During the presentation, four computers and toys were given for the children of women serving their sentences in the Pozega prison.
The project "MA#ME" amounts to around EUR 110,000 and is financed by the IPA European social fund and the Croatian government's Office for NGOs.
Its purpose is to improve the employability, social inclusion and quality of life of female prisoners and their families, notably children, as well as promote partnership in the advocacy and implementation of programmes intended for women prisoners, notably their children, RODA executive manager Ivana Zanze said.
"Almost one million European children grow up with one parent being in prison. In late 2013, there were 1,108 male prisoners in Croatian prisons with 1,985 underage children and 39 female prisoners with 134 underage children. Last year, there were 3,039 underage male and female prisoners who are parents and who during that year had 7,384 visits by their underage children," said Zanze.
Through its project RODA will work to support and educate female prisoners as well as raise public awareness of the need to improve living conditions for their children, who are a particularly stigmatised, 'invisible' group, said Zanze.
To prevent deterioration of family relations caused by imprisonment, two years ago a project was launched to promote 'responsible parenthood' and some 500 prison inmates participated in it. This year, another project, designed to strengthen parent competencies, covered 106 prison inmates, said Deputy Justice Minister Sandra Artukovic Kunst.
She recalled that in an effort to create a suitable environment for meetings between children and their parents in prisons, those prisons have designated special rooms for that purpose, which have been equipped in cooperation with the UNICEF Office in Croatia with didactic kits and toys worth HRK 142,000.