Last year with the help of funds from the Samaritan Trust Phaphama Initiatives was able to conduct a first Alternatives to Violence Project workshop in Pollsmoor prison which is well known for its most famous prisoner in the 80s, Nelson Mandela, but also for its reputation as being the most violent prison in the Western Cape today.
Our workshop went very well and the inmates asked us for the next workshop but unfortunately we didn’t have the funds to continue the work. Another difficulty was the long and at times frustrating process of finding the right person to work with within the prison system. Finally we got connected to Mr Sauls, the warden in Medium B prison who is in charge of rehabilitation programmes. After a meeting with him we decided to have a first workshop in that section of the prison. We were quite surprised about the positive attitude and participation of the inmates and so we had another Basic workshop soon after the first one.
The participants experienced the workshops as helpful for their lives and have expressed their gratefulness for the opportunity of having a space where they can develop their skills in handling difficult situations without resorting to violence. Some said about the workshop atmosphere that it was very rare within the prison context to relate to one another in such a humane way and to even have fun and laugh. Just to quote one participant: “Whenever I am here I feel happy.”
This would not have been possible without the support from Rondebosch United and the Samaritan Trust. In the meantime we were able to secure funding from a German Church organisation for another seven workshops. A highlight has been our first Train the Trainer workshop in June which has produced our first 8 proud and committed facilitators within the prison. From now on they will co-facilitate workshops and in that way help this prison project on its way to becoming self-sustainable. One of these facilitators has been released since and he has been working with us with great enthusiasm. We are looking forward to the remaining workshops in the funding cycle and we hope and trust that we are able to secure further funding to continue our work in Pollsmoor.
Once again thank you to Rondebosch United for your support!
Christoph Baumann
