My late father was an ex-drug addict and he was the reason for me to embark on a social work career. My mother’s relentless support to aid him in his recovery, gave him the impetus to desist from his drug addiction. His ability to overcome the struggles and his determination to build better lives for his children proved that recovery is a possibility. His journey became my inspiration.
It was the decision to join Singapore Prison Service as a Counsellor that deepened my passion to help the offenders. Through this work experience, I was fortunate to hear the offenders’ account on their struggles in rehabilitation and widened my horizon of the complexity reintegrating into the society effectively. Personally I believe reintegration is not only about the individuals’ motivation to change but also community efforts to support the change.
I was dissatisfied in merely adopting theories and framework and had recognised the pitfalls of blindly applying theories. Having attained both degrees in Social Work, the PhD programme in Criminology would augment my current knowledge of rehabilitation practices. With exposures in both social work and criminology knowledge, such multi-disciplinary approaches would benefit both offenders and helping professionals exponentially.
The Ridzwan Dzafir Community Award provided me with the opportunity to pursue my dreams and to learn from a renowned professor in Criminology. There is a need to uncover new approaches and to challenge paradigms to suit the needs for population that I am serving. It is with this conviction; I believe pursuing a Criminology degree from the University of Glasgow would expose me to a wealth of new knowledge on best practices.
As a doctoral candidate, I aspire to continuously provide new knowledge, through evidence-informed research, to advance our professionalism in managing offenders’ reintegration. Rehabilitation is a dynamic landscape and thus there is a constant search to ensure effective practices are in place to lower the recidivism rates. Through this PhD programme, I hope to work alongside the Malay/Muslim community to advance our community standing and contribute to nation-building.
– Umardani Bin Umle –
Source: MENDAKI SIngapore
