By Signe Roelsgaard | Development Associate
2016 is coming to an end, and we are absolutely thrilled that we have almost met our fundraising target for our 10 Year Anniversary project! For that, the whole AdvocAid family wants to say a huge thank you to everyone who generously donated. You made it possible for us to celebrate with beneficiaries and partners in Sierra Leone. However, because we are only just getting close to the target now, we have prioritised our funding slightly differently this year than what we said we would.
Celebrating our anniversary has been a profound joy, but 2016 has also been one of the most difficult years in the history of AdvocAid’s existence. Since Ebola, most resources have been diverted to rebuild the health and education systems, which both suffered massively during the 2014-15 outbreak. As a result, the already underfunded justice sector has come under further constraint and it has become even harder to secure funding for our legal aid work.
To deal with the crisis, we have focused on retaining crucial services to female detainees instead of going through with all our commemorative projects. Since the last 42 inmates graduated in September, we have had to put our literacy and numeracy classes temporarily on hold. The good news is that by reaching our funding target, we will be able to restart classes in 2017. We know this was not on the list of things we wanted to do with this project, but hope that you will understand our priorities.
We have also managed to continue providing legal assistance and representation, and in spite of severe financial volatility, our paralegals and lawyers have assisted no less than 1207 women and girls since January –75% of whom were either released, on bail, or discharged after our intervention!
Looking ahead - Fundraising became the theme of 2016, and it has finally started to pay off! In October and November, we held a church fundraiser and fundraising gala, raising $2900 from guests and corporates. What is more, AdvocAid was recently announced as winner of Clifford Chance’s Access to Justice Award 2016, and we will be receiving a great deal of support, including 500 pro bono hours from their staff and a donation of £50.000 to be used over an 18 month period.
We still have a long way to go, but we are hopeful that the new year will be easier – for AdvocAid and thus also for the women and girls we serve. We have not been able to create the AdvocAid story on film, but we hope to soon be able to paint legal educational murals on the walls of the correctional centres, as we planned.
The funding that has come in recently will enable us to get back on our feet, but we need a sustainable income more than ever to really get through the crisis. We hope that you will continue to support us – either by becoming a regular sponsor of AdvocAid or by encouraging your friends, family and colleagues to donate to our work.
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