A Voice For the Voiceless

The Advocacy Project helps marginalized communities to tell their story, claim their rights and produce social change. We recruit graduate students to volunteer as Peace Fellows with partners.

The Impact of Service



"Speaking with locals and living in a country is the best way to learn about the real lives of citizens, not just the stories in the mainstream media. I will be more critical of what I read as a result of this experience. I also feel even more grateful for my education, and I feel a stronger responsibility to assist others who do not have resources or access to opportunities in their communities."

Maria Skouras (New York University) volunteered in 2011 as a Peace Fellow for eHomemakers in Malaysia.

For more 2011 feedback click here.

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The Fellowship Pr... > Blogging for Peace > 2005 > From the Field, J...

From the Field, July 27, 2005

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AdvocacyNet
Intern Update, Number 8, July 27, 2005
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Headlines:

Afghan Citizens Campaign Against Gender-Based Violence

Carrie Hasselback (New York University) is working with the Afghan Women's Network, a network of NGOs committed to improving women's rights in Afghanistan.

"The proposal that I am writing now is to extend a project that trains people in the provinces of Afghanistan about gender-based violence and women's legal rights. Previously, trainers traveled to six provinces and conducted three trainings over a three- month period in the provinces. The trainings were to generate awareness among influential citizens and authority figures in the community, such as various governmental heads, doctors, schoolteachers, mullahs, etc. In turn, these citizens have started campaigns in their communities to share their knowledge to create awareness among the general public, including uneducated people in remote villages."

Bosfam Weavers Still Struggle with Srebrenica Shadows

MacKenzie Frady (Georgetown University) is working with Bosfam, a support group and weaving center for women in Eastern Bosnia. She recently attended the 10th anniversary commemoration of the Srebrenica massacre.

"One woman here, Beba mala (Little Beba, as there are 2 women named Beba) buried her husband last week at the [Srebrenica] ceremonies. She was only 26 when they were separated and he disappeared. She also lost a brother and her father in the massacre. Some days tears run down her cheeks as we have coffee together, other days she laughs and smiles at my pitiful attempts to speak Bosnian. Yesterday she couldn't get out of bed, and didn't even make it to the office. I worry about her and her young son. The joy of raising her son watching him grow with her husband was stolen, and I can see that at times, she is just a shadow of who she should be."

Child Caretakers on the Streets of Delhi

Karen Adler (Cornell University) is working with Butterflies, an India-based NGO that currently provides assistance to more than 1,000 street and working children around Delhi.

"Most children I have seen have had wounds that may be getting infected, coughs, or fevers. Occasionally I have seen more serious conditions,such as a pre-gangrenous wound in bad need of debridement. If any injury or illness is beyond our treatment capabilities, we take the child to a nearby government hospital (free to all but very crowded). At each contact point, one of the children serves as a child health promoter. Usually this is an adolescent who has received some training on basic medications and health promotion facts. They have shoulder bags that they restock with bandages, antiseptic, gauze, acetaminophen, and other basic supplies each time the van visits their site. That way, the children can have their medical problems attended to at all times. And once again, children are being empowered through their role as caretakers of one another."

Human Rights Workers Face Incarceration in Nepal

Anne Finnan (Fordham) is working with the Collective Campaign for Peace, (COCAP), a peace-building coalition that promotes democracy rights in Nepal.

"Many organizations and individuals are gathering in order to raise their voices for reinstating democracy and a peaceful resolution to the current conflict. What is interesting about this is that those organizing the event expect to be jailed. They realize that they will be protesting in what is still considered a restricted zone by the government. With the lifting of the State of Emergency these individuals and organizations feel they are expressing their freedom of speech, which is a basic human right. "

Creating a Culture of Dependency in Sri Lanka

Sarosh Syed (Georgetown University) is working with the Home for Human Rights (HHR), a human rights organization in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

"After years of NGO presence, many eastern Sri Lankans continue to live in poverty. NGO workers manage a well-deserved break every now and then, but their beneficiaries continue to work countless hours for $3 a day. Meanwhile, government officials shrug off any responsibility for disaster relief or development projects, secure in the knowledge that if they do nothing, an NGO will eventually do their job for them.

The party I attended was only one of many NGO parties in Batticaloa. Many attract locals as well as NGO staff. But the stark divide at the Red Cross pizza party made me wonder: are we helping to deliver the people of Batticaloa from years of conflict, calamity, and poverty, or are we just creating a culture of dependency? Or are we doing both? Is it possible to do one without the other? "

"Aid For Sale" on the Black Market of Afghanistan

Shirin Sahani (Georgetown University) is working with the Omid Learning Center in Afghanistan. The organization specializes in girls' education working on a school project that would bring education to remote villages without schools.

"Everything is available for a price here, even supplies that are technically donations such as UNHCR and UNICEF tents and WFP food supplies. When we asked the tent seller how these donations came to be for sale, his explanation centered on the nature of donations and corruption. Refugees who obtain these supplies will often trade or sell them for other needed necessities. However, more than 50% of the supplies come to the market as a result of corruption. Officials will donate 25% of the supplies allocated and sell the rest in the black market. There is no way for me to verify these figures or the shopkeepers story but fortunately he had enough pity for the plight of the girls and agreed to sell the tents to us at the reduced price of $250 a piece. This left him very little markup but after the hue and cry we made about the cause, he had no choice but to save face by selling us the tents at that price."

Sara's Story: A Trafficking Victim's Journey to Italy

Ewa Sobczynska (Georgetown University) is working with the Turin, Italy branch of the Transnational AIDS Prevention Among Migrant Prostitutes in Europe Project (TAMPEP). TAMPEP is an Italian grass-roots NGO committed to advocating human and civil rights of migrant sex workers and to assist trafficked women and minors.

"Sara was first trafficked to Italy in the late 1990s - as she described in her earlier story, she was 'enrolled' by a school friend who offered her opportunity to study and work Italy. But already before arriving to Italy, she underwent a dramatic trip for many months through different African countries with other Nigerian girls. While seeking the most convenient and safe way for trafficking, her tormentors raped her and other girls daily before finally flying them to Russia. In the meantime, Sara had to endure the violence of her traffickers, constant fear of being caught, uncertainty and an involuntary abortion. Seven months later, she was first trafficked into Eastern Europe and finally arrived to Italy with a debt of circa 30,000 euros."

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