Defence for Widows

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TAX
DEDUCTIBLE

FUNDING STATUS

FUNDED!
$7,000 $7,000
Project Code: UGA-IJM-LAW-P01

OVERVIEW

This project will assist our partner conduct a two week training session with public prosecutors in Uganda.  The training is focused on improving prosecutions for those accused of land grabs.  Land grabs against defenseless widows are common in Uganda, with the dead husband’s family or other unscrupulous actors evicting widows, even when she owns the land.  The training is conducted by Australian lawyers and judges who volunteer and pay their own way over to Uganda.  Our partners have identified that one of the bottle-necks in the justice system is prosecutorial abilities in land-grab cases.  By improving these skills, more land-thieves will end up in jail and this will act as a deterrent to others also

WHAT WE LIKE ABOUT IT

We love the fact that our partners have identified the bottle-necks and the solution for widows.  We deeply value the ethos shown by the Australian lawyers and judges who do this pro-bono, and we are excited about a generation of widows being able to keep their homes and lands.

BUDGET

The budget will assist with the costs of hosting the 2-week training session in Uganda for public prosecutors, including training materials and some of the logistics for the local prosecutors.  It does not cover the costs of Australian lawyers and judges – all of whom give their time free, and pay their own way.

THE NEED

Widows in Uganda are extremely vulnerable.  With no husband to protect them they often end up removed from their house and land with all of their children.  Not only have they just lost their bread-winner, but now they have no home or land to grow food.  From this sort of poverty it is extremely difficult to ever recover.  Whole families are cast into deepening poverty with little hope of escape.

LIFE CHANGE

  • More knowledgeable prosecutors who now have the tools to do their job well, who will now be able to take pride in themselves as well
  • A number of widows will have their land and homes restored through the court process, avoiding poverty
  • New cases of land-grabbing will decrease as perpetrators realise they can no longer act with impunity.

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