ANNUAL REPORT 2015
ANNUAL REPORT 2015 HIGHLIGHTS AND REFLECTIONS
MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN The year under review presented significant challenges, but through hard work and ensuring the sustainability of YiPSA we were able to overcome these. I am grateful to my fellow Board members for their continued support on a range of issues. Three board members resigned at the end of 2015, being Michelle Connan, Tina Lorizzo and Pearl Nel. We are deeply grateful for the time and effort that they gave YiPSA. The organisation is now 14 years old and given the frequently difficult environment in which civil society structures operate in this is a significant achievement. On behalf of the Board I would like to express my deep-felt gratitude to the staff, funders and partners of YiPSA. Without your support we will not be able to assist children and young people in conflict with the law by giving them another chance and hope for the future.
This annual report contains numerous testimonies of young people who have benefited from YiPSA’s support and services. It is indeed through these, often small, interventions that one can turn people’s lives around, by giving them a different way to look at their present and defining a new direction for the future. The creative arts provide a powerful tool in this regard because it is accessible to all and is deeply rewarding to those who express themselves through it. It is a pleasure and an honour to be associated with YiPSA.
Assoc. Prof. Lukas Muntingh Chairman of the Board
In 2015 we appointed Ms Khethiwe Cele as Director and she has already demonstrated her value to the organisation in less than a year.
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DIRECTOR’S REPORT
25 young men become employable – nearly half of them have found jobs.
My time with Young in Prison South Africa (YiPSA) is in its infancy, but has been full of significant moments. Having joined the organisation in June 2015, I have very quickly come to hold the opinion that working with children and youth in conflict with the law is the most pressing social issue on this country’s list of priorities.
Another highlight was our organisation taking the lead in building the Innovate2Empower platform – an online community of organisations across the globe that work with children and youth in conflict with the law in innovative and empowering ways. In its first year, the platform has galvanised close to 500 members, and is growing. The level of involvement on the platform lends significant importance to working with this segment of society in positive ways.
Many young people today have to overcome a number of challenges – poor access to quality education, insecure families and communities, unemployment and a lack of hope. Having being in conflict with the law only exacerbates these, and so organisations like YiPSA play a critical role in creating second chances and encouraging better choices for these youth.
I would like to extend my thanks to my team both in Cape Town and Johannesburg for remaining dedicated to YiPSA’s mission and objectives despite the various challenges that presented themselves in 2015. The passion they have for the young people we work with is the heartbeat of this organisation. I would also like to thank our funders whose continued support makes our work possible.
Helping these youth succeed is no easy task, and so it is with great pride that we were able to conclude 2015 with a number of highlights. We reached close to 500 youth across our programmes inside and outside correctional centres, delivered over 900 life skills workshops, and helped
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Khethiwe Cele Director
AN OVERVIEW OF YOUNG IN PRISON SOUTH AFRICA
Young in Prison South Africa (YiPSA) is a non-profit organisation that offers a holistic programme, which seeks to prepare children and youth in conflict with law in making the transition from incarceration back into society through imparting life skills for behaviour change, and offering skills development for effective reintegration and reducing reoffending. Where we work We offer our services in correctional facilities, child and youth-care centres and communities in Cape Town and Johannesburg. To date, we render our services in six youth correctional centres in Gauteng and the Western Cape: ‒‒ ‒‒ ‒‒ ‒‒ ‒‒ ‒‒
Leeuwkoop Correctional Centre Goodwood Correctional Centre Pollsmoor Correctional Centre Drakenstein Correctional Centre Brandvlei Youth Centre Ottery Youth-Care Centre
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Our team Khethiwe Cele Director
Owen Butler Programmes Co-ordinator
Joseph Mofokeng Entrepreneurial Development Facilitator
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Natasha Swain Finance and General Manager
Boitumelo Motshwane Siyakhana Ambassador
Zamani Ndlovu Gauteng Regional Manager
Lazola Sikhutshwa Personal Development Facilitator
OUR PROGRAMMES YiPSA looks at reintegration holistically from the perspective of the individual, community and institution. We seek to develop the skills of young offenders and ex-offenders so that they are empowered to advocate for issues that affect their development and enable them to actively and positively engage in society.
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REHABILITATION Empowering incarcerated youth offenders with tools for personal reflection so that they become self-aware and form new, positive habits
Working with communities and organisations towards building a safer South Africa for all
ADVOCACY
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Empowering released youth offenders with personal and entrepreneurial skills that will help them create positive livelihoods and become self-sufficient members of society
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InsideOut – YiPSA's Rehabilitation Programme
The InsideOut Programme consists of projects that are delivered within our partner Correctional and Child and Youth-Care Centres. YiPSA Facilitators deliver these programmes three times a week through three-hour sessions, where they impart essential life skills to youth participants through creative mediums such as visual art, music and theatre projects.
In numbers: InsideOut achievements 2015 • number of centres / 5 • volunteers / 7 • workshop / 675 • participants / 458 • graduation ceremonies / 15 • art exhibitions / 2 • creative arts projects in collaboration with local and international partners / 3
REINTEGRATION
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Siyakhana – YiPSA's Reintegration Programme
This programme seeks to facilitate the successful re-entry of youth post their release. It starts in the last phase of the individual’s release and puts him/her on a course of positively reintegrating back into society and reduce the chances of reoffending. The programme focuses on developing the creative and personal potential of participants for their employability, which is done through three levels: ‒‒ Level 1: Pre-Release Support ‒‒ Level 2: Supporting Personal Effectiveness for Creative Thinking ‒‒ Level 3: Supporting Personal Effectiveness for Employability
In numbers: Siyakhana achievements in 2015 • workshops / 225 • participants / 25 • volunteers / 4 • number of creative arts projects started by Siyakhana participants / 4 (see next pages) • art exhibitions / 2
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Advocacy Programme
Our Advocacy programme consists of projects that are aimed at advancing YiPSA’s mission within communities and government institutions. This programme is closely connected to our rehabilitation and reintegration work, as it uses the stories of our participants as the basis of the advocacy topics. At the community level, our advocacy is carried out through our InsiderArt exhibitions, social dialogues for prison warders, and outreaches by our Siyakhana Ambassadors.
In numbers: Advocacy achievements in 2015 • workshops on Human Rights Sensitisation with the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) of South Africa / 3 • DCS staff participants at above workshops / 45 • community social dialogues / 4 • parliamentary presentations / 2 • television and radio interviews / 5 • editorial coverage in print media / 2 • documentaries produced / 3
THIS LIFE
KIF
A three-part comic book series that was created by five YiPSA participants, where they capture their stories in comic-book-style fashion, and sell the books at local book markets.
A collective of five YiPSA participants came together to start a small T-shirt design and printing collective, which they use to earn income for themselves. The T-shirts are hand-designed and unique to the individual’s creativity and are made to appeal to the local youth market.
COMIC BOOK SERIES
Siyakhana highlights 2015
T-SHIRT DESIGN AND PRINTING
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RHODES MUST FALL
SKIP & DIE
A collaborative art project between the 2015 YiPSA participants and 23 independent artists from Cape Town and various University of Cape Town (UCT) departments. The project spun out of the post-release social awareness workshops, where participants explored the topic of Justice. As these workshops were around the time of the Rhodes Must Fall campaign at UCT, our participants took on the topic as it related to their experience of growing up and living in Cape Town.
A collaboration between YiPSA 2015 post-release participants, Dutch band Skip & Die, and Red Bull South Africa. The band took Cape Town and Johannesburg participants through music and song-writing workshops which culminated in a soundtrack that was recorded at the Red Bull music studios.
PHOTO DOCUMENTARY
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SOUNDTRACK PRODUCTION
OUR PARTICIPANTS
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MAHLATSI’S STORY Mahlatsi participated in the YiPSA InsideOut Programme while he was in Leeuwkop Correctional Centre. It is during this time that he discovered his artistic talent, which he continued to nurture as a post-release participant. He graduated from the YiPSA Siyakhana Programme in 2014 and is currently enrolled in a 3-year Fine Arts Diploma in Johannesburg.
I first met YiPSA while I was serving a three-year sentence at Leeuwkop Correctional Centre. Those days were the darkest I’ve ever had in my life. I began to see the light the day YiPSA walked into my life. I was desperate for ways to make my mother proud but I didn’t know how, so joining the YiPSA InsideOut programme at Leeuwkop seemed like a good first step for me to take. At some stage in the programme, I met Mr Zamani Ndlovu, YiPSA’s Johannesburg Office Manager. He introduced me to art and started mentoring me on a one-on-one basis, and my life has never been the same again. Mr Zamani saw a talent for art in me that I never knew I had and nurtured my talent. That’s where I found a passion and love for art. I found that whenever I drew or painted, I felt the most confident and positive about myself. After I was released, YiPSA reconnected with me and enrolled me into their post-release programme, and helped me enrol for a Fine Arts Diploma. I’m now in my second year, and I never imagined my life would turn around this way. My personal motivation and inspiration that help keep me going are the words of Rasheed Araeen – “Through art one can look into the past, evaluate the present and determine a way for the future”. ■ YOUNG IN PRISON SOUTH AFRICA: ANNUAL REPORT 2015 | 11
LOYISO’S STORY Loyiso has been part of the YiPSA family since 2010. He grew over the years from being a participant of YiPSA's InsideOut and then Siyakhana Programme to being a Siyakhana Ambassador in 2015. He now runs his own fragrance shop in Cape Town's CBD.
I first connected with YiPSA in 2010 when I was a participant of their InsideOut programme at Pollsmoor Correctional Centre in Cape Town. I always say that participating in the YiPSA programme changed my life while I was in prison, because it gave me a place to go to and prepare myself to live a different life when I got released. I also always say that I found a family when I met YiPSA, because when I got released in 2013 and joined their post-release programme, I was greeted with open hearts and arms. I was encouraged and supported to live a different life to the one that got me into trouble. I made new friends through the programme, and I was supported to go back to school and finish my Grade 12 – they paid for everything! Beginning of 2016, I was laying in bed stressed about what I was going to do to earn money to support myself. A few minutes later, I got a call from YiPSA saying that they were impressed with my development in the programme the previous year, and that they would like to employ me as an Ambassador in 2015. That was my first taste of employment, and it’s an opportunity that groomed me even more. ■ 12 | YOUNG IN PRISON SOUTH AFRICA: ANNUAL REPORT 2015
TASLIN’S STORY Taslin was a participant of YiPSA's Cape Town Siyakhana Reintegration Programme in 2015. He has been part of the YiPSA programme since 2014. He lives in Elsies River, where he grew up.
Hi I’m Taslin and I grew up in Elsies River. One day I was called in by the parole office to participate in a workshop that was going to be held in Bellville in 2013. It was there that I met the YiPSA team. At the end of a powerful workshop I asked the facilitators if it was possible to join the post-release programme at their Salt River office. They told me that they liked my participation on that day, and that I could come the next day to the office. I became part of the programme from that day on. The impact of all the workshops that I have participated in was so huge that I can actually love my old friends from a distance, without getting involved in negative activity. All the skills that I have gained from participating in the programme have helped me feel like I’m a new person. The highlight of my YiPSA experience was when they helped me get a job on a movie set where I gained amazing experience. Even though I worked 12-hour shifts, the experience and exposure was worth it all. That experience opened another opportunity to work on another movie set in November (2015), and sparked my interest in this industry, and I would like to see myself going to study at a film school in Germany one day – I hear they give free education there! ■ YOUNG IN PRISON SOUTH AFRICA: ANNUAL REPORT 2015 | 13
VOLUNTEER ENGAGEMENT Every year, YiPSA welcomes volunteers and interns who share our vision and are interested in helping us deepen our impact in South Africa. Our volunteers and interns come from various parts of the world, and spend three to six months working with our participants across our programmes. In 2015, we hosted 15 volunteers and interns throughout the year coming from the USA, Europe and South Africa. While the bulk of their time was spent working alongside our Life skills facilitators, others took extra initiative and created projects to enhance YiPSA’s programmes. A highlight project was the library built by Karen Norvic (USA) for the Cape Town Siyakhana Post-Release Reintegration Programme. Karen initiated an online fundraiser through which she raised a little under R20 000 for the library, which covered building shelves and stocking it with books spanning various genres. In total, the library has 464 books and 310 different titles, all of which are available to participants and staff to loan out.
NEW FRONTIERS In 2015, YiPSA pioneered an exciting project with the support of Oxfam Novib. The project – Innovate2Empower – is an online community of professionals working with youth in conflict with the law, that aims to showcase best practice models, inspire change, provoke helpful discussion, create awareness, inform and connect people from across the world working in the juvenile justice sector. The project was borne out of the realisation that a growing number of young people find themselves in conflict with the law. Various factors, including the way that the criminal justice system is structured, contribute to the growing number of young offenders with repeat offenses. 14 | YOUNG IN PRISON SOUTH AFRICA: ANNUAL REPORT 2015
Along with its partners, YiPSA is of the view that the juvenile justice system needs to be far more restorative than it currently is if re-offending rates are to decrease and if we are to see ex-offenders reintegrating successfully into society. Young offenders need justice that does not damage. They need justice that empowers. Communities need peace, where every young offender has the opportunity to contribute to society in a constructive way. In this first year of the Innovate2Empower project, YiPSA is actively galvanising a solid member base of 250 members who are actively engaging on the online platform, and a selection of 25 best innovations from around the world to showcase on the platform. Beyond this pilot year, YiPSA YOUNG IN PRISON SOUTH AFRICA: ANNUAL REPORT 2015 | 15
will be working towards integrating the Innovate2Empower platform as an integral part of its Advocacy Programme. Innovate2Empower is being implemented by YiPSA in collaboration with its partners from the Young in Prison International network: Ayara in Colombia, YADEN in Kenya, Music Crossroads Malawi, and Stichting Young in Prison in Netherland. http://innovate2empower.project.emotiveprogram.org
FINANCIALS Statement of Financial Position as at 31 December 2015 FIGURES IN R ANDS
2015 2014
Non-Current Assets Current Assets Cash and Cash Equivalents Accounts Receivable
128 323 1 193 600 1 184 836 8 764
208 156 835 406 807 513 27 893
Total Assets
1 321 923
1 043 562
Equity Accumulated Funds
339 273
383 951
Current Liabilities Deferred Income Accounts Payable
982 650 880 664 101 986
659 611 532 540 127 071
1 321 923
1 043 562
Total Equity and Liabilities
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Summary of Financial Performance for the Year Ending 31 December 2015 FIGURES IN R ANDS
2015 2014
Revenue
4 468 849
3 862 986
Grants and Donations Other Income
4 397 071 77 778
3 803 656 59 312
Expenses Personnel Operating Costs Programme Costs Other Expenses
4 513 527 2 881 637 1 080 143 534 614 17 134
3 785 676 2 095 894 1 089 689 600 093 –
(44 678)
77 293
Operating (Deficit/)Surplus for the Year
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THANK YOU
We would like to thank the following funders, partners and individuals whose support is critical to the existence and progress of Young in Prison South Africa: European Union Delegation to South Africa for their funding and support of YiPSA programmes. Management and staff of the correctional centres we work in, particulary: ‒‒ M s Thabisa Gqotho and Mr Cyril Davies at Brandvlei Correctional Centre ‒‒ Ms Nokuzola Mntonintshi and Mr Carl Hoorzuk at Drakenstein Correctional Centre ‒‒ Ms Rina Gantana at Goodwood Correctional Centre ‒‒ Mr Anthony Gina and Ms Busisiwe Siluma at Leeuwkop Correctional Centre ‒‒ Ms Mandisa Tshaka and Ms Joy Cloete at Pollsmoor Correctional Centre Oxfam Novib for their funding of the Innovate2Empower project. Young in Prison network partners for their continued collaboration and partnership.
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LOOKING AHEAD
2016 will be a year of reimagining our programmes, deepening our impact and strengthening our sustainability. Our plans going forward include: ‒‒ E xpanding our services to an additional correctional centre in the Gauteng region ‒‒ L aunching the Inaugural YiPSA Photo Auction which we envision to be an annual event on Cape Town’s social calendar ‒‒ I ntroducing an entrepreneurship development component to our postrelease Siyakhana Programme ‒‒ F acilitating more internship and job opportunities for our Siyakhana Programme graduates ‒‒ I ncreasing our voice and visibility through our advocacy programme and the Innovate2Empower platform ‒‒ D iversifying our support base to span local and international funders, as well as individuals who can be ambassadors for our course
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BOARD MEMBERS Assoc. Prof. Lukas Muntingh (Chairperson) Michelle Connan (Treasurer) Pearl Nel Tina Lorizzo
Young in Prison South Africa is a registered non-profit organisation (Reg. No. 059-080-NPO) and public benefit organisation (PBO No. 930031086).
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YiPSA Cape Town 312 Victoria Road Salt River Cape Town, 7925 Tel.: +27 (0) 21 448 5275 YiPSA Johannesburg 406 Mansion House Albertina Sisulu Road Johannesburg, 2000 Tel.: +27 (0) 11 333 1586 Email: info@younginprison.org.za www.younginprison.org.za