A Voice For the Voiceless

MISSION

The Advocacy Project seeks to help community-based advocates produce, disseminate and use information, and so become more effective advocates for human rights and social justice

Laura Cardinal and Women's Consortium of Nigeria (WOCON)

Originally from Albany, New York, Laura Cardinal received her Bachelor of Arts with a focus on Africa Studies from Bucknell University, in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Upon graduation she received a fellowship from Rotary International and spent a year living and volunteering in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Upon returning from East Africa she worked in Chicago, Illinois at Interfaith Refugee and Immigration Ministries, a refugee resettlement agency. There, she was the coordinator of the Match Grant Program, assisting refugees to gain employment and achieve self-sufficiency.

Laura is now pursuing a dual degree at Columbia University: a Master of International Affairs at the School for International and Public Affairs, with a focus on Conflict Resolution, and a Master Public Health from the Forced Migration Program and the Mailman School. She is also working for Episcopal Migration Ministries, a national refugee resettlement agency located in NYC. She serves as a Case Manager for their Hurricane Response initiative. She has facilitated the relocation of hundreds of Hurricane Katrina and Rita evacuees and enjoys being able to directly support to the people of the Gulf Coast during this emergency.

This summer, Laura Cardinal is an intern with AP's partner organization, Women's Consortium of Nigeria (WOCON). WOCON was established in 1996 as a national NGO for the advocacy of human rights, specifically in the area of women, children and, labor laws and human trafficking.

Laura will also be liaising with CHASTE, a human rights organization based out of the UK that focuses on advocating for and assisting trans-continental victims of human trafficking.

This summer, AP will work with these two organizations to assist victims of trafficking in Nigeria. In an effort to ease the reintegration process and provide better opportunities for trafficked women returning to Nigeria, Laura will conduct research to map the ability and range of safe houses in Nigeria, specifically in Lagos and Edo State and other regions which she determines should be looked at as her research progresses.

This will involve an assessment of currently established safe houses in these regions, identifying gaps in services and capabilities to assist in reintegration efforts and making appropriate recommendations so as to create a work plan to improve reintegration services for trafficked women in Nigeria.

Additionally, she will explore the capacity for additional interventions through safe housing and other means of reception back into Nigeria such as sanctuary style housing and apartments and services being offered such as micro-enterprise opportunities, community awareness and sensitivity and airport arrival assistance.

This research will be done through one-to-one interviews with a range of stakeholders including, community leaders, NGO’s working on trafficking issues, service providers working in safe houses and providing reintegration services for trafficked women, religious leaders, and survivors.

• Laura Cardinal's blog