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Irene Khan crowned Paramount Chief of Bombali District
The launch ran smoothly and the highlight of the day was when Irene was crowned Paramount Chief of Bombali District! She is the first woman ever in the north to be crowned chief and her name is Ya Bomkapr Mankneh II. The other chiefs and elders consider it a great symbolic gesture to their commitment to empowering women.
Continue reading ‘Irene Khan crowned as caravan moves on to Makeni’
The Bishop Johnson Memorial School, before the launch © Amnesty International
Khairunissa Dhala is a campaigner in Amnesty International’s Africa team.
After days, weeks and months of planning, the first day of the caravan and campaign launch on maternal mortality in Sierra Leone has arrived!
The event is being held at Bishop Johnson Memorial School, which is next door to Princess Christian Maternity Hospital (PCMH) and one of Freetown’s biggest slums called Moaf.
We hope to attract people from these areas as they are most affected by the issues surrounding maternal mortality.
We are expecting 5,000 people at the Freetown launch. The Sierra Leone section has spent the last few weeks
advertising the event in newspapers and on the radio and everyone is really excited.
On Sunday, we began our door-to-door campaign in Kibera to raise awareness of the free SMS 3221 number individuals can text to have their Voice automatically added to the Demand Dignity campaign. Although my Kiswahili is limited, between help from volunteers in our partner community-based organizations and a smile, we tried to encourage people to take action, claim their rights and demand adequate housing.
Alongside the free SMS 3221, we also invited residents of the informal settlements to add their Voice through video as we had brought along a camera crew. As many residents of informal settlements do not have access to internet on a regular basis, but do have mobile phones, the SMS and video camera was one of the ways their Voices could be heard by the world of the conditions and basic necessities that they live without.
Continue reading ‘Launch of SMS and Web action in Nairobi, Kenya’
Evangelia Papada is in Kenya
Greetings from Nairobi, Kenya. The Demand Dignity campaign has officially been launched and we have switched on our campaign engines. Amnesty International has just released a report on informal settlements in Kenya and the Secretary General Irene Khan is here on a High Level Mission.
Jennifer and I arrived here a few days ago. Our aim is to engage the public, and predominately slum dwellers, in an SMS action.
We have trained over 70 volunteers from community-based organisations who, in turn, trained over a 100 of their peers on how to carry out the action. We are equipped with leaflets, postcards, and a video camera crew and our aim is to collect people’s voices.
Irene Khan ©Amnesty International
Amnesty International’s Secretary General will be taking part in two interviews today where people will have the opportunity to send in their questions.
Irene Khan will first be taking part in the BBC’s World, Have Your Say programme at 1700GMT. Visit http://worldhaveyoursay…amnesty-international/ to submit questions or comment via the show’s blog or try http://worldhaveyoursay…about/ to get in touch with the programme in another way.
Then, at 1900GMT, she will be taking part in a Spanish interview with Mexican website Reforma.com. To find out how to get in touch, visit http://www.reforma…1000184/, to listen to to http://gruporeforma.reforma….com/.
Irene Khan on Twitter