I may not have managed to tell all of you, but I’m currently doing an internship during my qualification leave with a human rights organisation in Bangalore in India. I’ve been here for just over two weeks now and I have indulged my passion for human rights advocacy and Indian food in almost equal measures!
The NGO I'm working for is called the South India Cell for Human Rights Education and Monitoring (SICHREM). SICHREM is a unit of the Manasa Centre for Development and Social Action which is a non-governmental organisation, registered in 1995 as a charity under the Societies Registration Act, Karnataka vide. S.No.286/95-96, at Bangalore, India. The name MANASA is an abbreviation of a statement in the local language (Kannada) which means "Towards a Just and Humane Society". SICHREM's vision is to empower Dalits, tribal people, women and children to protect their individual and collective rights to a dignified life, through concerted action, education and advocacy by civil society. I’ve been really impressed with the vital work that SICHREM are doing and the commitment of the staff. I’ve also been very touched by some of stories of human rights violations that I’ve heard about during my time here (see Sichrem’s website which is quoted below for some examples.)
My main task here has to been to conduct research into and write a report on the success of the Karnataka State Human Rights Commission (the SHRC). SICHREM are planning to use this report as an advocacy tool which will allow them to lobby for improvements to way in which the SHRC functions. I’ve also been assisting Indian lawyers in case preparation and the filing of complaints before the SHRC and undertaking fact findings to uncover serious human rights violations.
On 11 October I’m going to be participating in the Bangalore Cyclothon; a 25km ride through Bangalore during which I hope they will stop the traffic! I’m pretty sure that they won’t stop traffic days in advance like they did for the Beijing Olympics so I will be doing this with the handicap of a fair bit of pollution!
Advocates for International Development (A4ID) has kindly allowed me to use their Justgiving online donation facility to raise money in the UK on behalf of SICHREM. A4ID facilitates the provision of pro bono legal advice from UK qualified lawyers to a range of development NGOs to champion the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. My placement in India was brokered through A4ID.
It would be great if you could support me in the Cyclothon by making a online donation for SICHREM. Apologies for the very short notice but I have only just been able to set up this page to receive donations from outside of India.
Please visit http://www.sichrem.org/ for further information on SICHREM.
Please see http://www.a4id.org/ for further information on A4ID.
For information on the Bangalore Cyclothon visit http://bsaherculescyclothon.in.com/
Many thanks for your support!
Paddy
