TEACHING PRISONERS

Karina Andersen, a Dane, is leading a rehabilitation programme for hardened criminals at Brandvlei Prison in Worcester. The programme aims to teach them skills to cope with life after prison, and is known as SmilingOne. Karina came to South Africa in 2006 and got involved in community work at the prison. The weekly programme lasts six months. After completing the first phase, the prisoners go on to the second phase which involves passing on their new-found skills to other prisoners. SmilingOne's goal is to reach across prisons all over South Africa. Karina has written a book about the programme, The Responsible Individual.