I desperately wanted to show compassion to people in prison and to help them deal with their own personal issues, including the stress of life as an offender, and to equip them with skills to make a fresh start. The next phase came naturally t—o inspire, motivate and teach inmates to become healers/teachers themselves. This was born out of my experience in Leuukop Maximum Security Prison, where the appreciation of humanity is overwhelming. I have witnessed integrity, respect for others, leadership qualities and a deep desire to learn. A healing revolution is possible within the confines of a prison, with the inmates taking the major role.
There is now a handful of students sharing their kinesiology techniques and teaching stress management skills to their friends with great success. I see this as a definite sign of personal growth and as a step towards rehabilitation of the prison community. It enables the offender to “put something back” into society and to regain self respect.
When the offender is released they are equipped with a skill to take into the community outside prison. With a sense of personal value and pride the ex-inmate would be more likely to have the desire to prevent crime by educating youngsters against it, rather than re-committing offences against society.
The next step is to train many more women to bring this programme into every prison in South Africa. I have a global vision for a programme such as this to be implemented internationally and would like to present it at an international kinesiology conference one day.
Nathi Sithole, one of my inmate friends, says:
“As a criminal I have done a lot of harm to others with my “hands” It is those “hands” that Mrs. Gabby Fels has trained in Kinesiology to assist others of my fellow offenders to deal with Stress, Depression, Grief, Self-Esteem, Focus and Concentration and Anger. I am grateful to Mrs. Fels for offering my ”hands” a positive tool (Kinesiology) to do some good to my fellow human beings”
Oyama T. Rwaxa (another inmate):
“Kinesiology has been an eye opener to a spiritual path that has made my life an enjoyable journey such that my life is now fuller, more focussed and worth living. Helping fellow offenders to see this light is even more rewarding as changing one life is an additional spark that rejuvenates me to assisting those who are willing to embark on this remarkable experience.”
In May 2008 one of our students attending the workshop learned of the sad news that his father had passed on. His father died a day after our lesson on Stress, which could not have come at a better time for Lucky. He is full of praise for Kinesiology. He considers it his “comforting partner”.
Recently I introduced one of my PKP students, Wendy Malpage, to the prison. She sat in for two complete groups and at the certificate/reports awards wrote me a 'report' too:
“Thank you for giving me this opportunity to learn from you, and to get involved in such a worthwhile cause. Between the prisoners and myself, I don’t know who has learned more! Knowledge gives you understanding, and if I had not taken this challenge I might never have known that somewhere in prison are people just like you and me, trying to get through life as best they can. Every time I leave the prisoners I come back home, having learned something new, and grateful for all that I have. Going to a variety of workshops and sharing with others appeals to me. Gabby, you are a wonderful teacher, you have changed my life and, I am sure, many others. Teaching is the most sacred career, but it is such a pity that more people do not give back the way you do. Coming out here week after week and doing all the hours of prep and typing is not easy, but you do it as if it is just what needs to be done. You are an inspiration to me!”
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