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 team. We asked him to tell us his proudest moment working with AdvocAid, and what it’s like to be surrounded by so many women in the office!
My years of working with AdvocAid have greatly inspired me to be of assistance to people in my community. Even though I am not a paralegal, and have never undergone paralegal training, I have attended numerous staff workshops, trainings and our weekly team meetings. Through these, I have been able to pick up a lot of basic skills and knowledge in ensuring people in conflict with the law have access to justice through legal assistance and education.
One example is that of a gentleman in my congregation at church – Michael (name changed to protect his identity). Michael was arrested a few months ago for the alleged offence of wounding with intent. He was detained at a Police Post in Freetown. Some members of the congregation asked for my support. I visited the Police Post, navigated the authorities, and learnt that Michael had been asked to pay 300,000 Leones (c.$75) to secure bail.
AdvocAid has done a lot of work to educate people that they shouldn’t pay a bribe for bail, and that bail is free. I knew this to be the case, so put on my ‘Pay No Bribe for Bail’ t-shirt and headed to the Police Post, where I was able to prevail upon the police officers holding him, to release him on bail without paying any sum.
Working for AdvocAid means a whole lot to me personally, as I have been able to learn a lot when it comes to how individuals can access justice when they find themselves in conflict with the law. My proudest moment has been in the role I played in ensuring that Michael was able to regain his freedom from the net of the police without having to pay a cent.
The fact that I am surrounded by so many women in the office has made me have more respect for womanhood – I now consider all the women in AdvocAid as my sisters.
Patrick (second left) at a recent policy debate with a few of AdvocAid’s other men: Ayo (left, Freetown Paralegal), Issa (back right, Office Driver) and Abdul (far right, volunteer office assistant).
As part of our 10-year anniversary celebrations, every month for 10 months, we’ll be showcasing the best of AdvocAid through guest blogs from our staff, volunteers, partners and board members.