SWAKOPMUND - Inmates at the Swakopmund Correctional facility on Tuesday attended the first class of e-learning training, being offered by Uhili Necessity Wellness Trust at the Information Resource Centre at the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology.

Penina Haimbondi, the founder of the community-based trust said the training touched on domestic violence, personal anger management, substance abuse, basic computer skills and it also intends to help offenders to excel in life after having served their prison sentences.

“This training will allow offenders to excel in their lives through online life skills training and special programmes aimed at dealing with the thought process, as I believe that prevention is better than cure,” explained Haimbondi.

Speaking at the occasion, Superintendent Rector Kamwayamunzi of the Ministry of Safety and Security says the training is in-line with the correctional facility’s mission to rehabilitate and integrate the offenders back into the society after completing their punishment.

“The training is important to equip inmates with necessary skills that they will need in the outside world to not only be productive and purposeful but to be law abiding citizens,” he emphasised.
Kamwayamunzi urged stakeholders and community members to assist the correctional facility to bring forth programmes aimed at rehabilitating inmates.

“It is important for other organisations to come onboard as the facility cannot do it alone,” noted the Safety and Security superintendent.

Speaking at the same event, the senior official at the Erongo Regional Information Office Paulina Moses said the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology is mandated to lay the foundation for the accelerated use and development of ICT in Namibia.

She elaborated the ministry is pleased to embark on this partnership, which comes a month after they launched a project which introduces basic ICT skills in the Adult Literacy Education in Erongo.
“Our office aims to close the gap in terms of the digital divide between the urban and rural area. However, we have discovered that in the urban areas there are communities that have no access to ICT and it is our pleasure to have offenders here today,” Moses stated.

She further informed the offenders that the course will run for duration of three months, on Tuesdays and Fridays, for two hours per session. “The training will take place at the Information Resource Centre of MICT and will take in two groups of offenders,” she said.

The inmates who attended the first class of training are; Simeon Naivera, Daniel Roberts, Steven Magotsi, Michael Olomo, Raymob Beukes and German Gareb, accompanied by Supt. Rector Kamwayamunzi, Senior Correctional Officer Ruben Swartbooi and Correctional Officer Kahumbire Kavetima.

Caption (Inmates): Educating offenders…Inmates at the Swakopmund Correctional facility on Tuesday attended the first class of e-learning training at the Ministry of Information in Swakopmund.
*Uaripi Katjiukua is an Information Officer at the MICT based in Swakopmund, Erongo Region