Responsible Rehabilitation introduction - A new beginning
Press release 2008
SmilingOne kick-started the year 2008 with their pilot programme ‘Responsible Rehabilitation’ in Brandvlei Maximum Prison. The feedback received from the prisoners was overwhelming:
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I tell myself each day that I am happy and excited. I am enjoying the process and radiating love to all around me. I have become stronger and more inspired with each session and give my thanks to those who made it possible through this course... My wisest choice is to use my suffering as an opportunity to discover the very best of who I am and find the gifts in it. To my astonishment I found myself an eager student of life." (D.T. Williams)
"It has already through my heart opened my hands to feel and touch everything around me and to find meaning in my surrounding... Thank you to all coaches of SmilingOne. You are helping me to find my destination, to be the leader who breaths with meaning in every breath he breaths." (Thabo Zondo)
"It is amazing now how I eagerly look forward to a new day to put on test the new material/equipment I have to the daily challenges and where I fail I know that I must work even harder to be able to achieve my complete 'Responsible status'... SmilingOne is the best thing that has ever happened to the Brandvlei Maximum Institute. I cannot wait for the next term of this amazing program." (Mthunzi Skoji)
SmilingOne guides 14 inmates in section 6 - the Group of Hope (GOH) - and 5 Wardens. The awareness process focuses on building trust in Self, creating meaning, adding value and developing an understanding of how to walk the path of life responsibly.
There will furthermore be trained 5 Responsibility Coaches within the group to ensure a sustainable rehabilitating environment. These coaches will be qualified to guide fellow inmates through the process of ‘Responsible Rehabilitation’ using the ‘Responsibility Manual’.
There are approximately 1 200 inmates at Brandvlei Maximum Prison who will benefit from this process.
SmilingOne is an accredited service provider of the Department of Correctional Services and has their full support on this project. The Responsible Rehabilitation Programme works inside/out and guides offenders in establishing balance in all doing. This includes offering awareness campaigns for crime management and prevention.
It is part of the mission of SmilingOne to make a difference for the safety and growth of the community and society at large as they implement the concept of responsibility on a larger scale throughout South Africa. Their goal is to establish the Responsible Rehabilitation Process in all Western Cape prisons within 5 years and expand to the rest of South Africa.
There will be established groups outside the prisons to continuously assess and empower ex-offenders who have been rehabilitated, assisting them to pursue a meaningful and successful life after prison as responsible individuals. This includes offering them an opportunity to participate in and add value to the Responsible Rehabilitation Program, both inside and outside correctional institutions.
copyright remarks
© 2007-2010 by Karina Andersen, Cape Town. All rights reserved.
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