By Mark Slessenger | Operations Director
Dear Friend,
What an amazing couple of weeks we have had at The Message Enterprise Programme (MEP). We have started the new year with a bang and we have been greatly encouraged with our new intake of 1st year students.
Jennifer Belcher has returned from the US and is heading up our entrepreneurial stream and we are already seeing our young men come up with great concepts and showing confidence in pitching their ideas. We have been encouraged by the depth and growth of our second year students as they have started new enterprises in Drakenstein Correctional Facility and also begun mentoring and teaching the first year students. Our other MEP team members have started new curriculum including topics on manhood and a discipleship training programme.
MEP's vision is to equip and prepare each of our students in prison for release, best we can. Many young men come out of prison with no vision or plan for their lives. One of our 2016 goals is to provide a practical opportunity for each young person we work, giving them every opportunity to succeed once released from prison. Part of this vision was to create a computer component for MEP to upskill our students in technology and business. We are thankful to the Rock Church in Califorinia and to their recent missions team Prisoners of Hope for donating the laptops and believing in our young men. We will be introducing the computer component soon to our curriculum structure.
One of the biggest concerns in prison work is the home environment and reintegration for our students. Through our faithful team visiting our students homes we have found many of the home environments to be unliveable. Many of our students come from dysfunctional homes, gang ridden environments and have no father figure to look up to and guide them. Our big goal this year is to establish a half way home for our students and be able to place them in a safe and loving enviroment. If you would like to know more about this vision you can contact info@message.org.za.
We value your prayers for our next student who will be released next week Tuesday on the 10th of May. Mtheteleli has been in prison for over ten years and is one of our most established leaders. We are excited for his release and we have managed to source accomodation for him with a partner organisation and he will be working out of The Message offices, first as a volunteer and then as an apprentice. We thank God for the open doors for MT and providing accomodation and work opportunities for him. We have complete confidence that MT will go on and become a great leader and role model in his family, community and nation. A life that once caused a ripple effect of pain and destruction has now become a life that has brought hope and inspiration to many.
We also celebrated the release of Jonny, who was another strong leader in MEP. Jonny is living in a halfway home close to the prison and is mentored by the prison chaplin. It was great to be able to pick him up and our team have spent time with him visiting and catching up with him in prison as he often visits the MEP students. Jonny also recently joined our visiting team (Prisoners of Hope) on tour and was a great encouragement to everyone.
This is our passion and heart for each of our young men in prison.
Thank you for your continued partnership and support, we value each and every person that has supported this cause and to help us see an end to gangsterism and crime, one life a time.
MEP Team.
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