Sunrise Center

Malawi like many developing countries is faced with an ever-increasing challenge of “Problem Youths.” This is especially true of urban centers. Problem Youths are a category of youth that have developed life-controlling habits and have some of the following characteristics:  

* They are no longer in school or in gainful employment.

* They stay and fend for themselves on the streets. 

* Most of them are prone to serious abuse of drugs and alcohol.

* The normal age bracket is from 16 to 26 years.

* Most of the female Problem Youths in this age group end up becoming sex workers to support themselves.

* The majority of the males are petty thieves and delinquents. It is these, however, that later develop into hard-core criminals.

Problem Youths will not, in most cases, develop skills that would be useful later in life and the following are the consequences that have followed: 

a. There has been a dramatic increase in crime rate in the cities. It is clear from police reports that the majority of crimes are committed by people between the ages of 18 and 27 years, who have no or little education and usually indulge in alcohol and drug abuse.

b. There has been a dramatic increase in the rate of HIV/AIDS among the youths in the cities. It is reported that 15% of Malawians especially those between 19 and 30 years are infected with HIV.

c. There has been an increase in poverty levels in the cities. Since the Problem Youths have no gainful employment they exacerbate the poverty situation.

The challenges posed by the Problem Youths therefore need to be curbed early before they get out of hand. A number of ways of dealing with these challenges are available in the country. These include:

a. A system of reforming prisons where different work therapies are administered. These however are so full and are bursting at their seams.

b. There is one juvenile reformatory at Mpemba in Blantyre. However, the number of minor offenders is quickly increasing and the situation is worsening every year.

c. A support system of extended family units where good will and concern are larger and extended than in a nuclear family. Urbanization, population growth and the AIDS pandemic have, however, seriously threatened this system that it is no longer able to cope with the current crisis.

With the growing inadequacies outlined above it is proposed that one major way to arrest the deteriorating condition of the Problem Youths is through a deliberate and informed process of rehabilitation that will follow behavioral change techniques known as contingency management. A similar approach has been used by Teen Challenge International for over 45 years with great success. The approach employs a system of rewards and punishments to make abstinence attractive and indulging in life controlling habits such as drug use unattractive. Ultimately, the aim is to make a drug-free, pro-social lifestyle more rewarding than a drug-using lifestyle.

The emphasis of this proposed rehabilitation process is not in what the youths do but what they are. It is evidenced that many approaches have emphasized more on what the counselee (in this case the Problem Youth) does. The proposed approach emphasizes first in priority the character of the youth, and then second what they do. The rehabilitation process will have three important components, viz: 

 

 This will be a carefully laid down approach that desires to bring about positive character change in the Problem Youths. The approach consists of carefully orchestrated combination of behavioral theories and a vigorous practical application thereof.

 Most Problem Youths being those that have no skills to help them make a decent livelihood, this component will conscientiously equip them with life skills that will be useful during rehabilitation and later as they get integrated back into mainstream society.

 The re-entry program will be a deliberate process of mentoring, monitoring and assessment of those that graduate from rehabilitation. This will ensure lasting success of the rehabilitation process.

Problem Youths will be recruited in the program through Drop-in Centers that will be located in Lilongwe, Blantyre, Mzuzu and Zomba. Students will include both male and female, who under the care of skilled staff will undergo this two-year rehabilitation process. In the first year they will be fully resident at an institution known as Sunrise Center: A Haven of Hope where they will undergo character transformation and skills acquisition. The second year will be for integration back into society through further skills development, mentoring and assessment. A total of 30 youths per year beginning in the second year will benefit from the rehabilitation program. Enrollment after the Center is fully operational is envisaged to expand to 90 youths per year. About 20% of all youths that will participate in the program will come from communities surrounding the Center. These may not necessarily be Problem Youths but they will be included to equip them with life skills.

The Sunrise Center is an already acquired property that covers an area of about 10 hectares located in Lilongwe District in central Malawi. Based in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi, a city representing all the tribes, races and political parties of the country, the success impact will have ripple effects across the country.

Sunrise Center is an incorporated Trust run by a Board of Trustees on behalf of the International Christian Center (ICC), a congregation under the Assemblies of God in Malawi, the initiator and developer of the Center.

Development of the Center will be done in phases over a ten-year period. When completed the Center will boast of boarding and skills training facilities for students, a chapel, a multipurpose hall, a health clinic, sports facilities, offices and lodging for staff among other things. The Center will provide employment to over 60 staff when fully operational.

In addition to rehabilitation of youths, the Sunrise Center will also provide various important social services to the communities around the Center. These will include health services, both primary and secondary schools, milling and fuel services, and employment. Communities will also have access to the multipurpose hall for their civic and social activities. Another important community service will be the Mpingu Community HIV/AIDS Mitigation Project that will aim at economically empowering households affected by HIV/AIDS. 

Some of the social services will be offered at an affordable fee as a means of generating income. Other measures put in place to ensure that operations of the Center are sustainable are the establishment and operationalization of a sponsorship program for students and selling of products made by the students undergoing the rehabilitation process. As may be required the Center will also have to actively source funding through donations and gifts.