Ron (not his real name) was just 14 when he was sent to the New Opportunity Corps (NOC) for committing the ‘offence’ of wandering and while he still has some residual anger, he believes that the institution saved him.
“It was not all that good, but not all that bad,” was how Ron described his time at the NOC. “I don’t know how I would have end up, so in a way NOC saved my life,” he continued frankly during a recent interview with the Sunday Stabroek.
It is not that he is agreeing that he should have been sent to the institution, since he knows he did not commit a crime, but he believes had he remained “on the outside” he would have “gone down the wrong path.” Now he is more focused and wants to ensure that he becomes a productive citizen of his country.
