Ms. Abut Moses and her team at one of the police stations in Wau/Courtesy

A group of young people in Wau town has started an initiative to help in the release of vulnerable and young people sentenced for minor crimes.

The initiative, Black Ebony was started in Sudan by a student, Ms. Abut Moses who raised resources to help vulnerable people in hospitals.

Established in Wau town of Northern Bahr el Ghazal last July, Black Ebony now mobilizes resources to bail out inmates serving sentences for minor crimes.

According to the founder Abut Moses, they are working in collaboration with Wau Youth Initiative.

They visit prisons and detention facilities in Western Bahr el Ghazal State to assess the condition of inmates and the crimes they are convicted of.

Ms. Abut says she raises money from well-wishers to aid her charity work.

“I started by doing an announcement on my Facebook page that I am going to visit the prison, I have some money to share with some convicts so I started getting calls from people pledging to support,” Ms. Abut explained.

In the prisons and detention centers, she identifies vulnerable inmates such as young people and women.

Those sentenced for minor crimes are considered for bail.

So far, Ms. Abut says, more than 20 people serving prison terms for minor cases have been released from prisons across the state.

“We are targeting specific cases as damages, debts and quarrels and adolescent issues,” she added.

Most of the freed inmates are women and juveniles.