Project Phoenix
The new chapter
Our U.N. S.D.G. Targets
Introduction
What we are doing
Project Phoenix is an initiative to equip convicts with digital skills. The goal is to prepare them on their reintegration journey for the 21st Century and its increasingly digital job market. The pilot project for four months will be a parallel cohort of intro to web development and digital marketing - 10 juveniles each. Project Phoenix aims to engage and equip 250 inmates with proficiency of at least one digital skills each year.
Our Goals & Mission
This initiative is a brainchild of Learnira, a STEM focused start-up that believes that every African child should have access to quality education. Our previous campaign which lasted from 2017 to 2019 was able to impact 7,400 students in 37 schools. A large percentage of this was with public schools and primarily in Nigeria, but we likewise had stints in Ghana too.
Target Audience
We are addressing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4, 8 & 10 with our focus on prison inmates. We are working with the X Prisons Service in Africa to run Project Phoenix as a pilot at their juvenile facility. Our goal is consultative and provision of technology skills that complements already existing vocational training within the facility.
Why is this important ?
We are going to take a look at some statistics from the X Prisons Service. The most recent year of publication of the full audit is 2015.That year, 14,355 was the average prison population and 81.7% of them were convicts, while the rest were held in remand custody.
In the same year, 77.7% of convicted prisoners admitted into the service were between the ages 18-35. The previous year, this age group was 70.4% of convicted admittances.
Concerning the educational backgrounds of convict admission at the time; 97.7% did not complete tertiary education. This is a slight jump from 97.2% in the previous year.
So, we see a large amount of employable aged but largely unskilled individuals who are admitted into prison. It is important to note that their backgrounds could have been a contributing factor to the circumstances that got them into the facility.
We would also see 6,997 prisoners being discharged in 2015 (convicts & un-convicted). If unassessed, there may be a significant number of unrefined individuals returning to society.
Our juvenile target group for the pilot currently sit at 268 convicts today.
After all, from 1992 to 2013 the rate of inmates that have reoffended increased by 23% and the recidivism percentage rate in the pilot country had been fluctuating from 21% in 2004 through to 19.3% in 2008 and to 22.2% in 2011.
With the accelerating rate of technological development coupled with poor educational backgrounds, most inmates would be left behind not having the appropriate skills to participate in their communities once they are reintegrated.
PILOT SCOPE, PROGRESS & PLAN
We launched this enterprise in Africa and are working with the Senior Correctional Centre. This is the only facility in the pilot country that serves juveniles and young offenders. We have begun liaising with the directors of the Senior Correctional Centre and are developing a suitable operational timetable to be part of the existing Reintegration Programs.
THE PLANThis track exposes learners to the opportunities available in the digital world, and netiquettes. It also equips them to be able to take on Digital Marketing roles or to help them market their skills.Software development offers so many exciting career opportunities! Our curriculum is project based, enabling the inmates to build as they learn.Software development offers so many exciting career opportunities! Our curriculum is project based, enabling the inmates to build as they learn.Our goal is to provide learners access to formal education of their choice that can be achieved via an e-learning portals such as Udemy, Coursera, etc. Courses are to be taken from accredited institutions both local and international.
THE PLAN- Digital Natives
This track exposes learners to the opportunities available in the digital world, and netiquettes. It also equips them to be able to take on Digital Marketing roles or to help them market their skills.
- Introduction to Coding
This track exposes learners to the opportunities available in the digital world, and netiquettes. It also equips them to be able to take on Digital Marketing roles or to help them market their skills.
- Access to formal education online
This track exposes learners to the opportunities available in the digital world, and netiquettes. It also equips them to be able to take on Digital Marketing roles or to help them market their skills.
- Re-integration program
This track exposes learners to the opportunities available in the digital world, and netiquettes. It also equips them to be able to take on Digital Marketing roles or to help them market their skills.