Screengrab from Missing Children documentary by JHR trainee Regina Asamoah
While many parts of the world look forward to welcoming a new normal, Africa still awaits its fair share of vaccines. As the pandemic stretches on in the continent, governments have failed to adequately address the compromise of their citizens’ rights to employment, health, education and safety. Many other human rights issues are placed on the backburner as a result.
That’s where JHR’s Mobilizing Media to Fight COVID-19 (MMFC) program comes in. By training journalists to effectively shine a light on worsening human rights abuses and inequities, MMFC has empowered them to bring about a positive change in their communities despite the difficulties brought about the pandemic.
Check out four JHR-supported stories, published in recent weeks, that’s changed people’s lives during the pandemic:
Impact: Two Rastafarians, who were denied admission into the Achimota Senior High School in Accra, Ghana over their dreadlocks, were offered admission after the court ruled the denial unlawful.
Impact: After reporter Beatrice Spio-Garbrah produced this story on the mother-daughter pair, Accra-based roofing company DBS Industries Limited offered the daughter a full scholarship to a boarding school.
Impact: Children who have been missing for years and were housed in an orphanage in Accra were reunited with their parents after reporter Regina Asamoah’s documentary on child rights in Ghana was aired.
Impact: After reporter Prosper K. Kuorsoh related one domestic violence survivor’s story, the Merck Foundation offered to support her fight for justice.