Social Support

Improving the welfare of incarcerated children and helping rehabilitation

In 2019, UP Zambia recognized that children in contact/conflict with the law need more than just legal representation. This realization led to the formation of the Social Support Team, aimed at addressing the broader root causes and psychosocial needs of the children in contact/conflict with the law.

Through research conducted under the Shield Project across the 10 Provinces of Zambia, UP Zambia’s Social Support Team observed that an estimated 80% of children entering the criminal justice system struggle with substance abuse, lack stable family support, and face challenging social and economic conditions.

While in detention or correctional facilities, children are often held in overcrowded facilities, often shared with adults, and lack access to basic services and essential provisions. These conditions significantly increase their risk of developing mental health disorders and exhibiting complex psychological challenges. Upon release, most children receive little to no support for reintegration, face stigma and rejection from their communities, and are therefore at a heightened risk of re-offending, perpetuating a cycle of vulnerability.

Through its Prevention, Rehabilitation, Reintegration, and Follow-Up (PRRF) Approach, UP Zambia supports children in contact/conflict with the law by conducting holistic assessments to identify root causes of their behavior. The program provides individual counselling, family support groups, and opportunities to participate in sports and art-based therapy, while also facilitating linkages to education and skills development. These interventions are designed to support children’s successful reintegration after release from detention or correctional facilities and to reduce the risk of reoffending.

Child Counselling and Family Support Groups

UP Zambia recognises the important role that parents play in their child’s journey throughout the criminal justice system and their reintegration into the community once released. Our family support groups facilitate family therapy, urging parents to visit their child at the correctional facilities and attend court sessions when the child’s case is heard. This process not only involves addressing the immediate legal situation but also aims to strengthen family bonds and provide support during a challenging time. By actively involving families in the rehabilitation process, we seek to contribute to the overall well-being and successful reintegration of the child into society.

Mentorship programme

In 2021-2023 UP Zambia Social Support team piloted a Mentorship programme for teens that works with both children who had been released from detention facilities in Zambia as well as high risk children in the community. We combined child group therapy with sports activities, art sessions, child counselling, as well as parental support groups to improve parenting skills and saw a drastic reduction in anti-social behaviour, substance abuse and crime amongst participating children and youth.

The Mentorship programmes have been done in Chainda, Misisi and Kanyama compounds of Lusaka, as well as Katombora and Nakambala Reformatory Schools in Zambia.

Food and Clothes Donations

Our team works with a population that comes to the detention facilities at their most vulnerable. They often lack basic items like clothes, food and hygiene items. UP Zambia has been providing food and clothes donations when resources allow.

UP Zambia Social Services have received funding from the European Commission, GIZ, UNODC and the Japanese Embassy to enable us to work with vulnerable groups of children and their communities.