News & Media

CAS Interior, Ms. Winnie Guchu Officially Opens the Ksh. 12 Million Workshop Training Unit at Lang’ata Women’s Prison

• The construction of the workshop training unit at Lang’ata Women’s Prison started in November 2021, and took just under 10 weeks to complete
• The workshop unit will compromise two wings; baking and tailoring & apparels
• More than 500 women in the prison will benefit from the skills acquired from the workshop trainings
• The project has been supported by The Chandaria Foundation, Mabati Rolling Mills, Safal Building Systems among other key stakeholders

Nairobi, Kenya:  February 14, 2022… Chief Administration Secretary (CAS) (Interior) Winnie Guchu, today officially opened the Lang’ata Women’s Prison workshop. The newly constructed training workshop is a two-wing unit that compromises of a baking unit and a tailoring & apparels unit. The new workshop, valued at over Ksh. 12 million, is jointly funded by Chandaria Foundation, Safal Building Systems Limited (SBS) and Mabati Rolling Mills Limited (MRM).  SBS and MRM are both members of the Safal Group.

The just completed workshop will support the prison’s newly established Entrepreneurship and Vocational Training that is set to equip the inmates with skills they can rely on once released from prison. Baking and tailoring courses will be the main training offered at the workshop, complementing the current units that were limited in terms of space and equipment and have not been adequately catering for the training needs of the inmates.

Speaking during the handover ceremony, CAS Winnie Guchu thanked the Chandaria Foundation and SBS for their contribution towards the construction of the workshop and especially the use of SafBuild’s Pre-Engineered Steel Buildings (PEB) technology that hastened the construction in record time.

She noted that the workshop will go a long way in supporting the prison’s capacity in the efforts to institute training initiatives and other sustainable activities to ensure that the inmates receive the best skill and training while in prison and can then use the acquired skillset once reformed and released to the free world.

The construction of the workshop unit commissioned in November 2021 and through the SAFBUILD ® brand, has been delivered in under 10 weeks. The technology behind this brand allowed for the  building to be fabricated offsite and then quickly assembled on site thus reducing the construction time by at least 50%.

“We have the best technology in building and construction which has enabled us to deliver on the project faster and within very tight timelines without compromising on quality and value. The need to accelerate the completion of this construction was in order to cater for the rising training needs in the prison therefore allowing more women to take up the trainings offered, said Mr. Anders Lindgren, CEO Safal Group.

“As a group, one of our key focus areas in corporate social investment is education and we believe that supporting the prison in imparting vocational and skill development among the women is yet another demonstration of the care and responsibility for our community in line with our values.”, he added.

The unit, constructed using Safal Business Systems (SBS) SAFBUILD ® Brand   is now fully equipped and ready to use. The workshop has many other amenities such as: stainless steel storage cabinets, tailoring machines to make hygiene products, reusable sanitary pads and facemasks, baking ovens and cake mixers, kitchen and tailoring fittings, water tanks, extractor hood in the kitchen and other key accessories.

Over 500 women in the prison will benefit from the workshop where they will engage in baking and tailoring activities and make it self-sustaining by generating income which they can take to start off a new life once released from prison as the workshop will run as a profitable business.

Speaking during the ceremony, Founder, Chandaria Foundation, Dr. Manu Chandaria said: It is an absolute delight to be here today while celebrating love and witnessing the official launch of this training workshop unit. The workshop will help women acquire new skillset in bakery, tailoring and apparel that will empower them when looking for new sustainable opportunities once they are back in the society. It is my hope that these initiatives by the prison will to a great extent help in the prevention of relapse in crime.

The partnership is between Chandaria Foundation, Mabati Rolling Mills and Safal Building Systems, Valentine’s Cake House, UNODC, Rina Bakery, Cleanstart, Faraja foundation, Mavazi Elavate programme and Fr Grols welfare.

ABOUT SAFAL BUILDING SOLUTIONS

Safal Building Solutions, a subsidiary of Mabati Rolling Mills, offers market solutions and innovations in building techniques and technologies. Its core products include:

• SAFBUILD® – pre-engineered steel building solutions are prefabricated steel structures that are easily assembled on site.

• ULTRASPAN® light weight steel roof trusses manufactured from high tensile ZINCAL® steel for a durable, precision engineered roof with a 30-year warranty

Safal Building Solutions (SBS) uses advanced engineering expertise to create more sustainable, more efficient and cost-effective buildings.  This offers building owners, architects, and installers building options that make a world of positive difference – in the cost of building, the speed of occupation, and best of all, in cost to the environment.

ABOUT MRM

Mabati Rolling Mills Limited (MRM), is a Member of Safal Group of Companies and Africa’s pioneer manufacturer of Building Solutions using some of the most advanced technologies available worldwide.

In Kenya, MRM is the leading manufacturer of building solutions and takes pride in offering top-of the range industry leading building solutions. Their range of products cater for the residential, commercial and industrial sectors.

With a great legacy and a history spanning 60 years, MRM remains the leading Building Solutions innovator in its field. MRM’s continued focus on the customer, provision of total building solutions and development of innovative products has resulted in market leadership in Kenya.

MRM’s roofing brands like DUMUZAS ™, RESINCOT ™, VERSATILE™, LIFESTILE™, COVERMAX™, ULTRA-SPAN™ and SAFLOCK700™ are household names that are known and trusted by millions of consumers.

MRM’s focus on Corporate Social Responsibility is on four key pillars; shelter, health, environment and education. In partnership with the Safal-MRM Foundation, MRM supports two initiatives in Mariakani, the Mabati Medical Centre, treating about 40,000 patients a year and the Mabati Technical Training Institute, training at least 1,000 students a year.

For Enquiries, please contact; 
Judy Mwangi,
Head of External Communications, Safal Group
judy.mwangi@safalgroup.com  (+254 757 215 540)