Visiting Al Wadiya prison report

During the visit of Life Foundation to the Moroccan kingdom with an invitation from ADALA Association and Mohammed the VI Foundation for integration. The training program  included visiting one of the Moroccan prisons to look into the methods used to apply the rehabilitation and community integration program; which the Moroccan kingdom has started applying in prisons.

The team has visited Al Wadiya prison (Marrakech, Morocco) alongside ADALA Association and the community integration representative in the general delegate of prisons, and the visit included many regulations, and how they were to be executed, they are as follows:

Prison identification card – number of prison escorts – types – documentary logs – medical clinic – physician – medicines – prisoners rehabilitation workshops –  requirements needed to register to the rehabilitation program –follow-up committee for the rehabilitation program – job distribution.

• Prison identification card : The trainees headed, under the supervision of Mrs./ Gameela Al Seeyouri and Mrs./ Nermeen Al Bahtyty, to visit Al Wadiya prison; it’s located 200 km outside Marrakech city. The visit began with a reception from the prison manager, social worker and the prison security personnel. The prison manager had presented a visual presentation of the prison, which included:

The date of establishing the prison on 9/3/2013; the total prison area which is 25 Acres and the holding area is 8008 m²; number of current inmates 2757; number of employees 233, 211 males and 22 females.

• The foundation interests are as follows:
• Judicial control interest: which handles the ( judicial files for the prisoners and keep track of their release and mark the legal appointments for the courts and the deportation of the convicted to attend their trials )
• Economy interest: which handles the ( prisoner’s finances such as “secretariats; money deposits”)
• Social affairs interest: handles the ( prisoner’s social status; his needs; hobbies; and their social issues in general )
• Health care interest: which handles the ( medical area; providing medicines; make treatment available on the government’s expense through demonstrating on the prison’s division; refer tough cases to Marrakesh’s general hospital )
• Rehabilitation and reintegration program:
• Vocational formation for peasants; 2- Learning programs; 3- Activities “ cultural – parental – athletic”

They are formed as follows:-

• Vocational formation for farmers: which include ( builders union – topography union – jewelry making – plaster inscription union – restaurant and cooking union – dying and glass union – vocational for farmers to plant flowering trees – mechanics – sanitation union )
• Learning programs: halls to give vocational lessons; library; printing; disassembling and reassembling home appliances, then given a licensed certificate through the prison for completing a training vocational course issued from the national office of vocational formation, and it will not state that the trainee was convicted; they are trained under trainers from the Ministry of vocational training with the aid of the prison management)
• Cultural activities program: Electronic printing; library

After the presentation, the trainees head to the field visit with a prison escort to observe the rehabilitation and community integration program in the running, to the accordance of what was actually presented.

Started by visiting the jewelry making workshop and came across the industrial devices used; watch some of the prisoner’s products; then visited the builder’s workshop and observe some of the teaching methods in the techniques of construction work and procedures used as well as tools etc.; then monitored the mechanic workshop and looked into the performances of mechanical renovation as well as the tools, there also have been a number of motorcycles for practical learning; then moved on to the aluminum trade workshop and how it is used.

Then visited the prison’s library and seen their arrangement; and how many books are there whether it’s in Arabic, English or French, whether it’s religious or archives; then had access into the dancing halls; also passed by the unit of fixing home appliances and the printing unit as well as the kitchen and pastries workshop.

• Health clinic: The trainees headed to visit the health clinic and look into the medical records for the unwell cases, which are constantly followed up by the prison clinic; also came across the health care system which was presented in the presence of a follow-up prison hospital with an examination booth and dental clinic, medically equipped with medicines and treatments; then, the trainees been to the health archive office
• Visit to the social worker’s office; and visited the prison’s kitchen; as well as the food storage; and the private quarters for the prison’s kitchen staff.
• As well as, meet three prisoners and the team of trainees have addressed them with questions of how important is the rehabilitation program they’re going through in prison; and will the program benefit them after they’re released from prison; they all agreed that the program is crucial and the plans for post-release are also important.

At the end of the visit, the team of trainees headed to the prison manager’s office; then they presented the Shield of Life Foundation for Development and Community Integration to him.