Feedback about the impact of the books is essential to the International Law Book Facility and we were delighted to hear from the African Prisons Project (APP) last week. The ILBF shipped books to the APP in the autumn of 2016: the shipment included books donated and packed by the University of Manchester library team and LexisNexisUK.
We were delighted to receive the following from the African Prisons Project:
Books empowering our students to thrive
Studying for a law degree can be a daunting task for any law student due to the costs associated with tuition, exam and registration and additional costs for study materials such as text books. This can be even more challenging for prisoners and prison staff studying behind prison walls. Currently, 62 prisoners and prison staff in Uganda and Kenya are studying law by correspondence with the support of the African Prisons Project (APP) under the University of London International programme.
Without the support of partners such as International Law Book Facility (ILBF) and University of Manchester, our students would face similar challenges particularly in accessing the essential study material. APP has been working with the International Law Book Facility (ILBF) since 2008, receiving thousands of book donations to date.
Karen Saidi – Tutor, Uganda handing over the text books to the UOL students at Luzira Upper prison, Uganda.
APP’s Leadership Programme aims to create a new generation of Change makers with first-hand experience of the justice system, working selflessly as a community to use the law to serve the marginalised and create more just societies.
Through their studies, we provide them with the confidence, social and professional networks and skills to become ‘force multipliers’ to lead change across their prisons. They will ensure that their prisons become more rehabilitation focused institutions, orientated towards the positive transformation of their wards.
“The books provide the students with many optional resources for developing a coherent understanding of different modules, hence building and developing their logical and critical thinking because they get to analyse views of different scholars.”
Karen Saidi, tutor UOL programme APP Uganda.
The books donations received are used by the students for research both within and outside of the classroom. The students also operate legal clinics where they offer basic legal support to their peers who are unable to afford the services of a lawyer. The support includes relevant court documents for their peers in support of their bail applications and in 2016, 654 prisoners in Uganda and Kenya benefited from this support with a number released on bail, acquitted, having the cases against them dismissed or convictions overturned and successful bails, appeals, acquittals, dismissals, overturns and re-trials.
“A lawyer needs to research extensively on different jurisdictions for him or her to be a knowledgeable, credible and reliable professional being. The books donations avail us with a wide range of information material we rely on for our research, great thanks to ILBF and University of Manchester for the endless support rendered to us.”
Susan Kigula one of the graduate students from the programme.
See the pictorial story of the books (click photo to view):
African Prisons Project, Luzira, Kampala,Uganda
