UNAFEI
161st INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE
CLOSING CEREMONY SEPTEMBER 17TH, 2015
FAREWELL SPEECH BY PAMELA .M. MASESECHIEF PROBATION OFFICER – KENYAYour Excellencies
Mr. HOSHI Hirofumi, Deputy Director-General of the Tokyo
International Center of JICA
Mr. YAMASHITA Terutoshi; Director of UNAFEI
Mr. MORINAGA Taro, Deputy Director of UNAFEI
Honorable Members of the Diplomatic Corps
Faculty and staff of UNAFEI,Distinguished guests,
Fellow participants,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am deeply honored to be given the opportunity to make thisfarewell speech on behalf of my fellow participants. Writing a farewell1speech is indeed a daunting task as it touches on issues ofdisengagement with persons one has had the pleasure to socialize andappreciate one another; as the list is endless. It also brings forthemotions of happiness and sadness in equal measure. Happiness because
we are finally going back to our beloved countries and families; sadness
because we will be leaving behind new friends with whom we havespent five weeks and bonded to become a new family.
I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of my fellow
participants to convey oursincere and profound gratitude to theGovernment of Japan, JICA, UNAFEI, ACPF and our individual
country governments for providing us the opportunity to participate inthis vibrant and unique course.
About 40 days ago we were welcomed in Japan. Our bags werepacked with uncertainty and apprehension. We were alldifferent people, different cultures, yet expectations wereemanating from our pores. We came to fulfill a task of sharing
our experiences and discussing future directions regarding2effective training for correctional leadership, especially in thefields of understanding international standards and norms intreatment of offenders, organizing training based on effective
training methods, enhancing organizational culture of integrity,
stress management and promotion of cooperation in capacity
building with other organizations.
The 161st training involved 14 overseas participants, from different
countries and 4 Japanese participants all working in the criminal justicesystem ranging from the justice departments Police, Prosecution,
judiciary, correctional institutions and probation departments. The themeof the training was “Staff training for correctional leadership” withfocus on effective training methods, understanding and respecting
international standards and norms and treatment of difficult offenders.
It is only in the recent past that concerns of a comprehensive
curriculum of effective training methodologies for correctional staff;
addressing emerging crime trends, has started receiving due attention
and has eventually become an area of global concern.
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Difficult offenders like terrorists, money launderers, sexual related
offenders and human traffickers have unique characteristics andchallenges that need to be mitigated through specialized and effectivetraining programmes.
Participants shared their countries’ experiences on staff training and inaddition to UNAFEI faculty, visiting expert lectures, adhoc lectures,
visitation by VPOS (The back bone Probation work in Japan).Groupdiscussions and visits to relevant institutions served to enrich the course.
Future directions in implementing effective training curriculum andgood practices were identified and will serve as guides toimplementation of the same in our individual countries.
Ultimately, improvement of training curriculum through development oftraining manuals, lesson plans, mentorship, OJT and use of international
instruments in correction work were identified as measures that would
help improve service delivery of correctional staff.

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Ladies and gentlemen,
I do believe that the objectives of this course were fully achieved
and the participants now bear the responsibility of utilizing theknowledge achieved and establishing networks for the exchange of
updated information on the practices of their respective countries.
These objectives would not have been achieved without the diligent
organization of the humble Mr. YAMASHITA, Director of UNAFEI
and his dedicated team of professionals. We congratulate your excellent
organizational skills and deeply appreciate your efforts and those of yourdedicated, patient and courteous faculty and staff who made our lives at
UNAFEI comfortable.
Our sincere gratitude also goes to the following:• Professor Toru Nagai, the programme officer and his able assistantProfessor Satoshi Minoura for your efforts in ensuring the successof the 161st international training course.

5• JICA officials and staff both at our countries and in Japan for theirfacilitation, hospitality, courtesy and orientation on Japaneseculture and way of life which enabled us to settle down with ease.
• Ms Hisa the 161st training JICA coordinator for your patience andsupport during the entire five weeks. Ms. Hisa you were a motherto us and always endeavoured to make us comfortable taking us tothe hospital, shopping, banking the list is endless. Arigatou
Gozaimasu• Visiting expert lecturers, faculty lecturers, and adhoc lecturers forsharing their experiences and enlightening us with current
international trends and good practices that would serve to improveand enhance our training programs.
• Japanese participants (especially Suzuki San ,Muraguchi SanHimrou San and Otomo San) whose presence made our lives mucheasier and more interesting. Our invaluable interactions, yourpatient responses to our inquiries, assistance while shopping, the6

Asakusa trips and the numerous photos we took and the sharedlaughs will remain etched in our memories. Arigatou Gozaimasu.
• Fellow overseas participants with whom we have shared awonderful five weeks interacting and learning about our various
cultures and life experiences. Thank you for encouraging eachother and making our stay in Japan memorable.
Ladies and gentlemen,
During our stay at UNAFEI, we had the pleasure of meeting withvarious Government officials and distinguished personalities. Our
gratitude goes to her Excellency MS.Kamikawa the Honourable Minister
for Justice for her welcoming address and for dinner held and hosted by
His Excellency Mr. Inada the Vice Minister for Justice and those of us
who went to Fukushima we were hosted by Honorable Kameoka theMember of the House of Representatives. Arigatou Gozaimasu
We will not forget to appreciate various institutions such ascorrectional facilities in Tokyo detention House, Hiroshima District7

Court, Kyoto District public Prosecution Officeand Nishihonganji

Byakkoto Half Way House for allowing us to get a glimpse of how thevarious institutions in the Japanese Criminal Justice System work. It isworth mentioning that the synergy between the criminal justice agencies
in Japan is quite commendable.
I wish to extend our deepest appreciation to the Asia Crime
Prevention Foundation (ACPF) and its prefectural branches fororganizing and facilitating wonderful tour programmes.
The Yosakoi festival and the several dinner parties; the culmination of
the grand barbecue. That was truly an awesome and unforgettableexperience.
Ladies and gentlemen,
During our stay at UNAFEI we were not given a chance to feelhomesick. Our five weeks were filled with various activities, trips andvisits that enriched our learning experience. Table tennis tournaments,
Japanese lessons, Japanese Tea Ceremony, karaoke entertainment
sessions, visits to museums and temples all made our life lively and8wonderful. The bullet train trip to Hiroshima and its scenic, breathtaking
mountains beauty was truly awesome. The visit to the historical
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park was a humbling experience andenshrines global peace.
We will not forget to mention that the interaction with Voluntary
Probation Officers who exposed us to experiences of successfulcommunity rehabilitation processes undertaken by members of thecommunity. Please accept our sincere gratitude for you opened yourhomes, cooked delicious meals for us to us and you opened the gates ofyour gardens for us to test your juicy fruits. Arigatou Gozaimasu .May
you be blessed for the good work you are doing in the community.
Special tribute to UNAFEI catering department for a job well done ,themeals which were always ready on time and not only well cooked but
also well garnished. The housekeeping was very perfect.
Finally I want to say that we will sincerely miss the welcoming andfarewell staff line ups whenever we were departing or returning fromvisits. That and the efficient time keeping are indeed amazing.
9Fellow participants please join me in saying a big thank you to all
persons who played a role in making our stay at UNAFEI memorable
and to all of you who took your time to attend this farewell ceremony,
ARIGATO GOZAIMASHITA.

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