By Rebecca Mweru Kabejja | Advocacy Specialist
Strengthening legal education and empowerment in Sierra Leone is a core focus of AdvocAid’s work. We believe in putting the power of the law in people’s hands so that they can better know, use and shape the laws that impact them.
In order to empower the women and girls we work with, AdvocAid has deliberately sought out partnerships that will mean we can reach wider audiences. This will not only increase the accessibility of justice to these communities, but also further our impact.
In early 2023, AdvocAid signed an MOU with AfriRadio (a subsidiary company of Africell Sierra Leone) with the aim of using broadcast media to bring legal education closer to the wider Sierra Leone community (especially those that are most marginalized).
With radio remaining the most widely accessed broadcast platform in Sierra Leone, this means AdvocAid can empower Sierra Leoneans in their homes and workplaces without them having to meet any financial costs. The radio show is titled Uman Get Rayt - inspired by the name of AdvocAid’s current five-year strategy of the same name. To publicize the Uman Get Rayt radio show, AdvocAid has worked with police officers, churches, and market and keke leaders to distribute flyers and hang up notices at places that community members usually access (markets, churches, police stations and poda-poda parks).
We know that with limited resources, we cannot reach everyone in Sierra Leone, however with a broadcast platform like this, we are able to reach and empower a large population that is often denied justice. Our paralegals and social workers use the radio show to provide legal education and explain legal rights and procedures to radio listeners, so that they can better understand the system and empower themselves. And when radio listeners call in, our paralegals have one on one conversations with them to break down a legal issue that they may need more knowledge on. By hearing about people’s experiences and cases, AdvocAid can learn more about which communities are in need of legal empowerment, so that we can strategically organise legal outreach.
In early April 2023, AdvocAid also signed an MOU with Women In Media Sierra Leone - an organization that brings together women journalists to enhance their status in the media in Sierra Leone. This partnership acknowledges the media as a significant player in awareness raising, with a powerful role to play in legal awareness and feminist advocacy. With this partnership, AdvocAid will be able to engage in legal awareness campaigns across various media houses in broadcast and print to enhance legal literacy and empowerment in Sierra Leone.
With partnerships like this, we believe that we shall be able to increase and enhance access to justice for some of Sierra Leone’s most vulnerable communities, all while putting the women and girls we work with at the centre. We encourage you all to tune in to the Uman Get Rayt Radio Show which airs on the first and last Tuesday of every month from 11am-Midday (GMT).
Thank you as always for your support.
Links:
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can recieve an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
Support this important cause by creating a personalized fundraising page.
Start a Fundraiser
