Entrepreneurship Programme Report

March- July 2016(Nairobi West Prison)

Background• Nafisika Trust works to reduce the rates of re-offence among prisoners

in Kenya by running programmes in prison focused on behavior change and economic empowerment of prisoners.

• Our goal is to reduce the cycle of a life in crime by equipping inmates with the necessary skills and knowledge they need to change their circumstances for a brighter, safer future.

• One of the ways we do this is through running an Entrepreneurship Programme which is geared towards providing the necessary skills and opportunities that enable them start their own businesses upon their release.

About the Programme• Unemployment is the biggest problem that ex-inmates face upon their release. As

a result, some of them turn back to crime as a means of sustaining their lives.• The Entrepreneurship Programme aims to equip the inmates with skills and

knowledge that prepare them for the job market; whether employment/ self-employment.

• This is the Fourth Entrepreneurship Programme and had a total of thirty five students. We had sixteen professional volunteers to help with the training sessions.

• Classes were held three times a week, Monday, Tuesday and Friday with each session running for two hours.

Results& Outcomes• This is the largest cohort we have had. Meaning word is spreading on

the importance of being part of this Programme, both for trainers and students.

• Students, over time, gained confidence in expressing their ideas, during presentations and answering questions.

• Great level of understanding in most of the topics covered e.g. Business Plan& CV writing, Learning about interviews, Business Legal and Leadership classes. This was a great success since it was the first time that most of the students covered these areas.

Programme Highlights• The trainers used easy- to- learn methods while in training. Group

work was incorporated as compared to a normal class setting. This helped to identify those that needed help but could not say it in class.

• During the leadership sessions, students opened up and talked about real life experiences and challenges. There was great connection between them and the trainers; this is an indication that the relationship was not just student-teacher. Both parties went a step further to connect with one another.

Shortcomings of the Programme

• Unavailability of some students. This was due to ongoing court proceedings and inmates assigned to work by the prison.

• Language barrier. The class had a mixture of local and foreign inmates so trying to balance both English and Swahili became quite overwhelming especially for the new trainers

Lessons Learnt

• One of the methods that really worked was the use of group work. This gave way for active participation among the students and it made the lessons easy to understand.

Impact/Success Stories• Community involvement: The community and well-wishers want to get

involved in providing opportunities for the inmates after they are released.

• Three students from last year’s (2015) cohort are doing well. Martin Papa, Global Forensic Security Service (self-employed). Patrick Muya and Festus Njuki are now employed at Mambo Furnitures.

• Better and improved relations between inmates and officers. Less fights and misunderstandings.