The Samoa Returnees Charitable Trust (‘The Trust’) in partnership with Samoa prisons and Correction Service and Community Probation has launched a programme to warn young offenders about the nastiness of jail.
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The Reality Check programme was launched last Friday where ten young offenders were given the opportunity to visit the Tafaigata Prison to see what is like A.C.E.O of the Correction Enforcement Maintainence Division of the Ministry of Justice, Fa’agutu Samuelu Vaalofu, said they are working to rehabilitate young offenders.
“The Court usually gives alternative sentences to young offenders and that is either under supervision to attend rehabilitation programme or serve community work,” she said.
“However, these ten young offenders have not been to prison but with this Reality Check programme, they were taken on a tour to Tafa’igata last week Friday to see what it is like there and also hear what some of the prisoners’ testimonies and also the returnees’ testimonies on what it was like.
“We do hope that this programme will help the young ones and also the ten offenders refrain themselves from going to prison.”
Executive Director of Samoa Returnees’ Charitable Trust, Vernon Mackenzie, said the programme is targeting at risk youth.
“The first phase of the programme was carried out in the beginning of the year in February through the intervention camp called Act Right Do right.
We started at the schools here in Upolu and Savai’i.
“This is the second phase of our intervention campaign and we are taking it to the next level where we are actually giving these ten at risk youth the chance to see what it is like to be in prison.
“These events are the continuation of the Trust’s community outreach programme and phase two of the intervention services which was launched this year in February.
“So far, the returnees have gone out on public awareness campaigns aimed at crime prevention, especially for the youth.
“We believe that the programme is a part of the returnees’ rehabilitation and reintegration back into our community as per the Trust’s main objective.
“The programme has served the various schools on Upolu and Savai’i and the Trust conducted a seminar at the National University during their CSS Film Festival and Open day.
“The Reality Check programme is a pro-active tool for all the risk teens and young adults.
“The overall goal of the programme is designed as deterrence observation tour of the facilities supervised by Correction Staff, mentoring session with returnees’ and selected matai prisoners to prevent the participants from making bad choices and heading the wrong path in life.”
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