Transforming Lives Behind Bars And Beyond

Gavin grew up in Rocklands, Mitchells Plain. He lost his mother as a child. He fell into addiction, joined prison gangs, and was incarcerated at Pollsmoor for aggravated robbery. By every measure, his story was heading in one direction.

Then it changed. Today, Gavin leads the Men's Programme at Pollsmoor, standing at the gate, ready to guide other men through the same journey he survived.

His wife Mervaline walked a road of her own, nine years living on the streets, the loss of her son and time inside Pollsmoor herself. In the stillness of her sentence, she made herself one quiet promise: that she would never come back. She kept it. Today, she brings that same lived understanding into the Women's Programme, alongside Lead Facilitator Kirsten Adams.

Gavin and Mervaline married in May 2026, two people who once walked the hardest road through the same facility, who chose each other and chose something different. For the men and women inside Pollsmoor, that is proof, in person, that change is possible.

Alongside Gavin, Chazz Jurd co-facilitates the Men's Progra...