New skills, new beginnings
Women at Work's New Beginnings (formerly Change) programme, the FirstRand Namibia Foundation and the Namibian Correctional Services (NCS) have joined forces to reintegrate former prisoners released on parole into society.This will be achieved by equipping them with basic skills that increase their chances of being employed or starting their own business.
NCS connects Women at Work with ex-prisoners who have been released on parole and would like to start over. The initiative is funded by the FirstRand Foundation.
The initiative was started in 2023 and recently seven students, both men and women, including four ex-prisoners, completed their three-month training in sewing and tailoring.
Mervin Mokwena, a former naval officer in the service of the Namibian navy, successfully completed the training. He shared his journey with his battle with crack cocaine addiction which led to him losing his job and being left homeless.
Mokwena tried to steal a laptop from a local shop. However, he was caught and sentenced to 18 months in prison. He was released on parole and has since been actively involved in initiatives aimed at tackling his addiction and focusing on improving himself.