Prisons brings out the poultry farmer in Namisango

Story/ Pictures by Petride Mudoola
 
Convicted for murder and incarcerated for eight years, Cissy Namisango, 27, had never worked in a poultry farm before. However, on her first encounter with poultry farming, she has managed to demystify the widely held notion that one needs acres of land to farm.

Driven by conviction and industry, Namisango has turned the modest prison poultry farm within the confines of Kigo Women’s prison, into a kind of a demonstration farm, looking after chickens which have flourished into huge harvests winning the praise of prison authorities and marvel of fellow inmates, dazed by her achievements.

And for being exemplary, she has been rewarded by prison authorities who have bestowed on her the onerous but enviable task of training fellow inmates, who, driven by her example have decided to venture into the poultry project.

But for being the inmates’ overall commander in control of the poultry farm at Kigo Women’s Prison, it is not strange that Namisango was entrusted to train fellow inmates and prison warders interested in rearing chicken.

Namisango, who has served five years out of her 8-year sentence, considers the jail term to be an opportunity to attain skills that are essential for her survival.  She acknowledges that the poultry farm has given her a new perspective on life.

“The poultry farm has given me a renewed hope of life. After prison, I hope to invest in poultry farming,” she remarks happily. Namisango’s passion for rearing chicken is evident the moment she enters the farm.

She refers to the hens “my hens and “my chicks,” revealing a farmer whose heart and soul is embedded in the very existence of her birds. “I miss them whenever I am taken back to the cells for lock up.”

Concern for the children detained with their mothers drove her into taking full control of the poultry farm. This, she says, was to ensure that the hens are well fed so as to provide enough eggs for the kids.

Namisango, who has worked in the farm for sometime now, says she had no skills before her arrest but her prison sentence has been a blessing in disguise. She can now immunize chicken, a skill she acquired behind bars.

Namisango says she had to become friendly to the chicken to ease her desire to collect enough eggs for Prisoner’s children. She says besides the children while serving eggs, priority is given to HIV positive prisoner’s especially those on Anti retroviral therapy.

She is passionate about her new found skills and talks about “her poultry farm” with a lot of vigor. She explains that the project helps to supplement the prisoners’ diet.

After learning the hard way, she has now trained fellow inmates who had no interest in poultry farming to ensure they gain skills as they serve their sentences. Besides inmates, she trains prison staff on how best to maintain a poultry farm.

Namisango says ever since she joined the poultry farm, she has never looked back, but aspires to even do better.  Poultry keeping is the only thing on her mind and she requests fellow inmates to make good use of the rehabilitation services offered in jail.

Given her initial success with poultry, Namisango now wants to expand her project of layers. When it comes to immunizing chicks, she says prison authorities provide inmates with the required drugs for vaccination.

Namisango says among the challenges she faces with her poultry project is the limited time provided to prisoners outside the cells which makes it hard for her to monitor the hens yet chicks require regular check ups especially during night.

The former house wife regrets her acts saying she would not have engaged in dubious ways that culminated into her incarceration had she acquired the farming skills earlier. She says poultry farming has given her a renewed hope of life after serving her sentence.

Since prison’s authority revived the system of paying inmates for their labour, prisoners are entitled to payment of which they earn a daily income of sh500 for non skilled labor and sh1000 for skilled labor. So far shs 500,000 has been deposited on Namisango’s prison account.

But since prisoners are restricted from entering prisons while in possession of any money, Prison authorities are mandated to open up accounts for prisoners and permit them to make requisitions for items they require from the same accounts.

With the existence of the earning scheme there is possibility that a prisoner can leave prison rich. A case in point is Paddy Nashaba who spent 25 years in jail over robbery but his children did not spend a night without food or lack school fees.

It was not because he was rich, had wealthy relatives or left assets to provide for his family. But Nashaba was providing for his family from the fruits of his sweat while in detention. 
 
Since he was imprisoned yet he was the bread winner in the family, Nashaba chose not to twiddle while his children faced the risk of dropping out of school due to lack of school fees.

 When he was transferred to Jinja Prison main (Kirinya) Nashaba proposed to the prisons administration to set up a project on crafts making, as was the case for Luzira Upper Prison, the Commissioner General of Prison, Dr. Johnson Byabashaija approved the proposal.

Nashaba started by learning how to make beads from the tutors brought in by the prison authorities. He made beautiful beads that several people who visited Kirinya Prison loved. He used this opportunity to make beads on a commercial scale.

After some time, he was able to make baskets, bracelets and wood carvings which he sold  off to  religious leaders attached to prison ministries, prison staff and religious ministries from Canada, Australia, the US and Netherlands who happened  to visit the prison.

By the year 2012 he had stock worth sh3m and managed to deposit sh2m on his prison’s savings account. From the sale of his crafts, Nashaba was educating his 14-year-old daughter, who was born while he was in prison.

At the time when he was released from jail, Nashaba had invested in a water melon growing project in Mitoma district and sh 1.4 m was given to him as saving while he had stock worth sh 3m.
Prison official speaks out

Harriet Namakoye, the Officer in Charge of Kigo Women’s Prison says the prison’s poultry farm currently has 296 layers and 350 chicks with a production rate estimated at 80%.

Namakoye explains that the project started with 350 birds and they sold off 100 then replaced them with young ones. With a population of 296 layers, they are able to collect an average of 8 trays (240 eggs) daily. 

Different from some  poultry farmers who strain looking for buyers , Namakoye says their customers come from Supermarkets in Kampala but  those  located within their vicinity  include Serena Hotel, police marines, prison barracks, Lweza, Seguku, Mutungo and Kajansi.

Besides rehabilitation of prisoners, the poultry farm plays a very big role towards the welfare of prisoners’ children who are often   rejected by their families leaving the responsibility to prison authorities.

“Much as Government caters for the welfare of children who end up in prison as a result of   their mother’s incarceration, the poultry farm contributes a lot towards purchase of drugs for prisoners’ kids as well as supplements their diet,” Namakoye explains.

Besides the children and prisoners who are HIV positive, she says that inmates are given two eggs depending on the production. She commends Namisango for her tireless effort towards training her fellow inmates on how to manage the Prison poultry farm.

“Even when there was shortage of grass as a result of drought, with the company of prison warders, Namisango always led her colleagues to the nearby bush to find alternative feeds for the hens,” Namakoye recalls.

Prison is not only meant to mete out punishment but to serve as a rehabilitation facility. The programs do not only provide education and vocational training but they also offer agricultural skills to the advantage of the prisoners, says Namakoye.

Namakoye explains that as prison authorities, they are mandated to rehabilitate prisoners by preparing them for successful integration into society hence ensure they are accepted back into the community after serving their sentences.

Upon admission, all inmates are given the opportunity to engage in various programs, and therefore expected to benefit from the rehabilitation services offered by the Prison’s department, Namakoye adds.

She says each inmate is expected to engage in a program of her interest so that they gain skills that will enable them create employment rather than seek for jobs once their sentence is complete.

The main objective of Uganda Prison Services is to correct offenders through rehabilitation programs therefore provide them with skills which will enable them become self-reliant upon their release.

Namakoye, however, observes that several inmates acquire skills while in jail but since they lack capital to start business, when they are released, they end up redundant yet they could use the skills acquired behind bars to create employment.

Namakoye appeals to religious and Non-Governmental Organisations to support ex-convicts through providing them with initial capital to enable them make use of the skills acquired in jail hence  reduce the re-offending rate within prisons.