The Gift of Water
The prison community at Lusaka Central Prison in Zambia is celebrating access to a clean, abundant water supply. Funds to make this basic necessity available were donated by Prison Fellowship International after Ron Nikkel, PFI President, visited the prison in April.
Last spring, Mr. Nikkel was visiting Zambia when the much publicized Human Rights Watch Report describing Zambia’s prisons as “death traps” was published. Mr. Nikkel saw firsthand the overcrowded Lusaka Prison where prisoners are packed in at more than 500 percent capacity. He also witnessed the sanitation problems that have contributed to the spread of deadly infectious diseases.
After speaking to the prisoners, a prisoner addressed Mr. Nikkel mentioning the many needs of the prisoners. In particular, he spoke of the inadequate supply of clean water at the facility. Mr. Nikkel promised to look into the water situation. Less than 5 months after his pledge, a borehole had been drilled and water tanks holding 10,000 litres of water were commissioned and handed over to the Prison Service by representatives from Prison Fellowship Zambia.
