An update on the Zimbabwe prisons campaign

We asked Kathy, the Sokwanele reader who has taken the prisons issue to heart and doing all she can to help, to write us a blog update on her mission so far. This is what she sent us. Thank you Kathy and thank you too to all the people you work with! Please can everyone read and do what they can to support.

“Despite terrible desperation, their position as ‘prisoners’ means they are denied the most basic human instinct and that is to fight for survival: inmates can’t beg for food from passers-by, they can’t forage for wild berries in the bush, and they can’t rummage through dustbins for waste food. Because of this, Zimbabwe’s prisons constitute a unique and especially cruel form of torture that has both physical and psychological impacts on the people affected.”

This exerpt from the Sokwanele article, “Zimbabwe Prisons are death-traps” is the paragraph that forever shocked me out of my complacent, couch potato lifestyle, and spurred me into action. This horror realisation that even the most basic means of survival has been removed, and that even the most lenient prison sentence is a potential death sentence.

Now, almost two months later, my initial response, that rather blasé , sweeping exhortation to Sok’s blog readers to “Make the call…do something…if you know someone…” blah, blah, blah, seems quite hilarious!

My subsequent efforts have brought me face to face with the realities of just how daunting the task of bringing relief to suffering humanity can be. The initial plan seemed good at the time… “just transfer $10 and we can all make a difference”. But, when we put it into action, many countrys’ banks rejected the transactions, and created a logistical nightmare for us.

But, undaunted, and still very determined to make a difference, we are still plugging away. Andrew from AOG World Wide Missions is working on a solution to solve that transaction problem. He’s in contact with another charity organisation in Britain who could possibly handle the transactions for us. It seems that certain banks in some countries have South Africa flagged as “risky”, so we’re hoping that credit card transfers into a UK account will go a lot more smoothly.

Having said that, we would like to say a very big Thank You to those who have donated so far. There’s been a steady trickle despite the fact that in the past weeks there’s been very little attention focussed on the prisons.

Please continue to donate.

The logistical, or let’s say “intricacies”  – let’s not call them problems – became very evident to me a couple of weeks ago when I started assisting some mornings at the Waymakers Ministry offices; there’s loads of work to be done, finding transport companies to transport bulk supplies, arranging “duty free” permits for donated goods, making sure there are warehouses ready to receive donated goods, locating donors, sourcing supplies, getting prices, etc. etc. etc.

The list is endless, but also very exciting. Every day new people are coming forward to help.

Just today I bumped into a lady whose husband has an Export business with a warehouse in Musina, and many international contacts. I promptly dispatched a list of requirements to her. He might not have anything to offer, but he will know somebody, that knows somebody, that knows somebody, that has something to donate.

Waymakers Ministries recently took delivery of a Unimog truck (pictured above) that was bought with funds donated by some kind-hearted Americans. This will greatly increase their capacity to carry supplies into the prisons. I heard a ‘little birdie whisper’ the other day that a farmer could possibly donate a huge load of maize; there is another promise of a load of dried beans and dried fruit. This isn’t cast in stone yet, but we’re working on it!

I’m sure there are many of you out there thinking, what can one person do? What can I do? There is a lot you can do.

If you are outside SA or Zim, your most practical contribution to the project is money.

If you’re inside SA or Zim, you might also know somebody, who knows somebody, and your contribution could come in the form of telling someone with a Transport business, for example, that we’re looking to transport donated goods to Zim. Or, you might know someone who works for a soap company, who knows someone who could arrange a donation of detergent. You might want to become part of a Missions Team that goes into one of the prisons to help with some cleaning. Use your imagination, the possibilities are endless. Teamwork is the key here.

The really clever thing to do, of course, is to pass the Sokwanele Prison Donations link on to as many people as you can. Put the link on Facebook. Email it to everyone you know, even the local Newspapers and Radio Stations. Print some pictures from the Prisons article and do a presentation at your local church, then pass the hat around for a donation. Do the same at your next staff meeting. Network with people that belong to organisations like Rotary, Round Table, Ladies Groups, Mens Groups, etc. Many people are willing to contribute, they just don’t know where to start.

Here is a tentative list of items we’re expecting to take to the prisons:

Maize meal, Soya, Dried Beans, Peas, Lentils, Oil, Salt, Sugar, Samp, Tinned Food, Rice, Tea, Coffee, Powdered Milk, Fresh Fruit and Veg (where possible), Detergent, Dishwashing Liquid, Soap, Cloths, Brushes, Toilet Paper, Basic Medical Supplies.

We’ve been told that prisoners at one of the prisons don’t even have plates or cups, so we’re even sourcing that.

Hopefully we can give you a really positive update soon, with some photographs plotting the movement as we manage to get supplies moving into Zim.

Please come on board with us and help us make this project a roaring success. Let’s do it for the people who aren’t able to help themselves… the prisoners.

Kathy

If anyone would like to suggest names and contact details of people who can help, but would rather not leave them publically in the comments, please contact us and we will pass them onto Kathy. Leave your email address so we can get Kathy to contact you if she needs to.

This entry was posted by Sokwanele on Friday, May 15th, 2009 at 1:13 pm. You can follow any comments on this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.