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Sycamore Tree Project® and PF South Africa
Last modified 2008-06-03 04:46
Recently, Douw Grobler, executive director of PF South Africa, reported on the “high level of partnership between PFSA and the Department of Correctional services (DCS)” as seen in the Sycamore Tree Project® (STP). In 2007, PF South Africa signed a service agreement with the DCS to provide STP to 80% of South African prisons within four years. They then provided workshops that trained 136 individuals to facilitate the programme in four different DCS management areas.
In order to provide such extensive services, the national ministry
partners with other non-governmental organizations and the Department
of Spiritual Care within the DCS to recruit facilitators and implement
the programme in the various locations. To maintain programme
integrity within such a partnership, PF South Africa has developed an
implementation protocol requiring:
- Observance of the rules and regulations of DCS
- Chaplains acting as the point of contact and the office providing accountability for programme facilitators
- Communication of feedback, further training and impact studies through the Chaplain’s office
PF South Africa reserves the right to train, register and authorise
new facilitators. This is done in cooperation with the Director of
Spiritual Care.
Participants, facilitators and prison staff are being impacted through
the programme as seen in a recent report from the chaplain of the
Maximum Security Centre in the Brandvlei Prison Management Area.
Several chaplains attended the closing ceremony of an STP session where
participants spoke about the programme and how it affected them. One
prisoner told the group how he was contemplating how to commit suicide
on the day he was called to participate in the programme. That call has
helped him change. He also said that STP helped the prisoners focus on
the needs of victims instead of themselves.
May 2008