Transformative MaSP (Men as Supporting Partners) Clubs Change Correctional Facility Culture

The MaSP Club initiative, funded by SAfAIDS Kingdom of Eswatini, demonstrated remarkable success in engaging 99 inmates at His Majesty's Correctional Services (HMCS) - Matsapha Correctional Center. The program focused on critical topics including gender equality, consent, and HIV prevention, yielding significant positive outcomes. Four distinct clubs were established( Calakabusha, Similo Setfu, Asakhaneni, United Phoenix). The program achieved exceptional results in changing attitudes and increasing knowledge, with all participants demonstrating commitment to behavioral change, and 90% of them gaining vital new understanding about consent as well as enhanced peer-to-peer support and education.

The initiative also fostered meaningful changes within the correctional facility as participants demonstrated increased empathy and accountability, and inmates developed support networks for literacy and knowledge sharing, while prison officials requested program expansion.

The MaSP model successfully created a safe environment for open dialogue and learning. The program's effectiveness is further validated by our achievement of gender parity in our client demographic, with nearly equal male and female clients.

This successful collaboration demonstrates the potential for transformative change within correctional facilities through targeted educational initiatives.