Justice for all

I first heard about Hagar International over a year ago while reading the book “Not for Sale,” about human trafficking. Human trafficking is a tough issue to combat, especially since the solutions aren’t exactly clear, and require investment in long-term assistance and systemic change. But Hagar International has a really innovative and effective model, and is doing great work to attack the roots of human trafficking.

Hagar International is committed to individualized and long-term assistance for its beneficiaries, and they use the social enterprise model as a tool for social rehabilitation and economic empowerment. Hagar works with women and children from devastating backgrounds of violence, abuse and trafficking and supports them in their recovery, rehabilitation, job readiness and ultimately community reintegration.

Hagar International first began working in Cambodia, where about 80% of their beneficiaries have been successfully reintegrated into society. Hagar first provides shelter, accommodation, trauma recovery, therapy, education, literacy classes, and skills-training for women who need it, and then slowly helps them reintegrate into society. And what makes Hagar most unique is their development of social businesses; Hagar has begun several self-sustaining businesses which provide funds for the organization and meaningful employment for women who come from difficult backgrounds. For instance, in Cambodia Hagar runs Hagar Catering and Hydrologic - which provide jobs, the opportunity to learn new skills, and the chance to reintegrate into society for many of the women from Hagar’s programs.

I’d encourage you to visit their website to learn more about the innovative ways they are making a difference and combating human trafficking.

Picture Credit: Hagar Cambodia

A few days ago, amidst my crazy studying for final exams (which I have finally finished!), I ran across this simple, yet immensely poignant “Letter to a Law Student Interested in Social Justice,” by Professor Bill Quigley. Now, I’m not a law student, but I hope to be sometime in the next few years. And, the letter truly touched me. If I could, I’d rewrite every portion of the letter here - because it was just that inspiring and enlightening. But I can’t, and so I’ll focus on a few portions that really spoke to me. In the letter, Quigley says:

Advocates who do not create time for regular reflection can easily become angry and overwhelmed and bitter at the injustices around and ultimately at anyone who does not share their particular view about the best way to respond.

This is so true. When you start thinking about critical issues and social change, and when you get consumed in all the grand ideas of how messed up the world is and what you can do to help - everything else starts to seem a bit more trivial. You start to get really angry when you see people constantly striving to become millionaires, or just trying to climb the corporate ladder. It starts to become extremely frustrating to witness people obsessed with acquiring material possessions and fame.

This is happening to me. For the past week or so, this feeling has been intensifying, as I keep wondering: Why don’t people care more? There are so many ongoing atrocities around the world: conflict, torture, poverty. When there is so much to be done, how can people sit idle? It’s started to make me angry, because I just don’t think it’s right.

True, society is changing, and it’s changing for the better. Every day more people are dedicating time and effort to public service, and the nonprofit industry is becoming mainstream. Social enterprises are pulling talent in with fresh, innovative ideas and business models. But at the end of the day, it’s frustrating to still see so much greed everywhere.

Let’s face it - society’s priorities are completely screwed up. Who said it was okay to have prestige defined by the number of zeroes in your salary, the brand names in your closet, or the cars in your driveway? Why is it considered “cool” to live extravagantly, to have all the latest gadgets? Why does society define people by what they own, and not who they are? We all have our priorities wrong when money and possessions and fame become more important than integrity, humility, passion, and dedication. Prestige needs to be defined by what’s in a person’s heart, by compassion and goodness, and by dedication to a mission larger than yourself - passion for what you do, and passion for changing the world.

This is one of the problems with law school. In his letter, Quigley describes how students enter law school with the desire to help others. Bright eyed and imbued with idealism, they hope to use their legal skills to defend those who need it most. But 2/3 of those who enter law school with interest in government or public sector jobs do not end up in that line of work. Quigley quotes a student who said: “The first thing I lost in law school was the reason that I came.” Why? Because law - and thus, law schools - ultimately isn’t about justice, or upholding some noble ideal. When it comes down to it, much of the legal profession is about making money. He writes:

Unfortunately, the experience of law school and the legal profession often dilute the commitment to social justice lawyering. The repeated emphasis in law school on the subtleties of substantive law and many layers of procedure, usually discussed in the context of examples from business and traditional litigation, can grind down the idealism with which students first arrived. It pains me to say it, but justice is a counter-cultural value in our legal profession. Because of that, you cannot be afraid to be different than others in law school or the profession – for unless you are, you cannot be a social justice lawyer.

There’s the key point - in order to care about others, and want to make a difference in others’ lives - you’re automatically different. This is true for law school, but it’s also true in business school, and for society as a whole. Why is it that if you actually care, you have to be different? An anomaly? Shouldn’t the desire to better the world be something normal? Something admirable, something to aspire to?

But it’s not. I don’t blame individuals for chasing success or money. When society values something, it’s natural for people to gravitate towards that. Not everyone knows what their true passion is, but it’s often because they haven’t been exposed to all the career paths out there, and so turn to society’s conceptions of what to do as a rough guideline. Well, that guideline is skewed, and it needs to be changed.

That’s why before we can help “change the world,” we have to change ourselves. As you, and I, and others one by one decide to go against the grain and work to improve the world we live in, society will undergo a shift. Someday, it’ll become more normal for law schools to emphasize human rights law or public defense. Someday, I’ll have to hope that working on criminal justice reform or microfinance will be as prestigious as being an investment banker or corporate lawyer. We’re not there yet, but I hope someday we will be.

Recently, I started following Susanne on Twitter. She often tweets interesting and relevant news related to human rights and international issues, and by following her I ensure I’m always up to date about the latest human rights news. Please read on for fascinating insights on human rights, and what you can do to get involved in the movement.

Name: Susanne Ure
Occupation: Web Editor
Employer: Amnesty International Canada
Employer Website: http://www.amnesty.ca
Employer Twitter: @amnesty (USA) @amnestynews (USA) @amnestyOZ (Australia) @amnestynl (Netherlands) @AmnestyUK (United Kingdom) @AmnestyOnline (International Secretariat – London)
Twitter: @SusanneUre
Facebook: http://profile.to/sure/
Education: In 1981 I graduated from Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada with a B.A. in Drama. I was given the Theatre History Prize. The Principal sent me a letter expressing high hopes for my future. On my last visit to my thesis advisor’s office he asked me what I intended to do after graduation. I laughed out loud and said that, with a degree in theatre I didn’t have very good prospects, especially in the midst of a recession (my first recession!) and observed that he would probably find me at the car wash. “Beggars can’t be choosers,” I said. He responded with the best advice I never took: “If you’re choosy, you won’t be a beggar for long.” I went to graduate school and studied for my M.A in theatre, and then, for one year, pursued a PhD, both at the University of Toronto. I ended up working in the arts for years.

Interests: Human rights and social justice; the arts, fine and lively; the internet and other wizardly things; traveling, photography and design.

What or who first inspired you to get into human rights work?

I skipped my first week of graduate school at the University of Toronto in September of 1981 to attend a conference entitled “The Writer and Human Rights” put together by eminent Canadian novelists Margaret Atwood and Timothy Findley for PEN, the proceeds of which went to Amnesty International.

There I signed my first postcard on behalf of a Chinese Prisoner of Conscience, Yang Ch’ing-ch’u, a writer from the Republic of China (Taiwan), serving a prison sentence of four years and two months, imposed after he had taken part in a demonstration in December 1979 to mark the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. At the time he was on the editorial committee of the opposition magazine Formosa.

While he was in prison, Yang wrote a poem by Chinese poet Gu Cheng on the wall of his cell: “I want to paint windows all over the world, and let those who are accustomed to the darkness grow accustomed to the light.”

That focused everything for me. I spent the next 20+ years as an arts activist and as a labour activist. In 2005 a job came up at Amnesty Canada which seemed like my “inevitable place”, so I signed on.

What do you do at Amnesty International?

I’m responsible for running www.amnesty.ca in collaboration with the media officers, campaigners and fundraisers at Amnesty’s Canadian section. The ‘web department’ is a one-person operation, so I do publishing, development, design, content creation, strategy & planning, reporting and evaluation, project management, as well staff support and training. In my spare time I contribute to online campaigning initiatives and communications strategy.

What is the biggest challenge you personally face while working in the human rights field?

There is no limit or end to the number of issues, incidents and people who need attention, support, help, or intervention. There are, unfortunately, limits to the amount of time, energy and material resources available to address these needs. The biggest challenge is to maintain balance and resilience in a state of being constantly overwhelmed.

You tweet a lot about recent human rights news. Why do you tweet? Do you see the potential in social media in building a movement for human rights?

Why do I tweet? That’s an interesting question. I’ve just been doing it seriously for a couple of months, trying it out as a medium for human rights work. It feels like I just got swept up in it. I am, in essence, a storyteller. I seek out stories in order to be able experience and understand more of what it means to be human in the world than I would just living my everyday life, in order to feel and share my humanity with others, and to feel and share their humanity. Twitter is an extraordinary medium for that kind of exchange. It allows me to share the stories I come across and talk about them with others who value them as much as I do.

For me, the first and most crucial part of human rights work is in building awareness and knowledge about what’s really going on in the world, and not only the challenges and the bone-suffering, but the resilience, ingenuity, heroism, aspirations and yearning of people everywhere. I believe that when people are genuinely and directly connected to others, they will help. They will do what they can. When they understand what is wanted and needed they will step in. They just need to know what’s going on. The world changes one newly-engaged person at a time. Twitter, I’m finding, is a significant platform for this kind of work.

What do you think is the most critical human rights issue facing us today?

Governance. We as individuals, in groups and communities can challenge human rights violations and mitigate abuses only so far. We need societal leaders and governments to step up and adopt and work within international human rights law and standards. Governments can make a huge impact by embracing human rights for all as a fundamental principle of governance. Amnesty International is uniquely positioned to uncover the truth about discreet and systemic human rights abuses, and to call societal leaders and governments to account for their failure to provide for the universal dignity and wellbeing of those for whom they are responsible. That’s primarily why I find it so compelling to work within this particular movement.

What’s the best thing people can do to get involved in advocating for human rights on a regular basis?

Treat human rights advocacy not an area of specialization but as an everyday practice, for everyone. Commit the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to heart. Apply its principles to your daily life. Refer to it in your discussions and debates about rights and wrongs. Recall Eleanor Roosevelt’s words about where human rights really live:

“Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.”

Don’t let injustices, toward yourself or others go by unchallenged. This is often very hard to do, but it’s very necessary. It never gets easier, but when change comes it’s brilliant, it lights up the whole sky, for you and everybody else. That’s something you definitely want to experience in your life.

What advice would you give to a young person interested in human rights and social change?

Most young people I meet who are on the front lines of human rights work and social justice initiatives are supreme commanders of the universe. I’m generally dazzled by the passion, knowledge, and discipline they bring. They inspire and invigorate me and every campaign they participate in.

In terms of advice, I think many young people already know instinctively how to identify injustice and what needs to be done to address it. They can feel it in their hearts.

As time goes by, however, it gets harder to challenge injustice, particularly in “small places” where you are personally implicated. Life becomes evermore complicated and demanding, and the risks, both personal and for the community at large, become greater. “Advocacy” and ‘activism” are often is read as “insubordination”, an assault on the entitlements of the powerful, and are punished accordingly.

There is power in numbers. My advice would be to find like-minded people who share your ideals, discipline and vision. Find or create a community that you can draw strength from and give strength to. You will need this as a human rights/social justice activist in order to make a lifetime practice out of pursuing a better world.

I remember when I graduated from Queen’s University the commencement speaker gave a speech called “Brave for Life”. I didn’t fully appreciate how important that advice would be – how important courage would be as staple of a life well-lived - but I do now. So I pass that on too.

For my first “Feature Friday,” I’ve decided to highlight kiwanja.net for the truly innovative and exciting work they are doing. kiwanja.net helps pioneer new applications of mobile technology to push forward positive social and environmental change in the developing world. kiwanja.net helps “empower local, national, and international non-profit organisations to make better use of information and communications technology in their work.”

kiwanja.net specializes in the application of mobile technology, and provides non-profits with a wide range of ICT-related services. kiwanja.net focuses on non-profits in developing countries, emphasizing “low-cost, grassroots, sustainable solutions.” They provide “free consultancy, workshops and advice - and access to technology through its own initiatives - to all grassroots non-profits interested in exploring the social and environmental potential of mobile in their work.” So far, non-profits in over forty countries have already benefited from the help of kiwanja.

A few of Kiwanja’s Current Projects

FrontlineSMS: kiwanja.net is currently working with FrontlineSMS in research and developing, helping them set up a field communication/SMS system for NGOs. FrontlineSMS itself is a highly innovative initiative, providing an SMS-based communications system for grassroots NGOs. It’s a program that allows people to text message large groups anywhere there is a mobile signal.

Grameen Technology Centre: kiwanja.net is currently working with the Grameen Technology Centre, providing advice and assistance to its “AppLab” initiative in Uganda. AppLab focuses on “developing, testing, strengthening, and scaling mobile applications” that benefit poor people around the world.

nGOmobile Competition: Kiwanja.net is holding a competition designed to encourage grassroots NGOs in developing countries to describe how they can improve their work using mobile technology. NGOs can win prizes like laptop computers, mobile phones, and cash.

The Founder

Ken Banks is the founder of kiwanja.net, and he has a strong background in business, technology, and anthropology. He was a Pop!Tech Social Innovation Fellow, obtained funding for his projects by the MacArthur Foundation, and was awarded a Fellowship at the Reuters Digital Vision Program at Stanford. He has speaken at workshops and conferences like IDEO, Amnesty International, Mobile World Conference, and more. Check out his bio here!

Why you should check out kiwanja.net

I am a strong believer that innovation and technology can really drive things forward. Mobile technology is making great leaps right now, especially in various parts of Africa and India. Although many remote areas might lack internet access, mobile phones are quite widespread and the use of SMS/texting is common. Innovations like FrontlineSMS are helping to connect people to vital information: farmers to market prices, doctors and health professionals to medical information and advice, etc. I urge you to check out the great work that kiwanja.net and its partner organizations are doing, because there are a lot of exciting developments in this field!

Picture credit: kiwanja.net

This post is a guest post by one of my friends, Ruby Ku. When I first ran across her blog, I couldn’t stop reading her posts. They were fascinating, well written, and most of all - featured important topics we urgently need to care about. Ruby is an incredibly talented and intelligent woman who is pursuing her dream - social change - with inspiring passion and idealism. She doesn’t just talk about making a difference: she does it. Ruby is a Science and Business student at the University of Waterloo, and she will be going to Botswana this summer after she graduates to work with an NGO called Somarelang Tikologo.

I live and study in Waterloo, ON, where the blackberry was invented. The city was recognized as being the world’s Top Intelligent Community in 2007 and University of Waterloo was the only Canadian university that Bill Gates visited. I’m proud to be part of this community and am always excited to see the talents around me: Kunal Gupta, Ray Cao, Jackie Lee, all gone onto the entrepreneurial path and are building successful start-ups.

Then I discovered Brazen Careerist earlier this year and the talents I saw around me grew exponentially. It didn’t take long to identify who the popular bloggers were, just to name a few off my head: Penelope Trunk, Rebecca Thorman, Jamie Varon, Jun Loayza, all made a name for themselves by blogging about their journey of building/working for startups, or giving personal branding/career advices to the generation Y.

When I look at these people in both my offline and online worlds, I can’t help but wonder, how much good they could do for the world if they were willing to devote more time in building solutions for the betterment of the world. These people have the potential, the energy, the drive, the talent, the passion - basically all the ingredients required for success - both their own and the causes they dedicate themselves to.

So much time has been spent writing about personal branding vs. personal blogging, success vs. happiness, work/life balance, getting the perfect job, earning your first million… It’s not my intention to offend anyone, but sometimes I feel we are all living in this bubble. I mean, I love social media and I have met some really great people because of it. But more and more I feel there’s a disconnection between this twitter world and the real world. What about the homeless? What about poverty? What about human rights? Some Gen Y bloggers write about social issues, but even then we’re really just sitting in front of the computer writing. How often do we actually get right down to being fully present with the people and try to understand what they’re going through? I think we prioritize weird. I feel we need to get out of this bubble, re-connect with other human beings, and look at what is happening in the world.

The thing is, I know people care. When I talk to them or read their blogs, they have all expressed interests at one point or another about eventually “wanting to make a difference in the world”, but not until they’ve “made it big“. It doesn’t work that way. You can’t contribute unless you understand. You can’t understand unless you’re fully in it, every step of the way. Impact isn’t only measured by the amount of money you can donate, it’s more complex than that. Legacy isn’t defined by the size of your company, it’s by the number of lives you have truly touched and made a difference in. It’s not “one day”, it’s “starting now”.

What about trying the 80/20 Google rule? Dedicate 80% of your time and effort to your for-profit ventures, and leave 20% to work on a social business? Or pick a local non-profit, and volunteer your time to educate them about social media, help re-design their websites, or mentor social entrepreneurs on how to build their startups as successfully as yours. Maybe we can collectively put together a We 2.0 book? Better yet, get off Twitter for a day and talk to people you normally wouldn’t talk to. Spend a weekend volunteering at a local women’s center/soup kitchen and witness the realities of many people’s lives.

So many talented people with so much to offer. We need a better way to harness the creativity and talent we have in the Gen Y blogsphere to create social change and push for a better world. Why is it not happening?