Sara from A to Z - ZamNews!

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Joyce was mother to three with another on the way when her husband passed away. After the funeral, her husband’s family stripped the house bare, saying that with her work as a nurse, she could afford to get her own things. When P.J. lost his father as a child, his family struggled to survive by renting out their home. Relatives started collecting the rent early, keeping the money, and finally pressuring his mother to sell, losing her only source of income. Winnie, desperate to escape her violent husband, wondered where she would go and how she could support her six young children with only a 11th grade education. Peter, an officer in the police Victim Support Unit, does his best to handle an overwhelming caseload without adequate resources or training. As a well-respected member in the community, Happy found himself inundated with friends and family members in dire situations begging for advice and intervention.

These are just a few of the stories people have shared with me over the past month. Unfortunately, these situations are all too common. Ignorance of the law may not be considered an excuse, but here in Zambia it has contributed to a cycle of violence and injustice.

A few years ago, major organizations like CARE ZAMBIA and World Vision recognized the gap in knowledge and resources when it came addressing the issue of the gender based violence which was deeply embedded in the culture. With funding from the European Union and USAID, these NGOs united to form the project “A Safer Zambia” (ASAZA). The goal is to reduce gender based violence by building greater knowledge and changing attitudes about gender inequities and by ensuring that survivors of this violence have access to comprehensive services to meet their medical, psychological, and legal needs.

International Justice Mission joined in the efforts by bringing a legal perspective that was urgently needed. Many of these gender-based offenses are clearly against the law, yet victims are not aware of their rights and advocates, in many cases, do not know how to use the law to protect them. To start bridging this gap, IJM conducts a variety of workshops to help educate people about the law in hopes that it will bring about lasting structural change in Zambia.

As my first assignment with IJM, I was privileged to help out with two paralegal trainings in the towns of Kabwe and Mazabuka. A total of 29 people participated in the intense 10-day courses which touched on the Zambian Legal System, Human Rights, Gender-Based and Sexual Violence, Land and Tenant, Employment, Intestate Succession and Wills, Marriage and Maintenance, Contracts, and Criminal Law and Procedures. During the first training, I learned the basics of Zambian law alongside the participants and was reminded how long it had really been since had put my mind to some of these subjects. With British law being the original basis of both American and Zambian law, I found many similarities, yet some areas could not be more different, such as Marriage. During the second training, I was able to give my IJM colleague a break by “lecturing” on Contracts. Who would have thought?

One of IJM’s key verses is Isaiah 1:17: “Learn to do good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor, defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.” Paralegal training is just part of that mission. 29 people will now be able to go out and seek justice for the vulnerable in their communities.

Joyce can help bring molesters to justice by preserving medical evidence while caring for victims of sexual violence. P.J. now 22, will protect the property of others as a paralegal for a local crisis center. Winnie, as the president of the local YWCA, will counsel battered women on their options. Peter will return to his precinct armed with his own copy of Zambia’s Penal Code and many other resources. Happy can be confident as he confronts oppression in his community.

Knowledge is Power.