MS WORLD - Celebration as 200 paralegals graduate

The sun was smiling from a cloudless sky while more than 700 guests witnessed the graduation ceremony of 200 paralegals from Kisumu, Homa Bay and Madiany. The colourful function was arranged by Archdiocese of Kisumu (ADOK).

By Dorthe Skovgaard Mortensen

The 200 new paralegal workers have been trained 6 weeks during the last 6 months in a national curriculum covering customary, national and international law. Their endeavour is to enhance the local communities’ access to justice - a work that is based on the principle of being community-based and owned.

Lotte Grauballe, country director for MS Kenya said in her speech to the paralegals, “You are walking libraries. You know the national and international laws and your hard disc can be accessed without a password. Go out there and bring justice to the people. And remember that from those who are given much, much is expected”.

As of the very first Kenyan organizations to take up paralegal training ADOK has been instrumental in institutionalizing the paralegal education in Kenya.

Ben Van De Graaf, paralegal officer at ADOK, explained the concept of paralegalism in his address to the graduates and guests "Paralegalism is all about human rights, democracy and good governance.

A paralegal is a community development worker who possesses basic knowledge of the law and skills in community development who is committed to empower people for socio-economic transformation of their communities.

In an environment where a large part of the population is not only ignorant but also sometimes misinformed of its rights, the importance of basic information available at community level form an accountable, trustworthy and culturally appropriate source cannot be underestimated.

The paralegal worker will in addition assist, secure, mediate and encourage reconciliation in matters of dispute in the community. He/she will conduct preliminary investigations in human rights violations and facilitate the creation of people’s organisations at community level to enable them to demand their rigths".

The graduation ceremony in Kisumu, attended by the Vice President, the Minister of Planning, the Danish and Finnish ambassador and bishops, was a big celebration of voluntarism and civic engagement in peace and justice.

After the many speeches, the amusing entertainment and the cake cutting, Vice President Moody Awori handed out certificates to the 200 newly fledged paralegals that are now ready to serve their communities.

What is waiting ahead of the colourful and festive function are local disputes over land, children expelled from inheriting their deceased parents’ property, widows refusing to be inherited by brothers in law, chiefs misusing their powers, and many other community disputes.

For more information on paralegal training contact:

Archdiocese of Kisumu

P.O Box 980 , 40100 Kisumu

' : 057-44574/41765

Email: bernevandegraaf@hotmail.com or poulthisted@hotmail.com