE OF THE MOST PAINFUL CHALLENGES we are faced with is that small children in prison with their mothers do not have any food rations. We end up sharing the small rations we have with our children. The other challenge we are faced with is that some of us are HIV positive but we don't have sufficient supplementary food to go with the medication.'

These are the complaints of female prisoners incarcerated in some of the correctional centres I have visited during my orientation programme with the Zimbabwe Association for Crime Prevention and Rehabilitation of the Offender (ZACRO).

The harsh economic conditions faced in Zimbabwe and the challenges of obtaining even such basic commodities such as mealie meal, cooking oil, sugar and salt, have not only affected the general Zimbabwean opulace but institutions such as correctional centres in particular. My first visit to Zimbabwean prisons was a revelation of how much the challenges faced by our country are magnified for offenders in correctional centres. Severe food shortages have intensified other challenges such as the prevalence of HIV and AIDS, and food-deficiency related illnesses such as pellagra.

Of particular concern are breastfeeding women, and women who have been imprisoned with babies too young to be left behind with relatives, or who have no relatives who are prepared to take over the burden of looking after their children during the mother's prison term. Women in these positions have no choice but to keep their children with them while they are in prison.

Legally, children can only stay within a correctional centre environment for up to three years but there have been cases where children have stayed for periods longer than the stipulated time. These children have therefore been forced to abide by the conditions faced by their incarcerated mothers and under severe challenges of inadequate nutrition.

Food rations in correctional centres are targeted at offenders only and any dependents that the offender is incarcerated with are not part of the ration allocations. As such, the mothers have to share their rations with their babies. Efforts are now being made by ZACRO and others to find ways in which the needs of these innocent victims of offending behaviour can be met.

Touched by the plight of these children, some of whose mothers are HIV positive, I approached a Christian nongovernmental organisation called the Adventist Development and Relief Agency in the Masvingo Province of Zimbabwe, seeking help with providing supplementary food specifically for children, breast-feeding mothers and those who are living with HIV and already under anti-retroviral treatment.

'Small children in prison with their mothers do not have any food rations. We end up sharing the small rations we have with our children'

The organisation donated 31 boxes of supplementary food comprising a mixture of rice, soya and dried vegetables, as well as providing clothing for the children. The food is now being distributed to needy children and breast-feeding mothers. In some correctional centres, supplementary food has also been provided for offenders on medication.

Having realized the positive impact of this initial intervention, ZACRO continues to look for humanitarian assistance for the offenders housed in all the correctional centres in Zimbabwe. This will go a long way towards reducing the effects of incarceration for men, women and children in correctional centres.

Teclah Ponde is a Progressio development worker with ZACRO.