August 21, 2021


This week’s highlights

  • Anti-trafficking NGO in Kenya receives three-storey building donation
  • Yemen works to improve social support for disabled people during the pandemic
  • Have you reserved your seats at Night For Rights 2021?
  • JHR’s Sammy Muraya calls for greater female participation in upcoming elections

Anti-trafficking NGO in Kenya receives
three-storey building donation

Image courtesy CHTEA’s Facebook page

 

The Counter Human Trafficking Trust – East Africa (CHTEA) has been donated a three-storey building
after Judie Kaberia, former Gender Lead of JHR’s Canada World Program in Kenya and now ED of
Association of Media Women In Kenya (AMWIK), wrote about the organization’s severely
under-resourced efforts to provide refuge to 120 Ugandan women who were trafficked into sexual
slavery and economic exploitation in Nairobi.

In her article in Capital FM, Judie described the living conditions of CHTEA’s women thus: “It is a safe
haven because it has a roof, walls and a door – that can shield them from the cold nights and sex
predators. With no bedding other than a thin woven mat, the girls lie side-by-side in groups of eights or
tens, close to each other for warmth and also to fit into the tiny rooms.”

After the article was published, a local organization offered to donate the building to provide
safer accommodation for CHTEA’s beneficiaries. Another donor reached out to Judie to donate
funds worth USD2000, after which CHTEA received further funds and houseware worth
USD2000. Read the full story here.

Since the onset of COVID-19, Judie has been committed to creating awareness about the spike in
human trafficking and has worked with civil society organizations and government agencies to rescue
girls and women looking for safe houses during the pandemic. JHR’s Canada World looks forward to a
continued partnership with Judie and AMWIK to further the rights of women and girls during the
pandemic and beyond.

 


Yemen works to improve social support
for disabled people during the pandemic

 

Yemen’s Social Welfare Fund is fast running dry, leaving its deserving recipients such as the country’s
4.5 million disabled people with fewer means to afford a basic standard of living. While Yemeni law
guarantees health care and financial aid to its disabled population, this social support has not
materialized due to the cumulative pressures of the civil war and pandemic on the federal budget.

JHR trainee Bassam Al-Qadi highlighted this plight of disabled people in an article in Al-Ayyam
Newspaper, in which he also stated that non-governmental organizations that supported disabled
people have had to close operations in Yemen in recent years, leading to an even greater lack of
resources.

After the article was published, Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Dr. Mohammed Saeed
Al-Zuouri announced the restructuring of the Fund for Welfare and Rehabilitation for the
Disabled with the goal to improve its performance and ensure that disabled people received the
minimum support that the government can currently provide.

Help us continue this essential awareness-building work through JHR’s Mobilizing Media to Fight
COVID-19 (MMFC) program. When journalists shine the light on human rights abuses and injustices, it
leads to actual, life-changing impact.

 


      The above stories are part of the Mobilizing Media to Fight COVID-19 project funded by


Have you reserved your seats
at Night For Rights 2021?

 

JHR is holding its annual Night for Rights gala dinner and party at the Brickworks Pavilion in Toronto on
October 20, 2021, from 6pm to 8pm. This year, mindful of potential public health concerns, we’re also
offering our supporters the opportunity to join the party online with a fabulous virtual experience in the
works!

Thank you to the Fisher family, Delaney family, Shelly Meadows, and our numerous other supporters
for purchasing tables and tickets at the early bird rate. Tickets continue to sell fast and are available
for purchase at www.night4rights.com at $1000 for a ticket and $8000 for a table of up to 8
seats.

We look forward to seeing you on October 20!

 


“We have strong women leaders who can propel
Kenya’s political agenda forward”:
JHR’s Sammy Muraya calls for greater female
participation in upcoming elections

 

As Kenya gears up for its 2022 general elections, JHR Kenya Program Manager Sammy Muraya is
speaking up for the need for greater participation by women in the political process.

In a Capital FM Kenya article, Sammy was quoted as saying, “It’s sad to note that despite having ladies
who have their own political parties, we are not seeing any in the ongoing conversations. We have
heard and continue hearing about different coalitions but the ladies are playing supporting roles. Time
for ladies being treated like flower girls in political parties has to end; we have very strong and able
women leaders who can propel the country’s political agenda forward.”

Muraya’s statement echoes an earlier call by JHR Gender Lead Winnie Syombua, who urged women
to seek nomination posts in the upcoming elections as the country attempts to meet the Two-Thirds
Gender Rule, which stipulates that neither gender should occupy more than two-thirds in elective
positions.

 


 

Your support allows us to continue our innovative work around the world!