After a human rights training session, Georgian children talk about what right is most important to them:

“Every child of Georgia should have the right to live in a family.”

Lika Tstaishvili, 8, at a children’s home with her simulated family. / Photo by Roshan Nebhrajani
This is the driving force of Georgia’s latest initiatives aimed at ameliorating the living conditions of abandoned children. As shelters continue to swell, international bodies have begun to support the implementation of institutions roughly translated as, “children’s homes.” These homes strive to provide a family for those children who have been deprived of one. A maximum of eight children live in each home. A couple also lives in the home, providing intimate care and nurturing the children just as parents would.The Imeriti region’s children’s home opened only five months ago in Kutaisi, on January 12, 2010 with a sponsorship from Foundation Breath, a Netherland-based NGO. There are currently seven children living in the home, according to Natia Gudava, the home’s liaison between the government and Breath.

Nino Khukhua hosting a children’s seminar. / Photo by Roshan Nebhrajani
On Tuesday July 27, Senior project assistant Nino Khukhua hosted the first, of many, children’s rights training sessions at the Imeriti children’s home. At the time only five children were present, as two were spending time with their biological family.

Nana and Ana Chapidze supervise as Khukhua teaches. / Photo by Roshan Nebhrajani
JusticeMaker Nana Chapidze and project consultant Ana Chapidze supervised as Khukhua conducted prepared activities with the children. Through interactive dialogue and coloring projects, Khukhua communicated basic human rights to the children at a level they were able to understand.

Children at the children’s home coloring. / Photo by Roshan Nebhrajani
“Global children’s rights are not taught at schools, it’s important that the children receive the necessary level of education of human rights now, before they turn 18 and become independent,” Chapidze said. “Hopefully this project will encourage the state to teach juveniles human rights.”

Trainers, parents and children watch a video on the rights of a child. / Photo by Roshan Nebhrajani
For the next couple of months, Khukhua along with the project’s legal assistants will continue to host children’s rights training sessions at children’s homes and other institutions that host at-risk children.Watch pieces of the training session here:

In addition to writing legal memorandums, implementing new initiatives and developing innovative project activities, JusticeMaker Nana Chapidze will carve yet another notch on to her leadership belt: micromanaging.

On Thursday July 22, Chapidze received a long-awaited call from the Georgian United Nations Development Programme. The office in Zugdidi offered her a position as a “Coordinator of the Rule of Law Initiative and Conference Building Program.” As the closest city to the conflict-region Abkhazia, Zugdidi hosts approximately 80,000 internally displaced people.

“The program intends to carry out effective IDP social and economic rehabilitation and reintegration , encourage the creation of small business and support youth IDP activities,” Chapidze said.

Because she will be moving to Zugdidi, a city close to an hour away from GYLA’s Kutsisi Branch by car, Chapidze has hired a new member to her “Supporting Juvenile Justice Reform” team.

 Nino Khukhua, the new senior project assistant./ Photo by Roshan Nebhrajani

Starting on Wednesday, Nino Khukhua, 21, will serve as the Juvenile Justice Reform’s senior project assistant. She will supervise the project in Nana’s absence and carry out key project activities such as hosting seminars on the Conventions of Children’s Rights for at-risk youth. She will also monitor the progress of other legal assistants within the program.

With that said, Chapidze still intends to return to the GYLA office every Saturday in order to “plan activities for the following week and review the results of the activities of the previous week.”

Chapidze is certain the project will only benefit from this new position.

“The project staff consists of more than six assistants and they are well-educated and well-experienced,” Chapidze said. “I will gain more information about international and local NGOs and try to cooperate with them in order to enhance this project and make it wider in scale, maybe even spread it to Zugdidi for the internally displaced youth.”

The dissolution of the Soviet Union left many former republics struggling to establish a viable, trustworthy legal infrastructure. From 1991 up until 1997, the Soviet model continued to govern Georgian society. During this time, many citizens still did not trust the Georgian government to protect their rights and solidify their safety.

Legal texts in the library of the Georgian Young Lawyers Association./ Photo by Roshan Nebhrajani

In 1997, legal scholar Lado Chanturia helped translate, and adapt aspects of the German civil code into Georgian script. The state parliamentary committee weaved this code into the legal infrastructure, and began to slowly reform other limbs of the Georgian legal system. In 1999, the president of Georgia signed the criminal code into legislation, according to the UN Refugee Agency.

In order to bolster citizens’ trust in the reliability of the law, the Georgian parliament has been revising and reforming the Civil and Criminal codes since their respective initial inceptions.

With a thriving NGO sector that works to both recognize and address inadequacies of the evolving legal infrastructure, Georgian legislation is in a stage of constant flux. Lawyers, journalists and political activists work hard to reveal the cracks in legislation that cause Georgian citizens to stumble and fall.

This is where JusticeMaker Nana Chapidze begins construction. With her project, she will prepare the cement that judges, police and lawmakers can use to seal the broken path of juvenile justice.

Within the current system, both the Georgian Civil and Criminal codes recognize the differences between criminal responsibilities of juveniles and adults. But that’s all. There is no tangible structure that educates, protects and rehabilitates juvenile offenders. There are no police who specialize in dealing with juvenile offenders.

“While some judges are trained in juvenile cases, they review adult cases also,” Chapidze said.

As a result, judges often asses cases on one standard, giving little consideration to age, socioeconomic status or a countless array of other factors that may influence an offender’s predisposition to commit a crime.

Court hearings are mass-produced, with each ruling resembling a photocopy of the one prior. Court monitoring reports conducted by the project’s legal aid students revealed stark similarities in rulings between very dissimilar cases. This superficial form of justice causes more harm than good. It evades the root of the problem and disables the rehabilitation process.

Prior to being sentenced, juvenile offenders must remain in an adult pretrial detention facility from anywhere between two and nine months while waiting for judgment. Once sentenced, offenders are sent to the only strictly juvenile prison in the entire country.  After serving their time, there are virtually no rehabilitation programs aimed at reintegration.

Essentially, “the problem with the juvenile justice system is that there is none,” Chapidze said.

Not yet at least.

As a part of my graduate studies at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy I will spend 13 weeks as a Legal Intern for International Bridges to Justice (IBJ). The work of IBJ in Cambodia is threefold: 1) Ensuring that the rights of the accused are respected and providing adequate, well-trained lawyers to represent them 2) Informing the public of their rights as an accused and 3) Putting the laws that are already on the books into practice in the courts.

Another one of IBJ’s underlying goals is to eliminate the practice of torture in Cambodia. Torture is well-documented as a form of carrying out criminal investigation and extracting confessions from the accused in Cambodia and other countries where more complex methods of investigation such as forensic science or even something as simple as fingerprinting are not the norm. The idea is that torture can be prevented or mitigated when the legal system (police, prisons, and courts) are held accountable by the presence of a lawyer representing the accused. Providing lawyers for the accused is not only a way of implementing the legal rights of Cambodian citizens and preventing torture, it is a step towards building the rule of law and strengthening the judicial system.

The need for legal aid in a country like Cambodia where there is currently no state-sponsored legal aid system (i.e. free lawyers for those who cannot afford one) cannot be understated. Cambodian law includes provisions that require individuals accused of a felony to be represented by a lawyer. Without NGO-sponsored legal aid lawyers, those who are accused of felonies would either be tried without legal representation or continue to sit in jail waiting for a lawyer. In some countries legal aid is provided by the government. Ideally the Cambodian government would support a government-funded legal aid system but currently they do not have the funds or capacity to do so and thusIBJ continues to work with the Cambodian government towards that goal. In the meantime, one or two other nonprofits like IBJ try their best to fill the gap in legal aid.

Working with an organization that supports a small number of lawyers in rural and urban provinces that would otherwise have zero lawyers for the poor is without a doubt a rewarding experience. Hopefully we are also making important contribution as well. As an intern I am conscious of the balance between the time and energy that interns extract from the organizations and companies they work with and the time and energy they contribute to that organization or company during their internship. There are currently five legal interns, a journalist, and a videographer interning with IBJ Cambodia this summer who provide both a great presence and, seemingly, an occasional burden on the small Phnom Penh and rural offices.

As far as day-to-day work goes, there is a good deal to be done. I spent much of June learning about the Cambodian legal system, the Cambodian context (historical, political, social, etc.) and about IBJ’s approach to providing legal aid, education, including the overarching goal of strengthening the legal system and rule of law. In addition to helping to conduct research and write funding proposals, and giving English lessons to some of our Cambodian colleagues, each legal intern is paired to work with one of the IBJ lawyers. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Ms. Pheak, accompanying her on prison visits and court dates to see her in action representing the accused at trials in the Kandal and Kampon Speu provinces neighboring Phnom Penh. An experiential learner at my core, I continue to learn the most from these experiences, out of which I am developing profiles and case studies that illustrate successes and areas for improvement in the legal aid system.

There are so many elements that contribute to the creation and establishment of an independent, accountable, and sound legal system. As I look critically and hopefully at the Cambodian legal system I continue to wonder where the crux of these complex issues lies. After the first trial I observed, I saw witnesses and family members unnecessarily scared and confused from court processes and procedures and thought education – both basic education and legal rights education – was the crux. I thought it unrealistic for people who have very little education or experience with the legal system to understand their legal rights if they have no context for what those rights mean or how to exercise them. On the other hand, I know there are millions individuals all over the world with low-literacy and little education who are demanding their rights be respected, calling for fairness, justice, saying no to corruption, and working to strengthen democratic practices in their communities.

Since that initial visit to the court I have seen the confluence of combating institutionalized corruption, establishing systems of accountability, the need for additional intensive police training, and the overall lack of lawyers in country as the cruxes of that same system. Of course no single crux is the problem nor the solution to these challenges. And little by little individuals working from a variety of angles must contribute to improve their corners and cross-sections of the labyrinth.

For me at this very moment that means getting back to a questionnaire I was developing!

On Thursday, July 1, JusticeMaker Nana Chapidze hosted a working meeting of the lawyers, consultants and legal studies interns that would work diligently for the next year executing the project “Supporting Juvenile Justice Reforms in Georgia.”

Beginning only two weeks ago, the project is currently in its administrative stage.

At this meeting, Chapidze assigned tasks and deadlines to six other key team members, each of whom had their own passions and skills to contribute to the project’s completion.

Nodar Jikia, 45

-Completed a UNICEF sponsored Training Course on the Advocacy for Children’s Rights
-Founder and Director of programs of the GYLA Kutaisi Branch
-Teacher at Zurab Jvania State School of Administration on “The Legal Basics of Local Democracy”
-Lecturer at Akaki Tsereteli State Kutaisi University on “The Legal Regulations of Education”
-Regional Coordinator of a program entitled “Models of Integration in Georgia” at the Denmark External Affairs Ministry
-Working to compile a book aimed at engaging the youth in the electoral process and other functions of civil society

Photo by Roshan Nebhrajani

Research Consultant
-Research and analyze domestic and international legislation
-Monitor juvenile and juvenile offenders’ criminal justice rights in Georgia
-Asses the legality of juvenile programs
-Prepare legislative recommendations to strengthen juvenile justice programs
-Extend the project past the Kutaisi branch

Ana Chapidze, 27

-Practicing Lawyer at The Ministry of Penitentiary, Probation and Legal Aid of Georgia.
-Coordinator at The Center of Psychosocial and Medical Rehabilitation of Georgia
-Member of GYLA
-Member of Georgian Bar Association

Photo by Roshan Nebhrajani 

Program Consultant
-Provides practical knowledge about the state of juveniles in Georgia
-Represent juveniles in court affairs
-Serve as a connection between GYLA and the State
-Prepare memorandums with the Georgian Bar Association

Giorgi Chikaberidze, 26

-Lawyer and legal consultant to the GYLA Kutaisi Branch
-Member of the board of the GYLA Kutaisi Branch
-Member of the Georgian Bar Association
-Qualified to serve as a judge in the Georgian courts
-Participates in training sessions organized by The Council of Europe, The American Bar Association, Georgian High Commissioner of the United Nations, Article 42 of the Constitution, The Institute for State and Law, and various international NGO’s on topics such as the European Convention for Human Rights, Advocacy and Networking, Prohibition of Torture, Right to Fair Trial, Addressing the European Court for Human Rights, and Rights for Liberty and Person

Photo by Roshan Nebhrajani 

Program Consultant
-Provide legal consultations to parents, juveniles and other NGO’s
-Give legal consultations to juveniles whose rights have been violated during trial proceedings
-Represent juveniles at court

Nino Akhalaia, 21

-Third year law student at Chxorotsku Regional Secondary School with a concentration in Criminal Law

Photo by Roshan Nebhrajani 

Legal Studies Assistant
-Create and implement a training model for at-risk and delinquent juveniles
-Teach Georgian youth about their human rights in accordance with UN standards

Levani Vepkhvadze, 19

-First year law student at Akaki Tsereteli State University with a concentration in Criminal Law

Photo by Roshan Nebhrajani 

Legal Studies Assistant
-Request public information from the Kutaisi city and appellate courts
-Create relationships and connections with other local and international NGOs
-Monitor juvenile criminal court cases

Dariko Vadachkoria, 19

-First year law student at Akaki Tsereteli State University with a concentration in Criminal Law

Photo by Roshan Nebhrajani 

Legal Studies Assistant
-Analyze Georgian juvenile legislation and compare it with other legislative systems
-Propose and align new amendments with the UN human rights standards
-Create and implement a training model for at-risk and delinquent juveniles
-Teach Georgian youth about their human rights in accordance with UN standards

Over the course of the coming year, with the help of IBJ and support from GYLA, these seven dedicated team members will collaborate ideas, passions and skills in order to ensure a sustainable reformation of the Georgian juvenile justice system.

In between working for five different Georgian legal justice NGOs, spearheading international grant projects and translating various legal documents, it’s a wonder that JusticeMaker Nana Chapidze has any time for herself.

Chapidze discusses project implementation at the GYLA office / Photo by Roshan Nebhrajani

Born and raised in Kutaisi, Georgia, Chapidze has always been deeply connected to community development projects. As a law student, she became a legal aid assistant at the Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA), an NGO that works to resolve the endless legal issues plaguing the post-Soviet republic. During this time, she worked to monitor the city’s human rights issues, most predominantly the ongoing presence of internally displaced people. She also held interactive training seminars for law students, hoping to strengthen both their and her own developing legal education.

Upon graduating from the well-respected Kutaisi University of Law and Economics in 2006, Chapidze became one of the five GYLA Kutaisi branch board members. As a board member she “participates in the decision-making process and organizes events and helps to set the priorities of GYLA’s activities.”

Chapidze discusses GYLA’s aims with another documentary journalist / Photo by Roshan Nebhrajani

Through GYLA, Chapidze has worked for Foundation Sukhumi, an NGO that works to bolster the rights of internally displaced people of the Sukhumi region. Additionally, Chapidze actively works for four other NGOs - The Kutaisi Information Center, The Imeriti Regional Center for Training and Consultations, Article 42 of the Constitution and The Human Rights Center. Among many other tasks, she helps these NGOs prepare applications for citizens, organizes initiatives for local self-government and teaches citizens about their legal rights.

As a JusticeMaker, Chapize has just kickstarted yet another human rights initiative. With funds and consultation from IBJ, Chapize hopes to reform Georgia’s juvenile justice system, ensuring that the Georgian youth receive a fair and objective trial, preventing the ruling of “adult time for adult crime.”

You can read more about her project here.

With this new project and the ongoing need to fulfill her endless responsibilities to other NGOs, “in this last year, I’ve had no free time,” Chapidze jokes.

Legal reference books in GYLA’s library / Photo by Roshan Nebhrajani

Listen to Nana summarize her project in her own words.

While time for recreational activities is few and far in between, in the ephemeral moments she spends on herself, Chapidze likes to listen to soft rock and classical music, go on picnics to the countryside with friends and read books by Ernest Hemingway , Herman Hesse, Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Georgian writers such as Goderdzi Chockeli, Galaktion Tabidze. Her favorite books are Hesse’s Siddhartha and Hemingway’s Fiesta.

Above: Rosselynn Jae Garcia de la Cruz (Jae), 2010 JusticeMaker fellow and agrarian reform lawyer

It was about 3 in the afternoon when JusticeMakers Fellow and agrarian reform lawyer, Rosselynn Jae Garcia de la Cruz, and I arrived in Pangasinan, a province 170 km north of Manila for a farmers’ meeting. We have been on the road for most of the day, a commute that had us chasing buses under the scorching sun and straddling tricycles under the drizzling rain, all in the same day. For Jae, it was essential to make this trip to have an intimate conversation with the farmers who trust her to fight on their behalf. The fight for agrarian reform in the Philippines is a long and arduous one, comprising of many battles - some won, others lost- since Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) was first enacted in 1988.  The simple principle of agrarian reform is the redistribution of arable land ownership from large private landholdings to landless farmers. However, the execution of the reform has been far from simple. More than twenty years after the first law passed, countless farmers are still engaged in a David and Goliath battle against wealthy and politically connected landowners who use a multitude of tactics, ranging from the twisting of the legal system to violence through armed goons.

Above: Farmers from the Pangasinan region

Before the meeting begins, Jae explains, “Some cases can get very violent. It’s different in Pangasinan; it’s peaceful. Here, we are just dealing with corporate greed.” Although the kind of struggle brought by agrarian reform differ from case to case, they all share a common thread. There is a huge gap in equality between the farmers and the landowners. In a country where land is equated to power, the landless remain powerless. The farmers’ only champions are the minority of agrarian reform lawyers and the coalitions of agrarian reformers that fight for the farmers.

In Pangasinan, the farmers have been fighting to reclaim their land for a number of years. The landlord in question is a corporation, which has held on to the land by claiming it as industrial property rather than arable land, a baffling circumstance for the farmers, as they continue to work on it daily.  

Above: Farmers from the Pangasinan region during the meeting with Jae

 In 2003, with the help of an agrarian reform coalition, the farmers filed a suit with Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to redistribute the remaining unindustrialized land. Seven years after they began, their case is far from settled, with the corporation filing an appeal after each favorable decision towards the farmers. During the discussion, Jae goes over new information about a supposed sale of the land in contention. The farmers are worried that this will serve as yet another impediment. But Jae is positive, she states, “they won’t be able to go through with that sale, it’s illegal and we will file a suit against this supposed sale.”

The meeting goes on for a few hours with a somber conversation interspersed with some laughter. The farmers still retain a fighting spirit and when the discussion is over, they come up to Jae and thank her for her support and one farmer, Maria D. Serrano, even asks Jae to spend the night at her home. Jae politely declines as she has a meeting the next morning for another case. Indeed, this is only one of the fifteen agrarian reform cases that Jae is currently handling.

It is near midnight when the bus finally arrives in Manila. Jae is tired but pleased to have had a chance to speak with the farmers. While victories are infrequent and slow to achieve, Jae remains optimistic. On the way back to Manila, she confides  “the farmers, they are why I am doing this job. Because they’re so honest, so open, and it’s just not right that anyone would treat them in this manner.”

Pangasinan farmer, Maria D. Serrano

Photos by Ayda Wondemu

For some, pursuing justice seems to be an addiction. Following the successes of his JusticeMaker project for IBJ over the past year, Evans Muswahili continues to work for justice in Kenya by undertaking a new project to establish twenty “people forums” throughout his home district of Vihiga and the surrounding districts.

Above: Muswahili and his assistant Brown walk to a nearby forum on a typical, red clay road, often found worse for wear after heavy rains. (Photo by Rachel Roberts)

Currently operating through an NGO called NOVOK (National Organization of Volunteers of Kenya), his continuing commitment to sharing information and encouraging others to share his passion for justice is clear, and often sees him working long weeks (conducting meetings on Saturdays!) and late evenings, much as he likely did during his JusticeMaker tenure. Muswahili mentioned that once his hectic June pace slows, he wishes to return to some of his JusticeMakers work, even though his formal year is over. The forums are part of the Western Kenya Rights Support Initiative (implemented through NOVOK with the support of amkeni WaKenya and the UNDP), which shares many of the same goals as Muswahili’s IBJ sponsored project; namely to increase political participation within rural and marginalized populations, to increase the awareness of rights and the capability to monitor and report abuses, and to provide a framework for discussing community problems, including those related to the justice system, and proposing solutions.

Above: Muswahili addresses a forum near his home. Though many of the attendees can’t read or write, they are still eager to participate and discuss community issues. (Photo by Rachel Roberts)

Ideally, the forums will also serve as a nexus for dialogue with members of local government. Muswahili envisions local and district level administrative officers being invited to and attending future meetings, where citizens would have the opportunity to bring forth problems and possible solutions and hear the government’s responses.

Walking through his hometown of Mbale and surrounding areas, it is obvious that Muswahili has created quite a network of contacts from the sheer number of people who pause to greet him and inquire about his work. An engaging speaker who has already drawn many locals to his push for justice system and governance reform, he utilizes his network to help mobilize people into groups that congregate in churches or schools (or even on a lawn in a patch of shade)

Above: Looking more like a lawn party than a meeting, Muswahili addresses a forum in Kima. (Photo by Rachel Roberts)

and wait patiently for him to arrive and explain the project’s goals and structure. He seems to be knowledgeable on just about every subject - including areas as widespread as agriculture and world politics, but his most important knowledge bases remain the people and problems of Kenya’s Western Province. Muswahili’s rapport with local communities and his familiarity with their unique problems will be a significant asset in future pushes for reform.

Even in this early phase of his current project, some successes are materializing. At their first independent meeting on June 7, the forum in Emusenjeli focused on the rights of the elderly and of widows to receive periodic government aid in the form of food. Apparently this aid often does not make it to the intended beneficiaries, but is instead lost somewhere along the way within the delivery channels. The forum was able to get the Chief (a local administrative official) on the phone to discuss the problem with him as a group and press him for assurance of delivery in the future.

Above: A particularly youthful forum near Majengo votes for interim officers to call, run, and record their next meetings. (Photo by Rachel Roberts)

Future foci for discussion include criminal justice issues, particularly in areas Muswahili deems more “cosmopolitan,” such as Ekwanda, which is near Luanda town and where a forum was formed on June 9th. Particularly striking is the fact that many people accused of crimes are held for long periods in overcrowded prisons, unaware of their legal rights and without access to an attorney. Though the overcrowding issue may not be easily addressed without a long term overhaul, with interaction between the forums and local officials, and with education coming from individuals like Muswahili, the forums may start to address the knowledge deficit among the accused with regard to their rights. Muswahili stresses that it’s important for people to view their rights as an entitlement - if, as a result of these forums, even one person is able to successfully demand justice in the form of faster adjudication or the presentation of just cause and ample evidence for arrest and detainment, he’ll likely deem them a success.

The forums are ultimately about participation, discussion, and empowerment. People who would be reluctant to act individually draw strength from numbers and it enables them to push collectively for much needed reform in the justice system and related realms of governance.

Most lawyers would consider themselves lucky to hear the experiences of practiced defense attorneys in their own countries. Few, then, ever imagine that they might be able to spend a week learning with skilled defenders from five different countries. This week, IBJ’s “Fellows“-criminal defense attorneys who are spearheading IBJ’s programs- have come together from Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Burundi, Cambodia, and India for the first-ever “Fellows Summit” at Fondation Heim in Chambésy, Switzerland, to share the wisdom drawn from their diverse international experiences.

The Fellows immediately dove into the critical issues of criminal justice in their countries. During Monday’s opening session, the Fellows took turns introducing each other to the governing rules of criminal procedure in their countries. Almost immediately after Cambodia Fellow Ouk Vandeth began his summary, the other Fellows responded eagerly with questions about the procedural protections available to Cambodian defendants. The Fellows left no stone unturned with questions ranging from the right of a detainee to access a doctor to the amount of time the police can hold a detainee in prison before appearing in court. The conversation quickly turned into a symposium on comparative criminal procedure as the Fellows took on their topic with the passion that only practitioners can bring.

After Monday’s intellectually charged discussion, the focus shifted on Tuesday to a different but equally crucial element of a criminal defender’s practice. Poet and musician Antony Hequet led IBJ in a vocal exercise that taught Fellows and staff how to use the power in their voices. The halls of Fondation Heim rang with the sounds of IBJ staff and Fellows stretching their vocal chords. India Fellow Ajay Verma and Rwanda Fellow John Bosco Bugingo stood out for their vocal prowess, especially when they faced off in a grunting match toward the end of the session that left everyone laughing.

With their understanding of criminal procedure enhanced, not to mention their ability to make themselves heard, IBJ Fellows, staff, and interns are ready to continue learning from each other throughout the remaining days of the Summit.

 IBJ Zimbabwe Fellow Innocent Maja (left) and IBJ staff plan their next move

The 2008 JusticeMakers Competition may be over but…the global community is just coming to life. This nascent community has been sparked by amazing individuals, coming from all the corners of the globe, from Nepal to Azerbaijan, Benin, Burundi, Swaziland, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Colombia, etc., who have pursued their passion for justice with ambition, generosity and courage.

And yet, knowing the personal tragedies that affected some of their lives, I know they must have been twice as determined, perseverant and bold to achieve what they did. One of them tragically lost his father 7 years ago as a result of his abduction by the security forces of his country. He and his family know lives with the burden of not knowing what exactly happened but they are driven by the strong will to put an end to forced disappearances through community-based initiatives.

While she was taking care of at-risk population far away from home, one of the JusticeMakers sadly lost both her parents during the floods. She was just 17. And yet, she found the courage not to despair and to build her own non-governmental organization to put an end to gender discrimination and help women from her community to emancipate from the deeply rooted man domination.

Despite these hard realities JusticeMakers had to face, they refused to give up the fight. I feel like each one of them is driven by a flame, a flame of hope that gives them the courage to move their project forward and guides them through the dark. To me, this flame’s name is passion.

I remember IBJ’s Founder and CEO explaining that when she decided to be a social entrepreneur, everyone told her how crazy she was. One day a caring voice told her she was absolutely not crazy. Passion guided her then and guides her still. I hope that somehow this little voice encouraging you to intensify your efforts has been and will be JusticeMakers. Because, believe me, you are not crazy. You are outstanding, fighting to write a new page of your local community’s history in which justice and love is the way in which people relate to one another.

One of the JusticeMakers just reminded me today that ” Sharing is caring and caring is love”. He added the following note that touched me: “I feel that of caring and love from your sharing”. To me, this means that strength to stand up against injustices comes from relating with other human beings and feeling part of a caring community. So remember…love is always winning.

Again, let me thank you all for your kind words of encouragement, strength and faith. Wherever you are, in Kenya, Uganda, Pakistan, Nepal or elsewhere. Thank you.