Cape Town - When his life of crime left him hospitalised and he was refused help by the wife of his murder victim, Bradwin Daniels decided to turn things around.
In hopes of protecting children from falling victim to trigger-happy gangsters, ex-inmate Daniels started an after-school programme that helps children revise their schoolwork while keeping them out of the grasp of gang leaders in the area.
Charged with murder and robbery, Daniels was sentenced to 21 years in prison, however, he was not new to the life of crime.
“Growing up, I had a very troubled childhood. My father and my uncle were gang leaders. So when things got tough at home, I ran away and joined the gang. I robbed people on the train to survive, and consequently, all my crimes caught up to me.”
“I was first arrested for robbery at the age of 16. When I was released, based on amnesty at the age of 20, I got caught up in the net of crime again and that was when I received my final sentence for murder and robbery.”
While on trial, Daniels was granted bail. However, a couple of days after his release, life threw him a curve ball that changed his life forever.
“While I was out, I was stabbed underneath my heart and I was hospitalised for three weeks. I met the wife of the man I murdered. She was supposed to be the nurse that was going to treat me, but because she had recognised me, she refused to help me. Till this day, I remember the pain and anger she held against me, and that broke me down completely.”
“From that, I realised that due to my choices and actions, I hurt so many people. I did not take the life of another person, but I robbed an innocent family of their breadwinner, a father figure and a mentor,” said Daniels.
After witnessing the pain, Daniels made it his life's mission to turn his life around and give back to the community as much as possible.
“When I went back to prison after my ordeal, I came to a realisation that this is not what I actually wanted to do with my entire life, not especially if I wanted a chance to help those that I've hurt.”
“While incarcerated, I attended reparation classes, anger management classes, and I did everything that I could to educate myself. I did this so that when I came out, not only can I be a better person, but also a father figure to many children whose fathers were murdered.”
“When I got out, I teamed up with an organisation called Voice of the Voiceless. There, I got the opportunity to work with children from Hanover Park and Lavender Hill doing after-school programmes helping with maths and also supporting them at school with stationery and helping them to go on outings like mountain hikes and so forth.”
“I made it my life's mission to team up with other ex-gang leaders who are willing to make a change in the community. Seeing what happened to the youth where gang leaders draw innocent children into the life of gangsterism made us see the damage we caused in the community.”
“We went to gang leaders and told them about our idea in the programme and that if there were any gang members willing to quit the gang, they could join us in order to give back to the community. Thankfully, some gang leaders and gang members stood back and started to work with us in order to repair our communities,” said Daniels.
Evangelist at the Sons of Issachar Ministries Kurt Oliver said the community loves Daniels because they saw how he has turned his life around, they are always calling on him to help those in need especially the youth.
“I have witnessed the love Daniels has for the community and especially the youth he has been involved with and has worked alongside Sons of Issachar Ministries and Cape Flats YMCA doing motivating talks but also speaking to the youth about the realities of being in a gang. We’ve seen him help so many students deal with peer pressure and help them put preventive measures in places of their daily challenges.
“From a ministry point of view, Daniels has been the most amazing blessing ever and there are so many fruits that show so many lives that are being transformed because of Daniels, and his life reflects that there are second chances in life and that God does not give up on us,” said Oliver.
South African Prisoners Organisation for Human Rights activists, Golden Miles Bhudu, said that prison work programmes are categorised as part of the error to Rehabilitate and Reintegrate Prisoners and prepare them for life outside prison.
“During incarceration, prisoners are encouraged to develop job-related skills and work ethics through work and labour programmes. These are laudable goals and many prisoners appreciate the opportunity to work and gain skills while in prison.
“However, the goals of rehabilitation and reintegration will not be achieved if prison labour are not given the opportunity to work in a safe environment where they are treated with dignity and respect. If prison officials treat prison labour as a form of punishment or if corporations treat prison labour as a source of cheap labour, rehabilitation and reintegration will not be the focus of the experience for prisoners who work,” said Bhudu.
Weekend Argus