Starting on the 14th of October I'll be cycling across Uganda on a bike in the middle of monsoon season to raise money for Product of Prison (PoP). They're an amazing organisation supporting prisoners in Uganda, helping them develop skills so they can reintegrate back into communities and create opportunities for a better life when they are released. Think Shawshank Redemption in Uganda...

I'll be covering the full cost of the trip, so all money raised goes directly to PoP. As a small organisation, every £ will go so much further than it would for a large charity. £1,800 can pay for career skills training for 100 prisoners, transforming their lives. PoP's annual costs are around £44,000 which supports 600 prisoners through the program. We can make a meaningful contribution to that.

Why Product of Prison? Our Foundation team at work identify and help incredible small charities in the UK and Africa. PoP was picked out as one of the most impressive and deserving so we hope our efforts can help them continue their great work.

The ride itself see our team (11 of us) cover 256 from Congo to Rwanda in 6 days on hired mountain bikes, in the rain (probably).

Every penny is massively appreciated so please dig deep for a great cause!

Chris

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A note from Thijs, Business Development Officer at POP

Product of Prison sees the person behind the prisoner, and their potential. 

Product of Prison (POP) helps prisoners break the cycle of poverty, re-offending and imprisonment by supporting them to develop the skills they need to successfully return to their families and communities.

Prisoners are often an unpopular and forgotten group, who often suffer social and economic exclusion. We - the POP team in Uganda - enjoy working with Ugandan prisoners on a daily basis and are constantly amazed by their hope, enthusiasm and resilience. We are highly motivated to draw more attention to the needs of prisoners in developing countries and to do more to assist them. We do not want to make prisoners dependent on aid, instead we focus on their potential and support those prisoners who are determined to create a better life for themselves and their families. 

POP’s mission is to assist prisoners with their successful rehabilitation and reintegration and to offer them an opportunity for a better life, both in prison and in the community after release. We provide vocational training, work experience and training in other important life skills including financial management and IT. POP aspires to empower prisoners, to promote their human rights and to strengthen the connection with their families and society. 

With your support, we can make a big difference in the lives of (former) prisoners, their families and their communities. 

What Your Support Could Achieve: 

£1,800 - can pay for a career skills training to 100 prisoners. 

£5,400 - can ensure that 80 prisoners in remand will learn how to make candles. 

£7,200 -. can provide hairdressing skills to 40 female inmates in Lira to provide them with skills, work experience and small earnings, which they can use to build a livelihood after prison.

£10,800 - can pay for our Tailoring Centre in Gulu town and will offer temporary employment to the newly released participants of our tailoring project in Gulu Women’s Prison to ease their transition back to the community. 

£44,000 - will cover the entire costs of our work for one year offering crucial skills training to more than 600 low-educated prisoners in Uganda and giving temporary employment to released prisoners. 

Together we can ensure that a further 600 prisoners every year have the opportunity to fulfil their potential so that they can break the cycle of poverty, re-offending and imprisonment.

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