Advancing Corrections Journal - Edition #13 - What Else Works ... Volume 1 (ACJ13-A002)

Article 2: Restoring dignity in prisons through a creative writing program: An Experience from Uganda (ACJ13-A002)

Abstract

This article discusses a creative writing project for inmates conducted in two Ugandan prisons by Pen Uganda in partnership with the Uganda Prisons Service. It details the project cycle from conception through to evaluation and discusses the project’s implications for the dignity of the beneficiaries and the potential inroads it presents to their rehabilitation process, as well as for prison staff and the Uganda Prison Service’s (UPS) rehabilitative programming. It also suggests “what else works” for people deprived of their liberty.

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Authors

Robert Omita Okoth

Prison System Advisor, International Committee of the Red Cross

Robert Omita Okoth is currently serving as Prison Systems Adviser with the International Committee of the Red Cross. In this position since 2016, he has had the opportunity to support ICRC work with the Prison Services of Nigeria, Liberia, Mozambique, Kenya and Ethiopia, where he is currently based. From 2013 to 2015, he was Corrections Adviser with the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). Previously he worked with the Uganda Prison Service for 20 years, attaining the position of Commissioner. He holds a Master of Arts Degree in Ethics and Public Management, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Public Administration. He is currently a PhD student of Criminal Justice and Procedure at University of the Western Cape.

Danson Sylvester Kahyana

Senior Lecturer, Makerere University, Uganda

Danson Sylvester Kahyana (Ph.D.) is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Literature, Makerere University. A recipient of the Fulbright Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (2021), the Andrew W. Mellon Early Career Postdoctoral Fellowship (2018-2019), and the African Humanities Programme Postdoctoral Fellowship (2015-2016), he has published both critical and creative work, as well as working as an educational consultant with the AVSI Foundation, under whose auspices he developed modules on education, social work, and rehabilitation. He is former President, Ugandan PEN, and a member of the PEN International Board.

Advancing Corrections Journal - Edition #13 - What Else Works ... Volume 1 (ACJ13-A002)

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