By Sabrina Mahtani | Project Leader
Thank you for supporting AdvocAid’s work through Global Giving. We were overwhelmed by the support we received during the Gateway Challenge.
Female Prisoners Graduate in Freetown Female Prison
The funds raised have already made an impact and on 13 August 2013, 24 female prisoners in Freetown Female Prison graduated stage 1, 2 and 3 literacy classes. AdvocAid runs literacy classes for girls and women in prison across Sierra Leone in partnership with EducAid, an educational charity in Sierra Leone. We held a graduation ceremony in the prison to celebrate the achievements of these women and to encourage other women to participate and join in the classes. We presented certificates and welfare items during the ceremony that was attended by various guests from the Prison Service and civil society. The graduation ceremony was featured on the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation News.
The literacy classes offer hope and encouragement to female prisoners whilst in detention and assist them with rebuilding their lives after prison. Most women in prison have a background of poverty and abuse and have had minimal education opportunities. During the vote of thanks one prisoner stated that the classes give them hope that their lives are not over just because they are in prison and that they will pass on their knowledge to their children.
Boost to Legal Aid Work
The funds raised have also been used to support our legal aid work in Makeni, Freetown and Kenema through supporting the important work of our Duty Counsels and Paralegals. We were also able to provide a stipend for a law student to intern with us in Freetown. Alimamy Koroma worked with AdvocAid last year during an externship programme we ran supported by Open Society Foundations. He developed such a passion for our work that he came back to volunteer with us. We have now been able to provide him with a stipend so that he can spend more time continuing his excellent police station monitoring and legal support to girls and women in conflict with the law. Your support is also helping to build the capacity of the next generation of human rights lawyers in Sierra Leone!
Have Your Donation Matched by 30% on Wednesday 9 October
This Wednesday 9 October, Global Giving is matching any funds donated on that day – if you wish to continue supporting our work please donate on that day when each donation will be matched by 30%!
We look forward to continuing to share the impact your support is making in the lives of some of the most vulnerable girls and women in Sierra Leone. Please continue to support us if you can: whether through a donation, volunteering your time or sharing news about our work with your friends and family.
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 receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
