Khulisa exports anti-crime ideas
19 January 2004
Khulisa, a South African non-profit organisation dedicated to crime reduction, will visit the United Kingdom in March to present a number of workshops on its experiences.
Represented by 10 ex-offenders, Khulisa will travel to London under the auspices of a London-based organisation, The No Where Foundation, to share ideas on Khulisa's holistic crime prevention programmes, successfully implemented with juvenile offenders and children at risk throughout South Africa.
Another purpose of the visit will be to attract funding from UK-based organisations for Khulisa's community development, diversion, rehabilitation and reintegration programmes.
Khulisa's programmes have demonstrated that young people formerly in conflict with the law are capable of turning their lives around and working towards the reduction of crime in the country.
"We intend to utilise the ex-offenders to project a positive image in terms of the successes of
rehabilitation and community development in South Africa," said Lesley Ann van Selm of Khulisa.
In the rehabilitation of prisoners, Khulisa makes use of a year-long in-prison programme which focuses on addressing the needs of the offender related to the cause of the offence.
"The programme develops emotional intelligence and positive behaviour through creative thinking, self-expression and skills development", said van Selm. "This makes our programme ideally suited for adaptation to the international market."
Khulisa's work is significant in light of the fact that there are over 50 000 young offenders between the ages of 12 and 25 in South African prisons, with the rate of recidivism (repeat offending) estimated at 80 percent.
Research has shown that 80 percent of Khulisa's programme participants do not revert back to crime. This is indicative of a 60 percent improvement on the quoted national statistics for repeat offences, said Van Selm.
Van Selm
said Khulisa's programmes include the principles of restorative justice, many examples of which have been showcased through the media in South Africa, reflecting the efficacy of a victim forgiving an offender once he has completed his sentence and shown that he is capable of remorse and being accountable and responsible.
Unlike most rehabilitation programmes, said Van Selm, Khulisa does not merely provide in-prison support but also offers a post-release programme to rehabilitees that helps them secure self-sustaining opportunities.
What also makes the organisation's work unique, according to Van Selm, is that it is largely introduced and facilitated by former offenders and youth programme graduates, who operate in prisons - with both awaiting trial and sentenced offenders - disadvantaged communities, schools and places of safety across the country.
Developed in line with the South African National Qualifications Framework, and in consultation with offenders as
well as specialists in penology, psychology, social work and education, the in-prison programmes include a peer educators training programme for both HIV/Aids and drugs that will reach 20 percent of the prison population within the next 12 months.
Khulisa's funders include the embassies of Finland, Denmark, the United Kingdom and the United States, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. On the local front, support has been received from the departments of social welfare and population development and safety and liaison, in addition to a number of locally based trusts and funding agents.
Source: International Marketing Council of South Africa
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