Kota Kinabalu: The Wanita Sejahtera@JHEWCARE programme has launched an initiative to support vulnerable women through collaboration between the Sabah Department of Women Affairs (Jhewa) and the Malaysian Prisons Department.
Sixty selected participants took part in the programme, which provides legal counselling, mediation services, emotional and mental health support and skills training to enhance participants’ capabilities and prepare them for reintegration into society.
Community Development and People’s Welfare Assistant Minister Datuk Flovia Ng said the new programme under Jhewa targets vulnerable groups as defined by the United Nations.
“The Sabah Government through Jhewa provides various specialised assistance for women in the State, including Skills Courses, Equipment Grant Assistance and Entrepreneurship Promotion Programmes,” she said at the programme’s launch at the Kota Kinabalu Women’s Prison.
“These aids aim to build capacity, resilience and competitiveness among women entrepreneurs registered under Jhewa to help diversify their products for competitive marketing,” she said.
She said products from women’s prison workshops are of high quality, as participants receive training from experienced instructors.
She expressed hope that the skills learned would benefit the women upon their release.
Flovia said collaboration between government agencies like Jhewa, the Prisons Department and the Women’s Development Department should continue in the future, though she noted that certain aspects need refinement for similar programmes in other women’s prisons across Sabah.
“Early exposure to government assistance programmes, along with awareness talks to boost self-confidence for continued progress and moving past previous mistakes, are essential,” she said.
She pointed out the importance of community support for accepting these women back into society to prevent repeat offences.
The programme also plans to invite other government agencies to help provide second chances to participants.
“Humans make mistakes, but when they have changed, we should not refuse to accept them. We want to give the best to all levels of society, especially to them,” she said.
