Prison Commissioner General Brigadier (Rtd) John Kibaso Warioba, today officially opened the Lang’ata Women’s Prison workshop. The newly constructed training workshop is a two-wing unit that compromises a baking unit and a clothing & tailoring unit. The new workshop, valued at over Ksh. 12 million, is jointly funded by Chandaria Foundation, Safal Building Systems Limited (SBS), and Mabati Rolling Mills Limited (MRM).  SBS and MRM are both members of the Safal Group.

The just-completed workshop will support the prison’s newly established Entrepreneurship and Vocational Training that is set to equip the inmates with skills they can rely on once released from prison. Baking and tailoring courses will be the main training offered at the workshop, complementing the current units that were limited in terms of space and equipment and have not been adequately catering to the training needs of the inmates.

Speaking during the handover ceremony, Commissioner General Brigadier (Rtd) John Warioba thanked the Chandaria Foundation and SBS for their contribution towards the construction of the workshop and especially the use of SafBuild’s Pre-Engineered Steel Buildings (PEB) technology that hastened the construction in a record time.

He noted that the workshop will go a long way in supporting the prison’s capacity in the efforts to institute training initiatives and other sustainable activities in a bid to ensure that the inmates receive the best skill and training while in prison and can then use the acquired skillset once reformed and released to the free world. He further mentioned that over 43% of the women in prison will benefit from this initiative.

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The construction of the workshop unit commissioned in November 2021 and through the SAFBUILD ® brand, has been delivered in under 10 weeks. The technology behind this brand allowed for the building to be fabricated offsite and then quickly assembled on-site thus reducing the construction time by at least 50%.

“We have the best technology in building and construction which has enabled us to deliver on the project faster and within very tight timelines without compromising on quality and value. The need to accelerate the completion of this construction was in order to cater for the rising training needs in the prison, therefore, allowing more women to take up the training offered, said Mr. Anders Lindgren, CEO Safal Group.

“As a group, one of our key focus areas in corporate social investment in education, and we believe that supporting the prison in imparting vocational and skill development among the women is yet another demonstration of the care and responsibility for our community in line with our values.”, he added.

The unit, constructed using Safal Business Systems  (SBS) SAFBUILD ® Brand is now fully equipped and ready to use. The workshop has many other amenities such as stainless steel storage cabinets, tailoring machines to make hygiene products, reusable sanitary pads and facemasks, baking ovens and cake mixers, kitchen and tailoring fittings, water tanks, extractor hood in the kitchen, and other key accessories.

Over 500 women in the prison will benefit from the workshop where they will engage in baking and tailoring activities and make it self-sustaining by generating income which they can take to start off a new life once released from prison as the workshop will run as a profitable business.

Speaking during the ceremony, Founder, Chandaria Foundation, Dr. Manu Chandaria said: It is an absolute delight to be here today while celebrating love and witnessing the official launch of this training workshop unit. The workshop will help women acquire new skillsets in bakery, tailoring, and apparel that will empower them when looking for new sustainable opportunities once they are back in society. It is my hope that these initiatives by the prison will to a great extent help in the prevention of relapse in crime.

The partnership is between Chandaria Foundation, Mabati Rolling Mills and Safal Building Systems, Valentine’s Cake House, UNODC, Rina Bakery, Cleanstart, Faraja Foundation, Mavazi Elevate Programme, and Fr Grols Welfare.