01 Apr 2019

Botswana Institute of Rehabilitation of Reintegration of Offenders (BIRRO) has organised a boot camp in an endeavour to enable former convicts to  blend well with society.

The boot camp billed for Mahalapye from April 10 to 30 will focus on issues of rehabilitating ex-convicts, reconciliation, combating crime as well as fighting drugs and substance abuse.

The boot camp will be held in conjunction with Botswana Police Service, victims of crime and cluster committees.

BIRRO chairperson, Mr Mothei Sejakgomo, said the boot camp would not only target ex-convicts.

“Students who are victims of drug abuse and any other form of unruly behaviour will be catered for. Our aim is to prepare a drug free generation and preach against any form of wrong doing,” he said.

Mr Sejakgomo said the issue of relating perpetrators with their victims will be one of the topics to be discussed  at the boot camp.

He said it was important for victims of crime to understand that after serving their jail term, offenders have received enough punishment and therefore it was important to reconcile, rather than being tagged as a criminal forever

On the decision to include students at the boot camp, Mr Sejakgomo said there was a loud cry from parents about the wayward behaviour displayed by children.

“Some are engaged in drugs and alcohol abuse, a behaviour likely to result in a bleak future,” he added.

He said it was unfortunate to observe that young people were not focused on taking the leadership role by emulating best practices from elders.

“They rather engage in activities compromising their future,” he said.

He said the BIRRO was determined to instill positive behaviours in young people, explaining that the body was formed by people who have experienced the negatives of crime and therefore they were sharing their experiences with the society.

He said the society was appreciating the positive developments in all the ex-convicts who were part of the organisation.

Despite their efforts, Mr Sejakgomo did not dispute that there were hardened criminals who will even resort to their criminal acts after going through intensive counselling and guidance processes.

He however noted that the organisation’s dream was to establish a rehabilitation centre where full time recuperation programmes will be offered.

In that regard, Mr Sejakgomo appealed to the general public and the business community to extend a helping hand in supporting their efforts as well as building a rehabilitation centre.

“A well-established centre will cater for among others psychological counselling, a library to cater for students suspended from schools for various reasons, offer vocational skills as well as cater for other members of the society in need of our services,” he added. ENDS