The Minister of Social Development, Ms Bathabile Dlamini, will address female prisoners who live with their children at the Kroonstad Women’s Correctional Centre about making the right choices for their children and families.

She will be speaking during the 2014 Early Christmas Gifts to Babies Behind Bars Initiative, organised by Inguqu Development – an NGO that specialises in crime prevention and awareness programmes in schools, communities and workplace consciousness against crime. Imprisoned mothers in South Africa can keep their children with them for up to four years, after which they must be placed in alternative care.  The Department of Social Development is responsible for ensuring that children are placed in alternative care when they can no longer stay with their mothers in prison.

The Department is also involved with work to repatriate South African children in distress abroad as a result of their mothers being imprisoned there.  Since 2008, no less than fifteen South African children in distress abroad have been repatriated back to South Africa by the Department of Social Development.

Members of the media are invited to attend the event, which will take place as follows:

Date: 11 December 2014
Time: 07h00
Venue: Kroonstad Women’s Correctional Centre, Kroonstad, Free State Province

Please send media RSVPs to Mr Jaconia Kobue on 073 026 1111 or JaconiaK@dsd.gov.za

Media inquiries may be forwarded to Ms Lumka Oliphant on 083 484 8067 or lumkao@dsd.gov.za

Issued by Department of Communications on behalf of Social Development
09 November 2014