Nigeria
Community Empowerment for the Poor
In 1987, Rights and Humanity hosted a Nigerian national multi-disciplinary workshop, organised in cooperation with the University of Calabar. This clarified priority needs for poor and socially excluded people in Nigeria and adopted an agenda for the work of Rights and Humanity’s Nigerian section which focused on addressing the needs of the poorest and most disadvantaged people.
Legal Aid Clinic in the Slums of Lagos
Our Nigerian members established a legal aid clinic in the slums of Lagos which provided free legal advice and assistance to poor people, particularly concerning their treatment by the police and other public authorities. The monitored case-load of the clinic provided information about trends in human rights challenges which were then taken up with the relevant authorities.
This project helped us develop the model for our human rights approach to development. For instance, we recognised the benefit of identifying the members of society that are already working to realise human rights and who carry the most respect within that particular community. In Nigeria, we identified primary health care workers as being able to engage the trust and participation of poor people.
Outreach Programme for Rural Poor
We also provided para-legal training for rural communities, empowering individuals through knowledge of their rights and responsibilities.
Rights and Humanity benefited considerable from the participation in the programme of a large group of 30 or so post-graduates from a number of disciplines. They undertake community work with us for a year instead of military service. This enabled us to offer outreach education and empowerment programmes to the poor in rural areas around Nigeria.