Maleeto Mabe, who is a former convicted murderer from Randfontein is now a crew leader for the Working on Fire programme at the Abe Bailey Nature Reserve and has a valid reason to celebrate Women’s Month.
Maleeto comes from Bekkersdal and said that her integration into Working on Fire has helped her turn a new corner in her life.
“Today I am saving lives and protecting our environment. I am one of the few women in a leadership role in the programme. I am responsible for 23 lives on the fire line,” she explained.
As a young woman, she said she saw this opportunity as a second chance in life instead of being stigmatised because of her past.
“In the programme, I was able to find refuge and healing for my distraught and wounded soul,” Maleeto said.
Maleeto joined the parolee programme of Working on Fire at the age of 21.
Before she joined the programme, she was imprisoned for murder which she admits transpired at an age of 15 years. Maleeto served only 5 years of her 15-year sentence.
“One of the steps in the process of healing is to admit the offence if you did it. You must be willing to go through rehabilitation and see life differently. But people say once a criminal always a criminal. I disagree with that notion,” Maleeto said.
She has also recently become engaged and has a child. She said that the stigma of ex-convicts does not scare or haunt her.
“I vowed that this will not deter me from living an honest life,” she said.
“I am the crew leader for a team of young firefighters. They do not judge me by my past, or my criminal record,” she said.
Maleeto completed the crew leader course after spending a year as a firefighter at the Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve outside Heidelberg.
Stephen Boyes, the General Manager for Working on Fire in Gauteng, said that a second chance is all people need at some point in their life. He said that Maleeto is one of those who deserved that chance too.
“We did not want to see this youngster going back to crime. She has shown us that she can lead and that she was able to change her life too,” Stephen said.
Stephen said that he is grateful that Maleeto is leading a normal life after her childhood, which was characterised by anguish and turmoil.
He also said that her dignity has been restored through the Working on Fire programme because she earns a stipend to up-skill and make a living.
• Source: Working on Fire
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