The ninth International CURE Conference explores global incarceration
August 2, 2023
Conference delegates visit Naivasha maximum security prison
in Kenya. Seated in center, CURE Founder and President, Charlie
Sullivan with May Muthoni Muriuki, and to her right, the Naivasha
Prison Warden. (Photo by Kennedy Omondi Onyalo)
The ninth International CURE Conference was held this year in Nairobi, the capital of the East African country of Kenya. From May 1–5, 95 delegates from 28 countries and 12 African nations came together under the banner of Pan Africa CURE to further their agenda of human rights and prison reform efforts in the Unites States and the African continent as well as other countries throughout the world.
International CURE (Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants) is a U.S.-based grassroots organization started in 1972 dedicated to legislative change on criminal justice issues. It has more than 30 chapters in the U.S. and abroad. In recent years, conferences have been held in Bangkok; Costa Rica; and Kigali, Rwanda. These efforts for criminal justice reform are strictly guided in accordance with the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The opening address of the Nairobi Conference was a welcome speech by the Commissioner General of Kenyan Prisons, John K. Warioba, who closed his inspiring message of the need for prison reform with a wish for “a good conference and for a revolutionary conference.”
Conference delegates at the Pan Africa CURE Conference at
the Boma Hotel in Nairobi taking a break from deliberations in
the East African equatorial sun. (Photo by Kennedy Omondi
Onyalo)
During the four-day conference, topics discussed in panel format featured a broad spectrum of issues including challenging prison conditions, human rights violations, the treatment of juveniles and women, and issues of educational programing and re-entry training.
The topic of faith-based rehabilitation was not ignored, and its panel included a presentation by Muslim, Jewish, Sikh and Christian presenters demonstrating that prison reform is a common concern in all major religions.
A most relevant highlight of the Pan African CURE conference was a visit to the Naivasha maximum security male prison a two hours’ drive into the stunning Rift Valley region of Kenya. Here, less than three miles from beautiful Lake Naivasha, reside more than 2,000 men incarcerated behind 20-foot-high concrete walls. Security is tight and no photography or direct communication was allowed with the inmates lined up in secure distance as the visiting delegation toured various sections of the prison: food preparation, cellblocks, a printing shop, and a carpentry section where inmates learn to build upholstered mahogany furniture for sale to the outside world. To everyone’s delight, and especially the prison population, the visit included the top ministerial secretary for Correctional Services in Kenya, May Muthoni Muriuki, who addressed the incarcerated men in an affirming and inspiring speech.
Human Rights lawyer Sarmad Ali (left) donates soap, toothpaste and
other goods to Superintendent Muhammed Farrukh Rasid for
distribution to inmates at Attock District Jail in Pakistan. (Contributed
photo)
While the conference concluded that prison reform is still an urgent need in many countries, what became clear was the urgent and important need of better treatment of women in prison. The proportion of females in prison compared to men is increasing globally, and in most countries that increase is not reflected in proper attention to the special needs of women in prison and their children.
The Rev. Stanley Chimesya, a Presbyterian prison chaplain from Malawi, struck a chord when he said, “In my country, a prison sentence is often considered a death sentence.” He added that in a women’s prison he serves, it is considered a privilege to have one meal a day and a mat to sleep on.
Recommendations from the conference included a call for the opening of modern telecommunication means through email, messaging and video to include the world of incarceration. Brett Collins of the Justice Action organization based in Australia is spearheading this initiative.
Another recommendation highlighted at the conference was to foster enhanced local community engagement with neighboring prisons, as scripturally suggested in Matthew 25:43: “… I was in prison, and you did not visit me.” This idea of engaging communities in their local prisons has been modeled in the U.S. based on its Adopt-A-Highway concept.
“Adopt-A-Prison” has been successfully introduced, practiced and perfected in two New York State female prisons: Bedford Hills, a maximum-security facility, and its neighboring medium-security Taconic Correctional Facility. These two correctional facilities together hold close to 1,000 incarcerated women.
The Adopt-A-Prison concept (AAP) has now been piloted in Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Pakistan. The AAP program was well received at the conference and recognized as a timely gospel-inspired concept. From an interfaith harmony perspective, it is encouraging to note that in Pakistan the AAP program is now piloted by two separate Christian and Muslim organizations.
The Rev. Dr. Hans Hallundbaek, a minister in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), is a co-founder of both Rehabilitation through the Arts and the Interfaith Prison Partnership, an outreach of Hudson River Presbytery. He is an adjunct instructor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Marist College. He lives in Katonah, New York.
Today’s Focus: International CURE Conference lifts up the Matthew 25 vision
Let us join in prayer for:
PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Steve Hoehn, Manager, Hubbard Press, Administrative Services Group (A Corp)
Courtney Hoekstra, Mission Coordinator I, Office of Innovation, Executive Director’s Office, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Let us pray
O God, help us to show the love that we have seen in your Son, Jesus Christ, so the world can know we are your children because we love each other. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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