Lehae la Batho Halfway House at Tsianda, near Thohoyandou, has opened its doors to ex-offenders who either have nowhere to call home or are ostracised by their families or communities.

The centre is the brainchild of New Life After Prison, an organisation which started off by helping ex-offenders with starter-pack equipment to start working for themselves in Mpumalanga, North West and Limpopo, before extending its arms to encompass ex-convicts countrywide. “Some prisoners find themselves rejected by families or communities after doing time,” the centre's manager, Mr Michael Makhuvha, says.

“When the time for them to be paroled comes, you'll find that there's no relative to sign for their release because they are not wanted anymore. So, that's where we come in.”

Makhuvha says that the halfway house's mission is to provide the best service between society and offenders by promoting a crime-free country, starting from the mindset of the crime-doers. “This kind of an after-prison house is a way to break the circle of crime and recidivism,” he declares.

New Life After Prison houses the ex-offenders at Lehae la Batho until their problems have been finally resolved. Makhuvha is quick to add that the centre is not like a prison environment with restrictions on daily movement. “These people are free now and they can look for work,” he said.

David Matshidze (46) was arrested for armed robbery and murder which he committed in 1993. He and three co-accused were sentenced to death. “My sentence was converted to an effective 32 years in 1995,” he remembers.

Unfortunately for David, by the time he got out of prison in 2011, his family members had passed on already and his wife had returned to her province with their two children. So David was greeted by an empty house which  was already in a state of desolation.

He maintains that he is remorseful for the crimes that had him locked up in prison for 18 years. “In prison I tried to apply a positive attitude and started learning electrician skills and plumbing,” he states.

“But with all my expertise, on my release I found myself stranded and without a job. It was because I had no tools or machines to start doing my job. All my people died when I was in jail. Now I was out of jail, but it felt like I was still in prison. The pain was too much to bear.”

David has found a ray of hope after coming to live at Lehae la Batho, where he is also chief chef. “It's amazing how life works, you know,” he tells. “After consulting with New Life After Prison and finding a home in the halfway house, I started to relieve the stress and soon I could see my purpose of living again.”