Kenyan female prisoners are often forgotten and treated like they are not part of the society.

While they may have been marginalized for some time the ones who are not serving a life sentence ought to have some life skills. To avoid having repeat offenders a man named Aggrey Mokaya started a program known as Change Hub programme. The prgramme is meant to give these women a second chance to grow and explore their options. The women are taught how to code, web design and the basics of any computer class such as what RAM is and other computer parts.

The hope of the programme is to bring education inside the prisons of Kenya.

Aggrey has only been given a small room within the women’s prison, capable of holding six students, two prison wardens, and the lead instructor with his assistants. The group has been given the room for three days a week, for three hour time slots. The women are learning about ICT and web design from Ong’uti Mang’are, who has experience as both a lawyer and a software engineer. Change Hub is working to showcase the capabilities of the women, by applying the skills that the women learn in the market space to build the website of the prison, making them indispensable to the institution itself.

What does it cost Aggrey?

The development model of Aggrey’s makerspace is incredibly sustainable as well. Outside of the initial setup cost, the price of upkeep is minimal, since any utilities required to maintain the space is provided by the prison itself. Without adding overhead costs, the majority of the investment in Aggrey’s project can go directly towards the makerspace content itself, creating a more robust and applicable means of delivering design teachings, so that one day the students can support themselves with their ingenuity once their sentences are complete.

 

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