BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

EIGHTY-TWO correction officers and support staff at the Welfare Home Complex or “observation home” yesterday started their training on Security and Caregiver Skills Course (SCSC) at its home-based in Kampung Belimbing.

The SCSC was the first collaboration among the Welfare Home Complex, the Rehabilitation and Protection Division, the Community Development Department (JAPEM) and the Prisons Department.

The training will be held for three consecutive weeks to enhance the participants’ skills on the custodial of troubled case children.

Present at the observation home to officiate the course was the Director of JAPEM Hjh Noridah Abdul Hamid.

During the event, Hjh Noridah said that the course was an initiative of the observation home in enhancing the officers and staff’s commitment on their service of taking care of the residents.

“The course is beneficial to the participants. To expose and improve their knowledge and skills in terms of academic, psychology, vocational practice and spiritual be it traditional or reformative,” said Hjh Noridah.

She also expressed her gratitude to the Prisons Department for its collaboration with JAPEM. “As an agency that provides ‘correctional facility’ as well as professional in rectifying (the behaviour of troubled teens as well as prisoners) in this country, they should become exemplary or a benchmark for organised, efficient and systematic security.”

“The SCSC opened up an opportunity to the participants to share ideas and information and experiences with other rehabilitation agencies about the best methods and practices,” she added.

Md Kamaluddin Md Yussof, a 27- year-old support staff when interviewed by _The Brunei Times _said that the first time he worked at the rehabilitation centre was a hard time for him.

“I was inexperienced when I first joined as a support staff. I would say that at first, the residents were hard to deal with,” he said.

“After several courses, it gave us more knowledge on how to deal with the residents. This is my sixth time participating in such courses,” said Md Kamaluddin.

Speaking on the sideline of the event, the Acting Head of the Welfare House Complex, Pg Mahdi Pg Hj Salleh said that currently there are 42 residents, below 18 years old, who under supervision of that centre.

“The residents in this centre are obliged to follow the rules and regulations. The moment they step into this centre, we are determined to help them to become better members of the community,” he said.

“Regardless of their unwillingness, we have to persuade them to stay so that they can receive better treatment from responsible party,” Pg Mahdi said.

Pg Mahdi has been working with JAPEM for 30 years and transferred to the observation home three years ago. “It must be hard for new officers and staff to take care of the residents. But from time to time, courses and training will help them to improve, be more confident and they will know how to handle them professionally.”

“The most important thing for the correcting officers and support staffs is to constantly remember, when dealing with the residents it must be with empathy. We don’t force the residents to change but we try to understand them through counselling session,” he stressed.

The residents at the observation home under JAPEM were children under 18 years old who received order from the Magistrate to stay at the centre for custodial and resocialisation purpose.

The Welfare Home Complex was established in 1982 at Kg Pulaie and moved to Kg Belimbing in 2010.

The Brunei Times