Friday 18th January 2008, 22:03Improving Peoples Lives - Including mine...............This week I have had the privilege to visit a number of correctional facilities in South Africa as we prepare to deliver our programmes in six units in the region of Kwazulu Natal. My thanks to the Area Commissioner Mr Z K Monama and his team from the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) for the wonderful welcome and arrangements they put in place to facilitate our meetings and joint working. We had been invited to take part in the development of these new programmes due to the invite from Khulisa (an amazing organisation) who work magic inside the prisons of South Africa with the inmates. Thanks to Lesley Ann for your wonderful leadership, Graham for his patience, Tumi for adding so much value to my life this week, Kleintjie for your energy and Natalie for your clarity and forward plan. Many others made a real impact and I just wanted to say thank you.
Mr Z K Monama and his team have a very tough job. The overcrowding in the correctional units is severe and they manage to maintain a professional and caring attitude to the needs of the inmates, whilst ensuring the public are protected and the inmates are secure.
In Empangeni I witnessed the leadership of a director of the prison who had warmth and personal relationships with the inmates in his correctional unit. Whilst guiding us through the facility he spoke to each inmate that passed him, spending time to listen and comment. Again the telling aspect for me was the respect shown for him by the inmates, even from those serving sentences which will see then never released.
The highlight of the week was listening to Tumi who stood in front 150 young men in a prison with 12,000 inmates and said;
“Boys you are here because you have done wrong. What you have done we do not like. You have made a mistake and you are in this correctional unit to correct your ways and learn from your mistakes. You must know, we love you. We love you because you are the future of this country. We love you because you will not repeat these mistakes and your family’s need you back out there – not in here. Boys, work hard on your selves whilst you are in here because South Africa needs you. We need you out there to build our country; you can’t build South Africa from here. Never forget that we love you.”
He then broke into song and led the group (who stood with their hands on their hearts) through a loud rendition of the South African National Anthem.
These men looked at Tumi with so much respect in their eyes. They bowed their heads and they shook his hand. He had a wonderful aura around him giving hope to these men and helping then focus on the right way forward. Lesley Ann has established an amazing organisation with staff and programmes that enable these men to change their life of crime and follow a new path.
This man taught me more about love and discipline and respect and calmness and forward thinking than any book you could read. He lives his life (after retiring from 28 years as a prison warder/manager/director) to resolve and repair the lives of those who have made these mistakes and hurt those in their communities.
He is no push over, he is not soft on crime, he believes people should pay their due to society and victims of crime are the priority following a criminal act. But he taught me better than anyone else in these last two days that once the debt to society has been paid we all must embrace these people and enable them to move forward and back into work if we are ever to reduce the re offending rates and rebuild our families and communities.
Thank you Tumi for helping me grow this week.
Roy
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