2009 - May UPDATE

2nd term has started with a BANG!!! These first 2 weeks have been truly AWESOME at both Brandvlei Maximum and Goodwood Medium Prison. These guys ROCK!!!

In the update you will be able to read

  • letters written by clients (inmates) at Brandvlei Maximum
  • about the start-up of 25 clients (21-25 year olds)
  • about the head of prison referring the section 2 manager to the Responsibility Coaching™ process and recommending it to be used in section 2 (450 inmates)

I am blown away by the amazing progress that we see in Brandvlei Maximum Prison - all initiated and guided by the Responsibility Coach™ Student Team - 5 Coach Students in their 2nd year of the Responsibility Coaching™ process. They are taking this concept BEYOND... No matter what challenges they are facing they handle it to perfection, they embrace their learning and inspire others by walking their talk and living their lives authentically!


TESTIMONIALS

Luyanda Mboniswa asked his four clients to write a bit of feedback about their journey and the process. The letters has not been changed. Not all of them have english as their first language - they are however doing great in their sharing. I think it is important to keep it original as it inspires everyone else to share as well!

O. A
When I was first introduced to being a ‘Responsible Individual’, I was very intrigued about the program because the life coach Luyanda had a very distinctive appearance and boisterous approach towards life. If I should depict my character before I started this program it would be prudent but measured in my standard terms. But as I delved further into my life, I realized that I was still filled with enormous amount of anger and a paramount of trusting issues.

The anger and trusting issues was not a tangible issue to a certain degree because it was an undercurrent that I was well aware of it but did not have the courage to deal with it. While studying ‘The Responsible Individual’ book I’ve learnt to stop looking into life but rather start focusing on my inner self and self worth hence, take ownership of my feelings and actions; but to also transcend in my character per se.

I’ve also realized by the tools Luyanda gave me, that I’ve got some poignant emotions concerning my past, which this program is helping me deal with. Every day I am instilling what I’ve learned into my life. I am definitely seeing and feeling the change that is taking place. I’m also now very aware of my emotions and re-actions. I know that this is a process, which demands commitment, honesty and tons of trust. I’m taking each day a step at a time. But many times it feels like a battle or struggle. And when I’m in that state of mind I would just begin to take 5 mins at a time.

This course is so instructive to me in so diverse areas in my life that even my parents began to notice my new energy towards life and others. Well, I’m very much aware that my foundation needs to be solid now and there’s so much more to acquire as an individual. I’m just glad that I now have a life coach, mentor and also friend to assist me in becoming a responsible individual.


R. S
I was born in 1984 in Cape Town in a Rastafarian culture with a loving family. As I was grown up as a Rasta, life was difficult at school and in my family because my mother’s family were Christians and I had to accept it. I wasn’t there to judge any of them; but I had to live with it and make life better for me.

As life went on I met a friend, we worked together at the same factory and our friendship grew stronger. In our friendship we did something terribly wrong and we were sent to prison. In prison life things started to get more complicated. We started to blame each other for the crime we had done. The friendship took a knock and we went separate ways. Nine years of good friendship ended because of judgement towards one another.

The anger inside of me pushed me away from people because I had lost trust in people due to what happened between me and my friend. I was hurt inside and I couldn’t forgive myself. The person’s in the process forgave us; but I found it hard to forgive and I felt hatred inside me. We were in prison for six years and I still carried this hatred within me.

Seven months back I ended my twenty-three years of being a Rasta and I took a decision to give Christ a chance in my life. But in the process I lost my father due to the decision I had made. He wrote me off. He is not talking to me anymore. My mother supports my decision and that is all that matters to me. I held my head up high because it was my own decision that I had made. In the process I was hurt; but I stood firm and held my head up.

Then I started with the program of how to be a ‘Responsible Individual’. It has helped me a lot, that I have to start first with me, and also how to cope in difficult situations – no matter what comes my way. I am finding peace in my heart and a way to live with my fellow inmates and to forgive each and everyone in the process.

This program has helped me to make a wise course in life. I took my pride and put it aside and I went to my friend to ask him for his forgiveness. He kept quiet for a few seconds, and then accepted my apology. Now we talk again. I know it will take time; but it is for the best.

I also want to say thank you to the life coach Luyanda who has helped me with this course. He helps me to believe in myself and to trust in Self first. I am glad to have a life coach like Luyanda. His support is amazing and I know I can learn more from him as the program goes on.

In the future I see myself as someone who can make a change in the community, especially for the children. Now that I know how to deal with difficult situations I know change is possible in a person’s life.

This program has helped me and I’m still learning as it goes on. Now I know I can overcome any challenge that comes my way. Wasn’t it for this course I wouldn’t know how to have overcome my fears. This is my journey that I want to follow till the end.
Thank you for such a course that can make changes to people’s lives.

B. M
The day 12/03/2009 was a life-changing experience for me. On that particular day I met a person who perceives things differently than other people and the way he perceives things fascinated me. I was intrigued when he told me about the course which is called ‘The Responsible Individual’, because all these years I was looking for something of this nature.

I was born in East London but grew up in Cape Town in a place called Philippi in a township. The life in townships is characterised by violence and people in areas like those lack emotional education, therefore distortions are conditioned in their subconscious from the tender age. In most cases when overwhelmed by challenges we tend to panic and allow emotions to fun high, we allow emotions to ruin our lives, we allow emotions to dig our enormous graves!!

The day that I’ve mentioned above was the most important day, because from that day until now I can pin-point the alterations in my life. Now I dive deeply into the situations. I don’t look only at the actual occurrence like I used to. Especially when it comes to emotions I can proudly say I am heading for emotional intelligence. I try to react in a more rational manner in every situation; but sometimes I react badly. I remember a recent incident when I practically thought I was unable to control my anger; but thank you to the opponent who instantly saw where we were heading and decided to calm down. And the next day my coach, Luyanda – as he heard the whispers of the occurrence – approached me and he asked me "what have I learnt from the occurrence?" I was unable to answer owing to my ignorance. I did not take the incident into consideration and during the process of recapitulating the occurrence we discovered that I have an anger problem which I was unaware of. So the opponent was a mirror, but I wanted to ‘shoot the messenger’ which was wrong of me.

Overall the course is very good, because it is instilling some quality like trust and love for me and people in general. To embrace these different perceptions about things and situations is a challenge in itself. But my facilitator is very good and he is very patient with a person until the person understands. So thus I am jolly optimistic about this course and my maturity in all the angles/departments.

J. C.
From the very outset, I think in 2008, when I first heard about ‘The Responsible Individual’, I was curious about it; but due to circumstances I never got around to it. I had a perception of it, but I was quite ignorant I know. On a few occasions I noticed a rather interesting looking woman at Group of Hope, and I wondered what motivated her to keep on coming back here. I enquired and was informed by Welcome Witbooi that she was Karina Andersen, and that she was facilitating some ground-breaking work. I became even more curious, but I did not take the matter further.

Then in March, this year, something major happened which has been the catalyst to me embarking on this journey. I was now in the same room each day with Luyanda and two other Group of Hope members, and although I had been exposed to them before I never really had the opportunity to sit down with them and pose some questions to them. I viewed this as my opportunity to find out more about ‘The Responsible Individual’, thinking it would be just another ‘run of the mill’ type of course. My perception was based on the fact that as a qualified theologian I sort of viewed the bit of information I heard about ‘The Responsible Individual’ as something like a type of counselling or therapeutic type of program. I was, however, still a bit resistant! That was all about to change. My overwhelming curiosity finally got the better of me and I asked Luyanda for the blue book, thinking that in it I would unearth something that would justify my earlier perceptions.

I am ashamed to say that I was hopelessly wrong in every respect, and I was about to be completely blown away. From the very first page – in fact from the inside cover – I found myself being drawn even deeper into the book and what I read really intrigued me - as I more and more came face to face with my own inner-self, my inner fears and even some of my inner emptiness. There were times it felt like the writer was speaking directly to me, ‘forcing’ me to even put the book down for days on end, because it was opening up wounds I thought I had ‘gotten over’ long ago. At the same time I was almost emotionally overwhelmed when I read about Karina’s experience of loosing her husband and the poem ‘The cry of my heart’ really touched on some deep ‘long-forgotten’, but obviously still raw, tender nerves inside. It suddenly brought me again face to face with the loss of my late wife almost 9 years ago, and the enormous emptiness I felt then came flooding back over me like some long-lost friend, only it wasn’t my friend - it wanted to consume me, overpower me, draw me back into the deep abyss of depression I had felt all those years ago, and I was not going to allow that to happen. I could not deal with that again. I put the book down and did not touch it for two weeks again, until yesterday, when I once more decided to face my fears and really get stuck in it again.

Thus far, working through ‘The Responsible Individual’ has been a journey of discovery for me. It has opened up ‘doors’ I thought had been closed long ago, it has forced me to do some serious introspection, really examine myself from every angle and it’s made me realize that there’s still a lot of work to be done in me, though it’s more of a fine-tuning nature. I always viewed myself as a responsible individual, but now I know that I’m not yet ‘The Responsible Individual’ I need to be. I’m looking ahead to going on with this book, as I know that I’ve already learnt so much and there’s still more to be learnt.

Regarding Luyanda, my impression of him has been confirmed as I realized that he is indeed having a major impact on those around him. My sessions with him have been quite informative and I’ve learnt a great deal. As a mentor or life coach, he has been very effective because of one reason; he walks the walk, living by example. I see in him the very mark of ‘The Responsible Individual’ and it’s what I’m striving towards as well. This experience so far has taught me a great deal about others, as well as myself. I view this as a marathon, not a sprint. By the time I cross the finish line I want to ‘be the change I want to see in others’.


WOW!!!

I have no doubt that you are totally in awe (exactly as I was) about these amazing testimonies. Not only does it reflect that we ALL are able to inspire great change in one another - it also reflects that there is so much LOVE, so much COMPASSION and so much HOPE.

Working hand in hand with the group of maximum prisoners and with the Brandvlei Management Area we are succeeding in implementing RESPONSIBLE REHABILITATION and we have established a platform for continuous personal leadership development due to the expertise of the Responsibility Coach™ Student Team.


INSPIRING CHANGE


Each Coach Student is having 3-5 clients (+5 each in the new juvenile group) whom they coach/guide either 1-on-1 or in group sessions. Part of their educational path as Responsibility Coaches™ is to be trained in both, which strengthens their ability to guide individuals and groups.

As we had the session at Brandvlei Wednesday we spoke about the challenges that they experience with their clients. It is an opportunity for them to bounce off their processes and get some ideas on how to approach things in more ways than one. They are amazing in assisting each other with different approaches by always availing their own personal journey. We work a lot with understanding the gift that the clients come with, the mirror they often present and the personal processing that it invites to.

These guys have such a rich toolbox by now and they just constantly make me speechless! What makes them so unique is also the path they have walked. Their toolbox is equipped with an understanding that allows them to work with those who walk a path of crime. They can work where most of us - you and I - can't. They are right there in one of the toughtest environments that you can imagine and they inspire GREAT change! This is the REAL DEAL!

As I came Wednesday it had been almost 4 weeks since our last session, due to the Easter Break and the voting. They are FANTASTIC in keeping themselves busy. They had since our last session arranged to begin Responsibility Coaching™ Sessions with a group of 21-25 year old - an additional 25 clients/inmates in the process. Every Friday from 10h00 to 13h00 they have group sessions and break the bigger group down to 5 smaller groups (5 in each), each guided by one of the Coach Students.

Another interesting project has come up. The section manager of section 2, who is responsible for 450 inmates, was asked to find a skill development programme for his section. The head of prison referred him to the Responsibility Coach™ Student Team, recommending that he would make use of the Responsibility Coaching™ process - all due to the amazing results achieved so far.

Doors are opening fast and we have 5 very busy guys at Brandvlei who are doing a FANTASTIC JOB in crime prevention and management!!!


Let us be reminded to give the next person a second chance. Let us move beyond judgement and operate from a place of LOVE. With an open heart we can touch millions of lives... and guess what... it begins with touching one... make a difference today! Because YOU care!


LOVE n BLESSINGS
Karina