Blog
Finance Officer Julie W: How working in prisons changed me forever
Julie Wilson is our Finance and Administrative Officer. Born and raised in Freetown, before becoming part of the AdvocAid family, Julie worked with both the Brookfields Community Hospital and Rokel Commercial Bank. She started with AdvocAid in July 2010 and has been providing vital administrative, project management and financial services ever since! In this blog, Julie discusses her motivations for working with AdvocAid and how the organisation has grown to what it has become today.
AdvocAid holds nationwide literacy class graduation in Female Correctional Centres
ADVOCAID NATIONWIDE LITERACY CLASS GRADUATION IN FEMALE CORRECTIONAL CENTRES – On 8th and 15th September 2016, AdvocAid coordinated and celebrated the graduation of newly empowered female inmates in Makeni, Kono, Kenema and Freetown Female Correctional Centres
Lawyer I.P. Mammie:“If you want a foothold in criminal practice, AdvocAid is a great place to learn”
For this month’s anniversary blog, Lawyer Ishmael P Mammie has sat down with Saskia B Binet, AdvocAid’s Development Intern, to tell her about what it’s like to represent AdvocAid clients and how representing women with sometimes very serious charges has affected his career.
Inside a remand home for juveniles in Sierra Leone
In Sierra Leone’s justice system, children and youth are rarely treated any differently than adults. They often spend excessive time behind bars without charge – considered guilty until proved innocent.
To raise awareness about conditions in detention facilities for juveniles, journalist Ahmed Sahid Nasralla (alias De Monk) has written an excellent article about his recent visit to the remand home for juveniles in Kingtom, Freetown.
Paralegal Nenny: How I was convinced that perpetrators’ rights matter
Nenny Kargbo, paralegal in Makeni, has been a huge asset to AdvocAid since she started working for us in 2014. In this months’ contribution to our 10 year anniversary blog series, Nenny admits that it took her a while before she fully agreed that female perpetrators deserve our support. Today, she is comitted to protecting the rights of all women and girls, and she has become passionate about helping her clients become role models instead of victims of circumstances.
Isata’s career choice
Isata Mansaray is AdvocAid’s wonderful Database Officer, who we have been so lucky to have working for us for a year. This month, as part of our 10-year anniversary celebrations, Isata has written a blog about her greatest moments with AdvocAid.
Day of the African Child: AdvocAid calls for better child protection in the justice sector
HELP US IMPROVE CHILD JUSTICE – On the Day of the African Child 2016, AdvocAid joins forces with Save the Children to upgrade detention facilities in the Bo Remand Home. We are mobilising our resources and connections to repaint the walls in brighter colours and repair broken interior and exterior, and today we have provided new mattresses and recreational items for the juvenile inmates in the remand home.
But improving the physical conditions is not going to change the context that enables neglect of children behind bars. What we have seen in Bo is sadly not extraordinary, and it only highlights a bigger need for long-term care and legal aid for children in the criminal justice system. We thus appeal to institutions, government and individuals to support AdvocAid’s work to improve access to justice for children across Sierra Leone.
Inspiring the next generation of Human Rights Lawyers
Alimamy Koroma used to be one of AdvocAid’s star legal interns. Passing his Bar exams in April, he is now a fully fledged lawyer and we are lucky that he is still representing AdvocAid clients. This month, as part of our 10-year anniversary celebrations, Alimamy has written a blog about his passion for human rights and his professional development since he joined AdvocAid in 2012.
AdvocAid Celebrates Independence and 10 Years of Access to Justice
26 April 2016: AdvocAid is celebrating Sierra Leone’s 55th Independence Day with girls, women and staff in the country’s Correctional Centres and Remand Homes, highlighting the continued need since Independence to improve detention conditions for women and girls....
Patrick’s proudest moment with AdvocAid
Patrick Steven is our Freetown Office Assistant, and he’s our second staff member to write a blog as part of our 10-year anniversary celebrations. He has been part of the AdvocAid fambul (family) since 2010, and is one of our longest serving members of the...