Strasbourg, France: Eight vulnerable Roma women and their families have been offered permanent housing and the chance to make handicrafts by the city of Strasbourg, after they produced a powerful advocacy quilt denouncing discrimination against the Roma in Europe. The initiative was brokered by the Council of Europe, which commissioned the quilt in the spring of 2011 with support from The Advocacy Project (AP). It suggests that quilting can not only help marginalized communities to tell their story, but also change lives.  Read more…

Uvira, DRC-Congo: Traditional leaders are playing a major role in helping survivors of rape in the Eastern Congo to reunite with their families and avoid the stigmatization associated with sexual violence. This is one of the key findings to emerge from the work of SOS Femmes en Danger (SOS FED), a Congolese organization which helps survivors of sexual violence in Fizi Territory. It represents one of the few bright spots in a year that has seen a sharp increase in attacks on women in Fizi . Read more...

Washington, DC: This year, thirty Peace Fellows volunteered for social justice in over 15 countries, working on 27 different human rights issues. From the recent eviction of Dale Farm Travellers in the UK to the approaching elections in DR Congo, Peace Fellows report back with their eye witness accounts on these incredible historical events. Here we've compiled excerpts from some of the highlights of their summer peace fellowships.  Read more...

Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Uganda: Three Peace Fellows report on their work this summer on disability rights in Asia and Africa. They each reflect on the critical importance of providing education for persons with disability (PWD) and compare the different approaches of their host organizations. Amanda Lasik, Peace Fellow for the The Blind Education and Rehabilitation Development Organisation's (BERDO), describes the school they provide where children from rural areas come to learn to read and write Braille and gain independent living skills. Rebecca Scherpelz, Peace Fellow for the Gulu Disabled Persons Union (GDPU) writes about their Inclusive Disability Sports program in local schools which encourages children with disabilities to stay at school and have the chance to participate in competitive sports. Ryan McGovern, Peace Fellow for the Association for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (AEPD), describes their successful work to promote economic empowerment for PWD's in the rural areas of Central Vietnam. Read more…