Alpha Outreach Botswana, an organisation that aims to transform and empower inmates, hosted 81 inmates from Moshupa Boys Prison for a three-month spiritual course.

In an interview, Country Director Bekezela Mauze said the programme aims to transform inmates. It covers topics such as character building and Christian faith.

Maunze said they have noticed visible changes in interpersonal relationships among inmates through the programme. Also, unruly inmates have improved their attitude towards prison officers.

She said they have been allocated 22 prisons from which to run the programme and that 120 men and 27 women prisoners in Gaborone are part of the programme.

The programme will soon be rolled out to other prisons across the country. She said since they started their visits to prisons, some inmates confided that they ended in crime because of a lack of parental guidance.

Maunze urged parents to give more attention to their teenage children to prevent them from getting involved in crime, which can lead to jail.

According to Mauze, teenagers are at a fragile stage where they are still discovering themselves and developing from childhood to adulthood hence parents must pay them close attention.

The organisation offers a programme for parents and their teenagers, which gives them a platform to freely express their thoughts and feelings to each other. This also helps to improve the parent-children relationship.