Today at Marriot Hotel Kigali DIDE RWANDA with its partners Sterling Foundation and RCS presented the findings in the Baseline survey of the Halfway home project, the project that will support inmates with less than 2 years left on their sentence live in a like home center (the transition center).

Research conducted on more than 800 prisoners showed that the long serving inmates have high mental disorder and depression, because they spent more years in jail their mental health deteriorate.

The assessment was to find what should the center provide for those inmates who need to return to the society and be able to coexist with the community around them, first is to heal them mentally, provide social reintegration and give some skills to improve the standard living as they come to start over in the society.

Different Guests was at the presentation of the findings including NICOLE from Sterling Foundation and Douglas who fund this project other guests are HAGURUKA, PFR, RCS, and other who will work closely to this project.

Participants had a time to give comment and they asked researchers what is the perception of the community towards released prisoners when they come to live again in the society:

Many have shown emotional and psychological disorder, and this must come first in support of the mental health then receive social cohesion support
They will receive support and will be facilitate to access financial means to improve their livelihood.
People loose dignity at the time they commit the crime, the center will bring the best in prisoners and prepare them to live well and in a productive way
Some men and women have created a perceptive of not trust their companion, and with the center we should bring the trust back in them.
There have been special findings in the Genocide perpetrators prisoners who show strong resilience and couldn’t accept their crimes they committed, surprisingly if they get a second chance we would use it, as the center will be an education oriented.

Teaching the community what the center is all about, skill based is the main key, linking long serving prisoners with their families when they are staying in the center.

Speaking at the Meeting Mrs. NICOLE said that they are going to work very closely to make the center happening in the coming days to change the condition of prisoners.
We still have some work to do, prison problems are very big problems, this research helped us to see the real image.

Speaking in the name of RCS CSP Damien Said" Thank you for this opportunity as we came together to find good solution for the reintegration of ex-prisoners.
The halfway home will cover the gap between the social reintegration we want to build the actual reintegration that create tie with the families of current prisoners for the last days of their imprisonment.