LUSAKA, Zambia, Oct. 18 /
Christian Newswire/ -- Following a visit to the country, Crossroad Bible Institute announces the opening of CBI Zambia, its eleventh distribution center worldwide. Amidst the overcrowded squalor of Zambian prisons, where malnutrition, disease, violence and injustice run rampant, CBI studies offer hope and respite from suffering.
Due to failures of the criminal justice system, thirty-five percent of Zambian inmates are awaiting trial. This contributes to severe overcrowding; the country's prisons house nearly three times their intended capacity.
CBI's Cynthia Williams observed Zambian prison conditions firsthand on her recent visit to Lusaka Central Prison, where the CBI program operates. For sixteen hours a day, cells built for fifteen prisoners are filled instead with one hundred. The men sleep sitting in rows, pressed between one another's knees.
Infectious diseases, particularly HIV, tuberculosis and dysentery, spread quickly in these conditions, further propelled by insufficient medical facilities. Prisoners often experience cruel treatment and do not receive soap, toiletries or sufficient food. Each day, they receive one meal weighing a mere 400 grams. Those without an outside contact to supplement the meal starve or resort to using sex or labor to barter for food.
Thankfully, CBI Zambia actively and compassionately responds to inmates' needs. Several members of the Zambian leadership team have served time in their country's prisons, and they now return with a crucial message of hope. Director Gilbert Mutale Mwamba states, "Many lives in our prisons will be transformed through the Bible study lessons, and I can assure you that prisoners here in Zambia are very much excited to become students of CBI."
The distribution center celebrated its official launch with a ceremony attended by Williams, the leadership team, Instructors, religious leaders and government officials.
CBI President Dr. David Schuringa notes, "Though sobered by the appalling conditions of Zambian prisons and the country's flawed criminal justice system, we are hopeful about the future as we observe the dedication, determination and passion of the CBI Zambia leadership team."
Crossroad Bible Institute is a prison ministry in its twenty-sixth year of operation. With over 40,000 students, CBI now has eleven international distribution centers and two openings pending. Visit www.cbi.fm for more information. CBI's program is provided at no cost to prisoners and their families.
