Funke Adeoye, founder of Hope Behind Bars Africa, a non-governmental organisation fighting against unlawful detention and the stigmatisation of ex-inmates, has been named as one of the 18 fellows for the Ashoka Fellowship, a programme for world-leading social entrepreneurs.
Reacting to news of her selection, she told FIJ she was elated, as it validated the ingenuity of work of her organisation, considering that getting into the programme is only by nomination and invitation.
“I was elated. The selection process was quite rigorous. Ashoka Fellowship is by nomination and invitation only. I had to go through different stages of the selection process and a very long wait,” Adeoye said.
“Understanding that my profile also got to be read and acknowledged at some point by Bill Drayton, the founder of Ashoka, who first used the word ‘social entrepreneurship’ goes further to validate the ingenuity of the work we do at Hope Behind Bars Africa.”
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She expressed excitement about her project because it reveals a system of relapse among ex-inmates, highlighting how they have become socially disadvantaged.
“This process affirmed our theory of change, stressing how my work addresses systemic issues related to unlawful incarceration and rehabilitation. It further enhances our credibility, with the opportunity to be connected to a global community of changemakers,” she added.
Funke Adeoye. Photo Source: @thefunkeadeoye
“While providing early intervention legal support is crucial, we observed a troubling trend: high rates of recidivism among those released from incarceration. Many individuals have shared that their lives in prison often felt more stable, with basic needs like shelter and food met, highlighting a systemic issue where the penal environment, paradoxically, appears more supportive of the socio-economically disadvantaged.
“In response to this insight, we developed the ‘Inside-out Model’, a comprehensive approach that collaborates with the Nigerian Correctional Service and the private sector to support justice-impacted individuals both during their time in prison and after their release.”
Announcing Adeoye’s election into its 2024 cohort on Thursday, the fellowship said she would be joining other 17 social entrepreneurs with groundbreaking ideas from eight countries across Africa.
For the next three years, she will be working on a project that engages inmates, offers them legal aid, and supports them with income-generating skills while in detention to prevent them from returning to their cells.
This month, we are thrilled to introduce and celebrate the incredible work of 18 new #AshokaFellows in #Africa, each tackling some of the most pressing challenges in their communities through innovative solutions. Find out more: https://t.co/W4hPhZYwGT #SocEnt #Changemakers pic.twitter.com/xM1dpqFILl— Ashoka Africa (@AshokaAfrica) October 3, 2024
Her work will also help her collaborate with prison officials to better serve inmates and state governments to enact prison laws that will enable restorative justice principles.
“Adeoye is transforming the entire prison experience by engaging directly with inmates, offering legal aid, providing psychosocial support, and introducing innovative income-generating initiatives within the prison walls. The focus is on changing the mindset of prisoners, particularly those in poverty, by creating a supportive environment for their reintegration into society, thereby preventing secondary offences,” the Ashoka Fellowship stated on its website.
“She is also actively working with officials in the prison system, with whom she provides tools and resources that enable them to serve the inmates, working with the Correctional Service.
“Her work also involves collaborating with state governments to enact prison laws that incorporate restorative justice principles, legal support for inmates, and her inside-out program.”
To achieve this, she will be creating economic opportunities for the inmates through her Inside Out hubs, providing pro bono legal service for inmates and collaborating with government entities at different levels but with a focus on the state.
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Since she founded Hope Behind Bars in May 2019, the non-governmental organisation has supported over 8,500 indigent incarcerated persons, empowered over 500 incarcerated women and provided more than 1.2 million hours of free legal service among others.
Her passion for seeing indigent people get justice was borne out of her father’s arrest when she was a child. Adeoye had told FIJ back in June 2023 that her father was locked up at the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, Lagos for a crime he never committed but the experience left a desire for justice in her.
On September 27, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) invited Adeoye for questioning for the pivotal role she played in securing the release of Peter Nicholas, a 26-year-old photographer who spent 10 months in prison for resigning via text message.
Since she was not in the country at the time, her lawyers honoured the invitation on her behalf.
The post Hope Behind Bars Founder Funke Adeoye Named Ashoka Fellow appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.