INMATES at the Walvis Bay correctional facility had a lot to think about on Saturday, after ex-offenders visited them and gave their testimonies on life.
The group consisted of members of the Coastal Drug Awareness Campaign, which was established in 2016 from the correctional facility.
The group drives an alcohol and tobacco abuse awareness campaign, spearheaded by offenders and officers at Walvis Bay Correctional facilities. It aims at educating pupils, parents, caregivers, teachers, health professionals, business owners and community leaders to help people, especially the youth reject illegal drugs and underage alcohol and tobacco use.
The group decided to open the year with an internal drug awareness campaign at the facility where they came from.
Two members of the group that were released recently demonstrated to their friends how a life free from crime, drug and alcohol abuse led them to a second chance in life.
Jason Nani, who was released in November 2017, now runs his own business and has a happy family. He motivated the inmates to already change their mindset on life while in prison, while describing prison life as the best thing that happened to him.
“I know how it feels like to be here. I had a tough life too. I just needed to finish school and go to work, and I did, but life still got tougher because I could not find work. I eventually started selling drugs and had many friends. After I was arrested, all of them disappeared.
“I used drugs excessively, trying to find acceptance, but in a wrong way. After giving my life to Christ, I got it. We are looking for love, but we found it in wrong places and look at where we found ourselves. God did something to me. He lifted me up without even studying, and He is still busy with me. God is still waiting on you. You are His son,” he said.
“Forget these walls. We all have stories in life,” another ex-offender, Fabian Langenhoven said. Langenhoven was released in February 2019.
The inmates were also motivated by motivational speaker Cliff Shikwambi, who reminded them that being in prison does not mean the end of life.
“You are bigger than what society says you are. When you are in prison, people will say you are an offender. You walk out of here and society embraces you. Look at where the others are. It is just a matter of time before you show the world who you really are,” he said.
The CODAC team will visit other correctional facilities throughout the year, starting with Lüderitz.
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