Giving young prisoners a better future by developing their talents and social skills reduces the rate of re-offending. The Young in Prison programme prepares youngsters for a life out of prison. In Malawi, Colombia and South Africa re-offending rates have dropped from 80% to 20% after the Youth in Prison intervention. During an E-Motive exchange Dutch professionals from the youth sector learned how to implement this method for youth prisoners.

Description

Giving young prisoners a better future by developing their talents and social skills reduces the rate of re-offending. The Young in Prison programme prepares youngsters for a life out of prison. In Malawi, Colombia and South Africa re-offending rates have dropped from 80% to 20% after the Youth in Prison intervention. During an E-Motive exchange Dutch professionals from the youth sector learned how to implement this method for youth prisoners.

How to improve the reintegration of young prisoners in society?

The rate of re-offending by Dutch young prisoners is extremely high, around 50%. Current methods of preparing youngsters for a life out of prison and preventing a relapse have had little success. A more constructive approach is needed, one that connects with the world of young prisoners. Social workers involved with youths, expressed their interest in learning from YiP on how to improve their skills in applying the YiP approach.

Developing talents leads to changes in the mindset

In the Young in Prison programme, youngsters explore their talents in music, dance, rap, theatre, art or sports, to mention but a few. This changes their mindsets: young prisoners who believe that they are nothing and can do nothing, discover that they are good at something. This gives them confidence. Also, by reflecting on their choices and options and making a (business) plan for after their release from prison, these youngsters start to take more responsibility for their lives. Key factor is that the professionals working through YiP are involved with the youths from the moment they are imprisoned until 6 months after their release.

YiP-method introduced in Dutch youth prisons

In October 2013 workshop facilitators from South Africa, Malawi and Kenya started a 5-day tour and worked with all told 400 juvenile delinquents, inspiring along the way 80 employees of 4 Dutch youth prisons[1] to apply the YiP approach. The final aim is to develop and integrate the YiP method at Dutch institutions and strengthen the capacity of providers of the YiP method. In 2014 the facilitators will continue their work to reach that ambition.

Sharing pedagogical and methodological ideas

The Southern partners acquired experience in facilitating workshops with Dutch juvenile delinquents in an environment of cultural differences, which strengthened their capacity as foreign facilitators. They had the opportunity to exchange on pedagogical and methodological themes with  their Dutch peers and pedagogical staff of the institutions,

In South Africa people were at first cautious about the exchange. “In the Netherlands everything is much better developed. What can we teach them”, they thought. That is not the case. Despite the many workshops organized at Dutch prisons, the rate of re-offending is still high among youths.

[1] Forensisch Centrum Teylingereind, Justitiële Jeugdinrichting Den Hey-Acker, Justitiële Jeugdinrichting De Hartelborgt and Forensisch Behandelcentrum Amsterbaken.

Method

Kholofelo Mashego, YiP South Africa:

We treat them as individuals, look at the decisions they have made, why they made those decisions. We let them think “what alternative choices do I have”, “how can I be a more positive citizen” and: “How can I make a difference in my community”. 

The YiP methodology was co-developed by YiP NL and the YiP network of Colombia, Kenya, Malawi and South Africa. Over the last 10 years the method has proved to be successful in these Southern countries and has provided over 15.000 youngsters with a better future in freedom.

The innovative method consists of an integrated approach linking creative and sports activities for youths with developing the social and emotional skills they need once out of prison. It focuses on the already existing talents of youths, with the aim of further exploring and developing them. Key is that the people working through YiP are involved with the youths from the moment they are imprisoned until 6 months after their release. There is a strong focus on the role of social workers employed inside prisons: during the training sessions they develop role model traits and specific tools for working with youths in a more inspired and passionate manner.

YiP reaches around 2,800 youths in prison every year in Colombia, Kenya, Malawi and South Africa. Thanks to the intensive mentoring process after incarceration, 40% of these children and youths returns to school when released, another 40% is in job training or finds a job, and 15% is in the process of finding a job. Only 5% re-offends.

Partners

Young in Prison (YiP)

Young in Prison (YiP) offers youths in prison the prospect of a better future. Founder Noa Lodeizen visited the Pollsmoor prison in Kaapstad in 2002 and was touched by the circumstances in which the children lived. In these circumstances children could only become more criminal. YiP organizes all kinds of creative projects that focus on bringing out the talents and skills of children in prison, skills they can use once out of prison.

Fundacion Artistica y Social La Familia Ayara (Colombia), Music Crossroads Malawi and YiP South Africa

Fundaci’on Art’istica y Social La Familia Ayara (Colombia), Music Crossroads Malawi and Young in Prison South Africa are part of the international YiP network that focuses on developing talents imprisoned children can use after their release, so they can focus on a better future in freedom.

In Colombia, YiP works with Fundación Artística y Social La Familia Ayara (also known as Ayara). Ayara is an organization that aims to empower youths using social and artistic activities, mostly related to hip hop culture. It offers workshops in rap, breakdance, graffiti, capoeira and in tailoring, as well as the opportunity to improve literacy skills through rap. Ayara has developed its own method called the “high impact method”. It offers a complete workshop cycle within a day. A workshop entails warming up, learning, practicing and finally presenting skills. This method ensures that children who are detained for only a short period experience the impact and pride of finishing a project.

Young in Prison South Africa has been implementing the ‘Siyakhana-Building Each Other’ programme since the early 2012. The programme aims to assist and prepare young offenders and ex-offenders to develop skills and capacities to advocate on issues that are critical to their development. The enhancement of such skills facilitates an open dialogue between the youths (offenders and ex- offenders), administrators and the community at large, in order to create awareness about issues that impact on child and youth justice. In addition, the Siyakhana project aims to achieve this by providing a platform for dialogue and an environment in which these youths are able to enhance their leadership skills (e.g. debating, public speaking, literacy, advocacy, etc.) through various workshop settings that make use of creative arts as a methodological tool. The Siyakhana project is different in its approach from previous projects. It is far more holistic, targeting not only the individual but also the community, friends and family. The successful reintegration of participants not only depends on the participants themselves, but also on their environment. In 2012, YiP-SA continued working in Pollsmoor Prison, Bonnytoun House of Safety and Ottery Boys School, all located in the vicinity of Cape Town. With the financial support of the European Union, Open Society Foundation, Eureko Achmea, and Impulsis, YiP-SA was able to expand the Siyakhana programme to the Goodwood Correctional Centre, the Vredelus Child and Youth-Care Centre and the Drakenstein Correctional Centre, which are also located in the Western Cape. More recently YiP-SA was awarded money for the Siyakhana programme Quality Assured in Johannesburg, where activities at the Leeuwkop Correctional Centre have been carried out from early January 2013. In all institutions the Siyakhana programme is carried out in both the male and female sections, making sure that every participant gets a chance of making a positive change to his or her life.

Since 2009 Young in Prison has been working in collaboration with the local NGO Music Crossroads Malawi (MCMal) in two juvenile prisons; the Kachere Reformatory Centre, which holds convicted male youths and youths on remand, and the Mbyanzi prison in Dowa district which only holds convicted male youths. At both prisons the focus is on youth empowerment through a wide range of artistic expressions. The project is now expanding to Mzuzu prison in the Northern District, awaiting the go-ahead of prison officials in Malawi. With the Mzuzu prison McMal has expanded its target group in Malawi. Mzuzu prison holds convicted male youths, but in the near future a wing for female prisoners will be added. McMal has found facilitators for music, dance and theatre. In Kachere workshops are offered in traditional and contemporary dance, choral and acoustic music, theatre and disco/DJ. At the Mbyanzi prison workshops are offered in art, tailoring and disco/DJ. In collaboration with Get It Done, the fishnet making workshop at the Mbyanzi prison started in 2012. It lies next to a river.

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