Who we are
CIPA was founded in 2025 as a collective voice to champion the rights and well-being of children of incarcerated parents in Africa. We are made up of community activists and aligned partners in advocacy, research and policy across Africa.
Founding Members
Wells of Hope, Uganda
Francis SuubiFrancis has 15 years of supporting children with incarcerated parents, particularly those with parents on death row or serving long sentences. Services include skills training for caregivers and previously incarcerated parents, prison visits for children, educational support, nutritional and healthcare support, reintegration support and family-based care programmes as well as advocacy and pro-bono legal services. Francis is a founding member of INCCIP and runs a global educational programme on improving interventions for children with incarcerated parents.
AFIFA, Kenya
Joseph Okuya Joseph is Founder and Executive Director at Advocacy for incarcerated families (AFIFA). AFIFA provides holistic support through educational sponsorships, psychosocial care, mentorship, nutritional assistance and child protection interventions. It helps children to visit their parents in prison, supports wives of incarcerated men, and conducts community outreach to reduce stigma and uphold children’s rights. Joseph is a qualified mediator, facilitating family mediation and reconciliation through reintegration planning for parents after prison.
Alleviate Zimbabwe
Makaita Chikamhi Magarezano Makaita is the founder and CEO of Alleviate Zimbabwe, a reintegration organisation focused on successfully transitioning people, particularly parents, from prison back into their communities. They also provide family support for children through facilitating prison visits and providing school support. Makaita is a lawyer with professional insight into the challenges faced by the children and families left behind after a parent is imprisoned.
Pepo la tumaini Jangwani
Sarafina (Sarah) KRUGER, KenyaSarafina is the Executive Director of Pepo La Tumaini Jangwani in Kenya, a community-driven rehabilitation centre serving vulnerable children from diverse marginalised groups, including children of incarcerated parents. She brings a personal drive to help establish CIPA having been a child with a father in and out of prison herself, as well as professional expertise as a play therapist with a Master’s degree in Applied Criminology, Penology and Management from the University of Cambridge. She is nurturing grassroots leadership and mobilising community activists across Africa to give CIPA a voice championing the rights of children affected by parental imprisonment in Africa.
PREAJTABITHA, Kenya
Chrispinus WafulaChris is the Founding Director of PREAJTABITHA and a prison officer and chaplain. Through a faith-driven service, he runs a family tracing programme to reconnect prisoners with their families, especially their children. He facilitates communication, family visits and emotional support for both prisoners and their loved ones. Rev. Chris is also a trustee member of INCCIP, focusing on positive community reintegration after prison, education and counselling as well as safe housing for children with parents in prison.
Jedidiah Trust, Zimbabwe
Lovemore ChikwandaAs Founding CEO of Jedidiah Trust, Lovemore supports children of incarcerated parents through education support, family-friendly visitation days to prisons, psychosocial workshops for children, caregiver empowerment and nutritional provision. Lovemore is a vocal advocate highlighting the challenges children face when their parent is absent due to incarceration leading to social exclusion, financial hardship and feelings of abandonment and rejection.
Members
Celsir, Nigeria
Joke Aladesanmi (executive Director)Provides holistic support to justice -impacted individuals from pre-incarceration to reintegration. Celsir are beginning to think of how to develop their services for children affected by parental incarceration.
Ambpd, Burundi
Valentine Havyarimana (Founder and national Co-ordinator)Works to reduce drug-related risks, protect children, and support vulnerable communities across Burundi. They are creating child-friendly spaces in prison for children incarcerated with their mothers.
Partners and Contributors
-
International Network of Children with Incarcerated Parents
INCCIP is a coalition of dedicated organizations, institutions and individuals working together to cultivate the united voice for and of children of prisoners. It is dedicated to advocating for the wellbeing of children with incarcerated parents through creating a global community that addresses the challenges and issues faced by these children. The coalition works to engage with global decision-makers, justice systems, and children’s rights organizations to improve the lives of children with parents in detention.
-
Incarcerated Nations Network
INN is a global network that supports, instigates and popularizes innovative prison reform and justice reimagining efforts around the world. INN is a partner-led organization that is committed to transnational solidarity, intersectionality, working toward a world without prisons and ensuring that those directly impacted by the justice system lead the way to its radical reimagining.
-
Providing strategic guidance, advice, and adminstration support
Catriona has worked in grant-making and strategic philanthropy for over 15 years, passionately advocating for community-led initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa. She champions the powerful impact of grassroots charities, whose deep understanding of local challenges enables more effective and meaningful change.
Catriona is helping CIPA and its members expand and build capacity to attract more resources and amplify their voice on the international stage.
-
Bringing authentic insight and helping develop fundraising partnerships
Bibi navigated her early years between the ages of 3 and 6 years old without her father who was incarcerated in Zimbabwe. Her experiences shaped her understanding of the emotional and psychological difficulties faced by children affected by parental imprisonment.
Bibi is helping CIPA develop perspectives that challenge deficit narratives and instead highlight children’s resilience and drive to overcome the odds against them.
-
Strategic communications support and website development
Lucy is an international communications strategist who works with value-aligned organisations and non-profits. Her work is informed by a background in community outreach and child and adolescent therapy with marginalised communities in London and Johannesburg, including with children affected by family incarceration.
Lucy is creating CIPA’s website and supporting the crafting of its narrative to ensure a compelling, inclusive digital presence and transformative storytelling to attract sustainable resources and partners to advance its social justice aims.
Get involved
Ways to Collaborate:
Join our network: We welcome organisations, community activists, and aligned partners involved in support and advocacy of children of incarcerated children in Africa.
Partner with us: We work with funders, policy actors, and strategic partners to build capacity and scale solutions to ensure the needs of these children are no longer overlooked.
Research collaborations: We aim to connect researchers with our partners to amplify children’s voices, and build Africa-specific data to inform policy and practice reforms.
