Over the years, NICRO Free State successfully initiated and introduced or implemented services for street children, children in conflict with the law and those at risk of becoming involved in crime or gang related activities as well as victim and witness support centres. Additionally, the organisation provides bursaries and family support services for children of incarcerated persons and offenders, and economic empowerment opportunities for NICRO clients (incarcerated persons, former offenders and members of their families, young people in conflict with the law and victims of crime, especially female survivors of violence) as well as other socially excluded, marginalised and unemployed individuals.

A Community Focus and Collaborative Efforts

Our focus is very much on the community and all our offices, including the provincial office in Bloemfontein, are located within the communities we serve.

Community members are recruited, trained and supported to assist with frontline service delivery. They work at victim and witness support centres and in prisons, schools and in the community, assisting with programmes for youth and offenders, and providing emotional support to survivors of domestic violence and rape. Community members also serve on NICRO Free State’s management committee.

NICRO Free State works in close collaboration with a wide range of other non-governmental organisations and government departments including the Departments of Social Development, Safety and Security, Correctional Services, Justice and Education, to advocate and lobby for effective service delivery, to uphold human rights and to build a safer South Africa.

Special Events and Innovative Initiatives

For the past seven years, NICRO Free State has successfully staged the Vodacom Creative Arts Competition for prisoners. This annual event not only affords offenders serving a prison sentence the opportunity of unlocking their creativity and dealing with the harsh realities of imprisonment by expressing themselves through art, but simultaneously also makes a significant contribution towards bridging the gap between offender and society. By highlighting an offender’s potential and the creative skills he or she can invest in the community, we create an awareness of and underscore the importance of welcoming the offender’s return to the community following release from prison and the need to support his or her successful reintegration.

Young people and school going children are a principal target audience in our efforts to prevent and reduce crime. With the assistance and dedicated support of the Central University of Technology, we have for several years staged art competitions in primary schools to draw attention to crime and its devastating consequences. Soccer tournaments, organised with the assistance of Coke Cola, have also served to target young people and to introduce sport as an alternative to crime. In 2004 a drama initiative was introduced in four high schools in Bloemfontein as a vehicle to draw attention to gender based violence and to promote victims’ rights.

Community Victim Support

NICRO Free State’s comprehensive victim support interventions focus on service delivery to victims of crime, more especially the survivors of domestic violence and rape. Services range from providing trauma debriefing and crisis intervention immediately after a crime has been reported to counselling, and include support services to witnesses, victims and family members throughout court proceedings. Much of the organisation’s time is devoted to training and building the capacity of other role players and community members to ensure an effective and victim sensitive service.

Diversion and Youth Development

The Diversion Programme for children in conflict with the law is another focus of NICRO Free State’s work. Young people who have committed a crime are referred to the organisation as an alternative to facing criminal charges and appearing in court. Following an assessment of the young person, the crime that has been committed and the family by a NICRO social worker, s/he is referred to an appropriate programme that will encourage the young offender to take responsibility for his/her actions and to repair the damage caused.

The Diversion and Youth Development Programme incorporates a comprehensives range of interventions:

The Youth Empowerment Scheme, an eight-session life skills programme for first time young offenders focussing on important social skills such as conflict management, managing peer pressure and communication skills;
Pre-Trial Community Service, which offers young offenders the opportunity of serving the community they have wronged ;
Family Group Conferencing and Victim Offender Mediation, both of which involve the victim and are geared towards repairing the damage caused – a healing process for victims themselves – and making plans to prevent the young person from re-offending;
The Journey Leadership Programme, an intensive therapeutic intervention and training programme aimed at high-risk youth and serious or multiple offenders that involves life and vocational skills training in addition to community service, adventure education and a wilderness therapy component;
Crime prevention programmes in schools, that include anti-crime projects and life skills programmes focussing on at-risk youth and young people who have not yet become involved in criminal activities, and empowering them to say “No” to crime.

Offender Reintegration

The Offender Reintegration Programme focuses specifically on supporting and empowering offenders to ensure their successful return to their families, communities and society. The success of this intervention depends not only on offenders taking responsibility for their actions, making amends and turning their backs on crime, but also on vital support from family members and the community.

Some of the greatest challenges with which this programme is faced include enabling families to cope with the incarceration of their loved ones, ensuring that the children of prisoners are able to continue their schooling and equipping released offenders with the skills and ability to secure gainful employment following their release from prison.

In order to support offenders and their families every step of the way, NICRO Free State has developed a holistic, integrated programme that commences in prison and continues beyond release. Our Offender Reintegration Programme, which focuses on the development and economic empowerment of the offender and family members, as well as stabilising family relationships, includes the following components:

The Tough Enough Programme (TEP) offered in Grootvlei Prison;
The Esther Lategan Study Fund (providing bursaries for both imprisoned TEP participants and the children of imprisoned persons);
The Creative Arts Competition;
The Mentorship Programme, which provides support and guidance for released Tough Enough Programme participants ; and
Family support services.

Roll of Honour

NICRO Free State would like to pay special tribute to and thank all our donors and benefactors who have made it possible for us to render much-needed services of a high quality in the province:

The Department of Social Development, the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund, AusAID, the Open Society Foundation , the Royal Netherlands Embassy, the Embassy of Finland, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, Themba Lesizwe, Anglo American Chairman’s Fund and the Vodacom Foundation for their generous and committed grant making support;
First National Bank, Shoprite/Checkers, Art.com, Coke Cola and Riebeek Cellars as well as all other local corporate concerns and various individuals;
The Free State University and the Central University of Technology;
Our governmental and non-governmental partners in the province – we achieve service excellence as a result of our working together to serve our communities; and
Our volunteers who give selflessly of themselves to serve others.

Would You Consider Helping Us to Make a Difference?

NICRO Free State has a small staff compliment of only 12 personnel. Volunteers greatly assist us to increase our capacity and render more widespread, effective services. If you are able to volunteer your services or expertise, please contact our provincial office and offer your assistance, or e-mail nicrofs@intekom.co.za

Volunteers are needed:

To assist us in facilitating Diversion programmes for young offenders;
To mentor young people;
As counsellors and advisors at community victim support centres;
To provide witness and court support services;
As community support people for those who are being released from prison;
To mentor former offenders;
As administrative and fundraising assistants;
As event organisers; and
To assist with building maintenance

Alternatively, any donations in cash or kind, no matter how big or small, would be deeply appreciated. We are in urgent need of:

A vehicle for the Bethlehem office,
Software to upgrade existing information technology at all our offices,
Office furniture such as chairs and lounge suites,
Stationery for utilisation in the implementation of our programmes, and

Funding to meet the costs of providing training and education to young people and offenders in order to equip them with the skills to secure employment in the open labour market.