Noah’s Ark Community Correctional Centre, a Bulawayo-based religious organization, has mentored nearly 60 ex-offenders to date. It is one of the first independent halfway homes to partner with the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service in its shift from a punitive to a corrective and rehabilitative approach.
A team of journalists who had earlier visited Khami Prison near Bulawayo toured the correctional facility and witnessed the sharp contrast between life behind Khami’s high walls and the relaxed atmosphere of a residential area.At Noah’s Ark, the 15 residents , no longer referred to as inmates, were smartly dressed in new overalls and going about their daily routines.
Unlike at Khami, visitors were not subjected to security protocols such as surrendering national identity cards.
Only during introductions at a meeting held in the Noah’s Ark church did the journalists learn that ex-offenders were seated at the back.Centre Director Frank Jabson told the visitors that the organization was registered in 2009 by Noah’s Ark Church, led by Bishop Febbie Chuma.
The church was established in 2004 in Queens Park East, one of the city’s oldest eastern suburbs.“We identified challenges facing the community in this old suburb and committed ourselves to help address them.
These include drug and substance abuse, homelessness, unemployment, and crime,” Jabson said.
The organization partnered with Ingutsheni Hospital to provide psychosocial support to homeless communities. It also supports orphans and vulnerable children in the area.
In 2020, the organization entered a partnership with the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service to accommodate ex-offenders nearing the end of their sentences.
Eligible for admission are ex-offenders with less than 12 months remaining on their sentences, a low risk of escape, family support systems, and a willingness to join the center.
Residents have a cellphone facility to communicate with their families.
“We provide spiritual guidance, and each day begins with morning devotions in the church,” Jabson said.
The center currently accommodates 20 residents but is working to upgrade the facility to house 100.
“We are expanding because we want to effectively contribute to reducing congestion in our prisons,” he added.
As part of the rehabilitation programme, residents are trained in poultry rearing, shoemaking, detergent production, and agribusiness skills to prepare them for life after prison.
”One resident, Nkosilathi Jabangwe, who came to the center in August 2025 from Khami Maximum Prison, said the programme is helping him reintegrate after completing his sentence.
“I am guided by Bishop Chuma’s message on time and chance. She emphasises that Christ has given us another chance in life and we should not waste it. We seek help while we help ourselves,” Jabangwe said.
National AIDS Council Bulawayo Provincial Manager, Sinatra Nyathi said while NAC is not yet working directly with the center, it is active in the broader Bulawayo North district.
Its work addresses male engagement, drug and substance abuse, adherence to antiretroviral drugs, crime, risky sexual behavior, disease surveillance, and non-communicable diseases.
