Everyone deserves a second chance
A ‘Second Chances’ counselling workshop closed last week with a presentation of certificates for the participants.
The name ‘Second Chance’ was used in the context of everyone deserving a second chance in life.
“This will be another milestone for the Trust that has the reputation
of ‘thinking outside the box’ and successfully coordinating joint ventures
with our government stakeholders and networks in the community,” said Magele Vernon Mackenzie, Director of the Samoa Returnees Trust (S.R.T.).
For this workshop, the S.R.T. partnered with Family Court Men’s Advocacy Programme and were kindly sponsored by the Samoa International Finance Authority (S.I.F.A).
Magele said that in terms of tailor-made counseling this was something different, a
prototype that has the potential for positive outcomes.
“My target audience are our returnee consumers who are high risk offenders. We aim to infuse case management techniques (practical applications), identify the
root cause of their offending, break the cycle and move forward.
“This is all part and parcel of developing a progressive module for rehabilitation,
a hybrid if you will, and is also a prelude to our latest project ‘The
Toefuataina Support Centre’,” he said.
The goal is to help members with their “issues” and at the same time have
them engage with staff, Returnee mentors and other role models,
(pillars in the community) who are experts in their respective fields of
discipline, ie: Spiritual leaders, cultural teachers, Academics, Supreme
Court Justice, clinicians, medical doctors and counselors.