Raising Community Awareness in Swaziland
In April, PF Swaziland participated in an awareness raising event aimed to help community leaders in the country’s Lubombo region understand the proposed community service programme. Organised by the Commissioner of Correctional Services, the meeting included several stakeholders: Correctional services, local chiefs, the Swaziland Association for Crime Prevention and the Rehabilitation of Offenders (SACRO), National Emergency Response Council on HIV/AIDS (NERCHA), and PF Swaziland.
In his presentation, the Commissioner described how the country’s prisons were at capacity with many prisoners serving short term sentences. He suggested that it would be more appropriate for many of them to serve their sentences in the community while providing services to their community. He explained how the traditional chiefs could participate in this effort by supervising offenders on community service orders.
The different participating organisations presented their programmes and services to prisoners. Ethel Nhleko, PF Swaziland board member, provided an outline of PF programmes including victim offender mediation, restorative justice, evangelism, discipleship, and Angel Tree. Ethel reported that the community response was positive and encouraging. PF Swaziland will participate in similar meetings in other regions to help raise awareness about these justice issues.
July 2010
