Inmates at Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Centre in Pretoria have received laptops as part of an initiative to further their education and personal development.
This initiative intends to empower youth who have found themselves in the wrong side of the law in order to enhance their rehabilitation process and create opportunities for sustainable social and economic reintegration when they finish their sentences or get parole.
"This is a societal matter, so my presence here is a contribution that I wish to add on what the Department of Correctional Services is doing especially for youth in conflict with the law because most of the incarcerated people here are young people. I think these young people have an opportunity to be rehabilitated and reintegrated into society so its an effort of society to make a contribution to their reintegration as they come back into society‚" said Tourism Minister Thokozile Xasa.
Xasa said inmates would now be accredited in the skills that they've learned in their educational programmes.
About 200 inmates will benefit from this initiative.
The laptops are sponsored by Amadeus‚ an IT provider for the global travel and tourism industry, and Iberia‚ the Spanish airline company that flew the laptops to SA free of charge from Spain.
Speaking to TimesLIVE‚ inmate Samantha Mayger‚ 42‚ from Eersterust‚ Pretoria‚ who was sentenced to 15 years for murder‚ said this was a good initiative from the government as it would instil hope for the future of inmates.
"I have a little bit of computer knowledge from outside but this is definitely a good thing that will help us to brighten our futures when our time in prison is finished. It will open up many opportunities and take us away from negative thinking and create positive mind sets‚" said Mayger‚ who has already served four years of her sentence.
Twenty-nine-year-old Tebogo Mokhoane from Soshanguve‚ who was convicted for theft‚ shared Mayger’s sentiments.
"It's a great privilege for us to have computers and even for those who didn't have knowledge of computers. A lot of the inmates here have been wanting to acquire technological skills so this will come in very handy‚" she said.
The laptops will be distributed among six regions. Gauteng received 13‚ KwaZulu-Natal 20‚ the Eastern Cape 20‚ the Western Cape 15‚ Free State 20‚ Limpopo 20‚ Mpumalanga 20 and the North West 20.
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