A total number of thirty-five (35) inmates were trained. These inmate artists were connected with artists from the outside world, who, through this programme helped inmates to write books, poems, and create paintings, to transform their idle time into opportunities to dig deeper and practice healthy forms of self-expression. As they got better at self-expression, the project helped inmate artists to explore the personal traumas in a supportive environment and enabled them, as they created art with their own hands and minds, to reestablish their worth and regain a sense of purpose. They ably begun to describe why they did what they did, and understand their triggers. This put them on a path to work through those triggers and, finally, express themselves in a way where they no longer have to repeat the same choice. The skills inmates acquired are a lifelong empowerment which they will be able to use during and after serving their sentences to produce creative works of arts. Their works have market value which they can sell during and after serving their sentence to lead sustainable livelihoods. In addition, these works are of value to the Zambia Correctional Service and other security wings including learning institutions to raise public awareness about crime.

 

The works that were produced during the Mukobeko Maximum Female Correctional facility workshops have been compiled into a publication ready anthology. The Zambia Correctional Service (ZCS) has since endorsed the anthology to be made publicly accessible given the exceptional quality of the works. ZCS has also called upon BHF to consider scaling up this training programme to all correctional facilities.