Through fundraising and pro bono work, we are embarking on a campaign to help transform children's futures by supporting UNICEF's child justice programs. Together we are helping to make sure that children who come into contact with the law, whether as victims, witnesses or offenders, have their rights respected and are better protected.

As a gesture to advance this initiative, I am embarking on a nine day trip to the Simien Mountains of Ethiopia with several of my DLA Piper colleagues from all around the world. Please support me on this endeavor by donating today (click on the donate button at the top right corner.) All proceeds go to UNICEF's children's justice programs which I will describe in further detail below.

How justice programs impact children

Badal, 14, lives with his mother and aunt in a one-bedroom house in a slum in Khulna, Bangladesh. At the age of 12, Badal became friends with a group of boys who encouraged him to steal. One day he was arrested and detained by police for selling stolen pigeons.

In prison he was locked in a cell with adults and beaten by the police. A local child protection group, supported by UNICEF, intervened and he was released from custody.

Following months of counseling, Badal is now part of a UNICEF-supported life skills initiative teaching him how to rear pigeons and is enjoying being back in school.

Children like Badal might have faced a very different future without the intervention of the Justice for Children project in Bangladesh, supported by DLA Piper and UNICEF.

With your support we can continue to strengthen the protection of children around the world.

With your generosity, help me achieve my goal

No donation is too small, no gesture is too little. The point is that we can work together to do something positive, get people involved, develop awareness, and build a better future for children by starting with the small things and taking a chance to make a difference.

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DLA Piper will cover the costs of the trek including flights, etc. All proceeds go to UNICEF's children's justice program.

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