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Inmates adopt school of deaf, blind | The New Age Online
The inmates of the new Kimberley Correctional Centre are adopting the Retlameleng School for the Blind and Deaf, which is the only school of its kind in the whole province.
Head of the unit from the centre, Bonolo Moagi, said the process of adopting the school emanated from the presidential awards initiative, which was formed by former president, Nelson Mandela.
“The initiative of the award seeks to bridge the gap between the inmates and community.
“Inmates are screened and taken through a number of processes, and thereafter we involve them in the community projects as part of rehabilitation.”
Moagi said the aim was to ensure that when inmates were released into society after their sentence, they were able to do things for themselves.
“We try by all means to change the community’s perception towards the inmates.
“We want the community to know that as much as they did wrong, they are still members of the society and deserve a second chance,’’ she said.
Moagi said the department’s adoption of the school was in line with the mandate of the *presidential award, which would be hosted at the end of this year, where inmates from *different centres would be awarded *certificates for their *involvement in community outreach *programmes.
“We are cleaning the yard and our intention is to come back again to start a garden project and plant vegetables because we heard that Retlameleng School needs more vegetables to feed the pupils,’’ she said.
The school, which has 145 pupils from across the province, would also engage in sports activities with the inmates.
“We have less than 20 football and netball teams, chess and a *number of sporting activities, so we will be glad to challenge the inmates,” said Joyce *Philander, *Retlameleng’s principal.
She said the partnership came at the right time as they were worried about the ever-growing grass in the back yard.
“Just imagine a blind pupil walking over a snake – it would definitely bite them.
“Now we are going to be less worried and, in turn, we will *benefit because they promised to come back again to do a *garden so that we will be able to produce more vegetables for our kitchen to feed the pupils.”
Philander added that even though their Mandela Day birthday gift came late, “we are happy this one is going to remain with us forever because of the partnership, and we want to say happy birthday to Madiba”.
The inmates of the new Kimberley Correctional Centre are adopting the Retlameleng School for the Blind and Deaf, which is the only school of its kind in the whole province.
Head of the unit from the centre, Bonolo Moagi, said the process of adopting the school emanated from the presidential awards initiative, which was formed by former president, Nelson Mandela.
“The initiative of the award seeks to bridge the gap between the inmates and community.
“Inmates are screened and taken through a number of processes, and thereafter we involve them in the community projects as part of rehabilitation.”
Moagi said the aim was to ensure that when inmates were released into society after their sentence, they were able to do things for themselves.
“We try by all means to change the community’s perception towards the inmates.
“We want the community to know that as much as they did wrong, they are still members of the society and deserve a second chance,’’ she said.
Moagi said the department’s adoption of the school was in line with the mandate of the *presidential award, which would be hosted at the end of this year, where inmates from *different centres would be awarded *certificates for their *involvement in community outreach *programmes.
“We are cleaning the yard and our intention is to come back again to start a garden project and plant vegetables because we heard that Retlameleng School needs more vegetables to feed the pupils,’’ she said.
The school, which has 145 pupils from across the province, would also engage in sports activities with the inmates.
“We have less than 20 football and netball teams, chess and a *number of sporting activities, so we will be glad to challenge the inmates,” said Joyce *Philander, *Retlameleng’s principal.
She said the partnership came at the right time as they were worried about the ever-growing grass in the back yard.
“Just imagine a blind pupil walking over a snake – it would definitely bite them.
“Now we are going to be less worried and, in turn, we will *benefit because they promised to come back again to do a *garden so that we will be able to produce more vegetables for our kitchen to feed the pupils.”
Philander added that even though their Mandela Day birthday gift came late, “we are happy this one is going to remain with us forever because of the partnership, and we want to say happy birthday to Madiba”.