FRUITS OF LEARNING: Mandela University recently awarded inmates with certificates of completion for a Basic Computer Skills Course. From left top achiever Nareesha Govender, Advocate Lionel Esau, Dr Sefoko Ramoshaba, second top achiever Samkelo Vewer, Dr Nosi Delubom (Universal Access and Disability Services), Mr Vermaak and Ms Tshazibana (Correctional Services: George).
George Campus offered computer literacy training for the offenders as part of its formal memorandum of understanding with the national office of the Department of Correctional Services.
The group, from George, Mossel Bay and Oudtshoorn, received certificates of completion for the Basic Computer Skills Course in an event held at George Correctional Services.
The training was aimed at enhancing individual skills and fostering societal reintegration and self-empowerment, as part of the department’s rehabilitation programme.
The inmates also participated in a food security programme, learning essential skills that will serve them well beyond the walls of the correctional facility.
SOWING HOPE: Mandela University students and staff and the Department of Correctional Services collaborate on an agricultural nutrition project
For many, these skills represented new beginnings and the chance to contribute constructively to society upon their release.
“Mandela University continues to be a different university as it consciously services society and, in doing so, has added value to the rehabilitation programme of the department”, said Dr Sefoko Ramoshaba, Deputy Director: Student Life and Development, at the ceremony.
“We will continue as a University to serve our communities,” he said, adding that the collaboration was a commitment to promoting dignity, growth, and positive change.
“In celebrating these graduates, we acknowledge not only their commitment to growth but also the power of community partnerships in building a more inclusive and hopeful society.”
This ongoing collaboration between the University’s Student Life and Development Department and the Department of Correctional Services extends beyond educational courses, forming a comprehensive approach to rehabilitation.
Through community engagement initiatives like the Agricultural Nutrition Project, University students and staff impart valuable knowledge on food systems to the inmates.
The University distributes the agricultural produce grown in the project to its students, as well as community ventures, such as George Old Age Home, Phambili Centre for Children, Emaus Centre for the Disabled, and Bethesda Centre for Abused Women and Children.
The partnership between Mandela University’s Student Life and Development and the Department of Correctional Services is in this way having a positive impact on lives, strengthening community bonds and fostering hope for a better future for all.