We can hardly believe 2023 has come to an end - marking the completion of our 45th year! Founded as the National Council for the Welfare of Prisoners Abroad, we have been assisting British prisoners overseas, year in, year out, since 1978. And, of course, all of this - the vital grants, books, newspapers, magazines, cards, letter forwarding, advice and emotional support - could not be done without the involvement of our fantastic community.

Over the last year, you have made so many things possible - all to the help ease the pain of overseas imprisonment for everyone involved. Before we move forward into 2024, let's take a look back...

In January and February...

We ran a match-funded campaign to provide advice and guidance on managing finances to our resettlement service users. You helped us raise £11,621! A person formerly imprisoned in Australia says: "Prisoners Abroad helped sort out a 40-year old pension problem and told me about the Freedom Pass, saving me hundreds of pounds already."

In March...

We were able to increase the weekly supermarket vouchers we provide from £35 to £50 in response to the rising cost of living. These help vulnerable former prisoners who return to the UK with nothing purchase food and other essentials on arrival. £6,000 in donations from our fantastic community helped make this possible!

In May...

We said goodbye to Pauline Crowe OBE, our Chief Executive of 20 years, and wished her well in her retirement. In her place, we welcomed Christopher Stacey. Pauline and Christopher both received so many fantastic messages of support and encouragement from our community, making a big transition all the easier. Read Christopher's blog post reflecting on his first six months at Prisoners Abroad.

In July...

We took part in the BBC Radio 4 Appeal. Our fantastic patron, Dame Harriet Walter, read the broadcast for us, sharing Sean's story of imprisonment in the Caribbean. Supporters old and new helped us raise an incredible £67,738 towards our life-saving overseas work. You can still listen to the recording of the broadcast via BBC Sounds.

In September...  

We wrote to you about the spiralling postage costs we are facing. Many of our services rely on postal and courier services - letter-forwarding, sending learning and wellbeing materials, and providing our authorisation forms, handbooks and factsheets to newly detained service users - but an increase in prices and changing regulations have made this much more challenging. Support our postage costs today!

In October...

We held our first family support and information group for those with relatives serving a long-term or a life sentence. British prisoners overseas have a much higher average sentence length than prisoners in the UK - 14.5 years compared to 22.6 months. For the family members involved, coming to terms with this can feel almost like "bereavement without a body." Read this blog post from a family member to see how beneficial our support groups can be.

In November...

We published the inaugural edition of the Cheal Report. Named after one of our founders, Chris Cheal, the report highlights particular trends and characteristics in our work throughout 2022-23. Notably, countries where British prisoners are eligible for our survival grants saw a 50% increase in cases last year. We hope this will become an annual publication to better help you understand the challenges we face. Read the report here!

In December...

We marked Human Rights Day on 10th December with the launch of our annual campaign to raise funds for our vital survival grants. These grants help people imprisoned in the most brutal and unhygienic conditions to purchase food, clean water, and medicine - the very basics they need to get by. And, thanks to you, we reached our £3,000 target!

Thank you so much from the whole Prisoners Abroad team for being a part of our vital work throughout 2023. With your support and compassion, we can look forward to the year ahead!