Kigali: 1,678 young people who benefited rehabilitation services and Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET) courses like carpentry, masonry, tailoring and agriculture with literacy and numeracy, motorcycle driving and other crosscutting courses in Iwawa Rehabilitation Centre (IRC) were given certificates of competence on 20th September 2019 and went back in their respective families.
The graduation ceremony of young people rehabilitated at IRC was organized for the 18th time, by the National Rehabilitation Service (NRS).
Apart from the 1,678 young people who received certificates of competence for rehabilitation and TVET Courses, there are other 402 young people who completed the rehabilitation programme at IRC but as they had not to pursue TVET courses, they were also taken back in their respective families. Therefore, the total number of young people taken back in their respective families is 2,080.
Speaking during the graduation ceremony, the Director General of the National Rehabilitation Service Mr. Aimé Bosenibamwe appreciated the contribution of NRS stakeholders and partners in the prevention of delinquency, rehabilitation of delinquents and community reintegration of graduates from rehabilitation centres.
He also encouraged the Rwandan community to always provide a warm welcome to the youth graduating from rehabilitation centres and facilitate their social reintegration in the community in order to prevent recidivism.
“We all have the responsibility to help young people who graduate from rehabilitation centres to sustainably reintegrate in the community, in order to ensure their better future and prevent recidivism. Together, we can.” He said.
With an aim to ensure the social reintegration of graduates from Iwawa Rehabilitation Centre and prevent recidivism, the National Rehabilitation Service (NRS) in collaboration with stakeholders mainly districts have put in place a number of initiatives that support the reintegration of graduates from rehabilitation centres. Some of the initiatives are:
• Creation of graduates’ forums at the sector and district level;
• Creation of forums for graduates’ parents at district level;
• Establishment of reintegration committees at sector and district level;
• Integration of graduates into cooperatives;
• Provision of start-up toolkits loans to graduates so that they implement their income generating projects: NRS in partnership with the Business Development Fund (BDF) finances projects of Iwawa graduates’ cooperatives and individual graduate projects whereby a cooperative can be financed up to 10 million Rwandan Francs and individual graduate project up to 500,000 Frw. Once a project is financed, the beneficiary will repay 50% and the remaining is the government grant. So far, 33 projects from cooperatives and 143 individual graduate projects have been financed. The total budget so far disbursed in this programme is 289,328,000 Frw.
• Linking them with stakeholders who provide job or study opportunities: Iwawa graduates are reintegrated in their community whereby they are linked with job opportunities depending on their area of study, those who wish to resume their studies are linked with schools.
As noted by the Director General of NRS Mr. Aimé BOSENIBAMWE, these initiatives help the Government of Rwanda to reduce the number of recidivists, follow up on the graduates’ status, location and welfare after rehabilitation as well as reduce the prevalence of delinquency and drug abuse in youths.
Iwawa Rehabilitation Centre (IRC) is located on Iwawa Island of Kivu Lake, in Boneza Sector of Rutsiro District, Western Province. IRC is one of three rehabilitation centres of the National Rehabilitation Service which are:
• Iwawa Rehabilitation Centre in which male delinquents of over 18 years old who exhibit deviant behaviours are rehabilitated. To date, IRC has the capacity to accommodate 4,000 male delinquents per year but activities to upgrade it so that it accommodates 6,000 delinquents per year have started.
• Gitagata Rehabilitation Centre located in Musenyi Sector of Bugesera District, Eastern province in which children between 10-18 years old who exhibit deviant behaviours and female delinquents are rehabilitated.
• Nyamagabe Rehabilitation Centre located in Gatare Sector of Nyamagabe District, Southern Province, accomodate 1,500 male delinquents of over 18 years old who exhibit deviant behaviours for their rehabilitation process.
The main mission of Iwawa Rehabilitation Centre is to rehabilitate male delinquents from across the country so that they stop drug consumption or any other deviant behaviour, equip them with vocational and hands on skills that will help them integrate in the community and participate in the social- economic and political development of Rwanda. TVET courses provided to the youths admitted at IRC are led by the Workforce Development Authority (WDA).
To date over 20,000 male delinquents have been rehabilitated and graduated from Iwawa Rehabilitation Centre.
The National Rehabilitation Service is a Government Institution established in 2017 with a mandate to eradicate all forms of deviant behaviours by instilling positive behaviours, educating and providing professional skills.
In particular, NRS has the following main mission:
• To establish appropriate measures for the prevention of acts giving rise to deviant attitudes and behaviours;
• To develop and implement sustainable measures for rehabilitation of delinquents and make follow-up on their implementation;
• To strengthen existing and new mechanisms for social reintegration and follow up of former delinquents to prevent potential recidivism.
• To enhance coordination and oversight of stakeholder interventions to avoid duplication and overlaps in addressing cases of delinquency.
Deviant acts or behaviours are actions or bad behaviours such as prostitution, drug use, begging, vagrancy, informal street vending, or any other deviant behaviour that is harmful to the public. (End)