We find inspiration in these heroes
Our heroes are everyday people who have relentlessly sought and found everyday justice , and whose stories remain as proof that everyday justice for everyday people is achievable.
Hadija Selemani of Malagarasi in Kibondo won custody of her six children following a difficult marriage
Hadija Selemani of Malagarasi in Kibondo, Kigoma is seen outside the house she built next to her old one after, through legal aid, she won custody of her six children following a difficult marriage and started rebuilding her life with a job as a cook at a nearby secondary school. Hadija Selemani mkazi wa Malagarasi mjini Kibondo, Kigoma anaonekana nje ya nyumba aliyojenga pembeni ya nyumba yake ya zamani baada ya kupatiwa msaada wa kisheria uliomuwezesha kupata haki ya kubaki na watoto wake sita...
Radio Programme
A radio programme she listened to made it possible for Iniki Kinyamagoha of Makambako, Njombe to access legal aid and eventually reclaim land that her brothers had unlawfully taken away from her and intended to sell.Kipindi cha radio alichokisikiliza Iniki Kinyamagoha wa Makambako, Njombe kilimuwezesha kupata msaada wa kisheria na hatimaye kurejesha mikononi mwake ardhi iliyoporwa na wadogo zake kwa nia ya kuiuza.
Upendo Jamii in Kakonko
Some of the 35 women belonging to Upendo Jamii in Kakonko, Kigoma who together took full advantage of readily-accessible legal aid and eventually recovered the group’s land ownership documents that a former chair chose to withhold at the end of her term in office. Baadhi ya wanawake 35 wa kikundi cha Upendo Jamii kilichoko Kakonko, Kigoma waliotumia vyema uwepo wa msaada wa kisheria na hatimaye kurudisha mikononi mwao nyaraka za umiliki wa ardhi ya kikundi zilizokuwa zimezuiliwa na mwenyekiti w...
Near a sugar factory life has become sweet again
Immaculata Mwigane, right, played a crucial role in helping Daines Joseph, left, and her children rebuild their lives following a tumultuous family life. They are seen standing in front of the house that Daines ensured was built allowing the family to live under their own roof in Newland, Moshi Rural. CATEGORY: MATRIMONIALChallenge: The village of Newland borders sugarcane plantations just outside the town of Moshi, and this is one area that Immaculata Mwigane, a paralegal, also serves providing...
Her twins give her twice the inspiration to fight on
Securing child support for her twins and along with it capital to start her own small business allows Elizabeth Mgaya of Njombe to have the confidence she once lost and plan for her future with renewed hope. CATEGORY: CHILD MAINTENANCE Challenge:“I had twins back in 2017 in Mufindi and went through a very difficult time that forced me to leave their father when the twins were only one week old. My parents didn’t know him and when I told them what he was putting me through, they immediately asked...
Old but determined, a disabled woman wins back her prized farm land
Baituna Mwilenga, 80, a disabled (centre) shares her delight with her relatives and paralegals in Malinyi Morogoro after reclaiming her property including 10 acres of land on which she now cultivates rice and earns a living. CATEGORY: GENDER BASED VIOLENCE Challenge: In the dust-clad village of Lugala in the rural district of Malinyi in Morogoro, Baituna Mwilenga, an elderly widow in her 80s has endured a difficult life made worse by an infirmity of her legs that has rendered her unable to walk...
Her daughter’s property rightly became hers
Sophia Mdindile (left) of Makambako, Njombe and her mother (at the middle) were assisted through legal aid by paralegal Justina Mengele (right), and succeeded in securing the title deed to the house formerly owned by Sophia’s late sister, which has now been inherited by their mother. CATEGORY: INHERITANCE Challenge: In the town of Makambako, greed could have deprived an old lady of her inheritance following the death of her daughter were it not for the express intervention of paralegals.Her daug...
Rejected but still standing with her children
Mariamu Cheni of Mazengo in Chamwino, Dodoma is a much happier and confident woman today because legal aid made it possible for her to continue living with her children when her marriage ended and together they are rebuilding their lives as one hopeful family. Challenge: Mariamu Cheni, a mother of five, today lives contented in her compound with her eldest son and his younger siblings, while her other son attends vocational college away.Her home in the village of Mazengo in the district of Chamw...
When child marriage lost to a sewing machine
Having escaped from child marriage and been empowered to make something of herself, Zainabu Mshetwa today uses her tailoring skills in her village in rural Kahama in Shinyanga to make school uniforms and other clothes. The intervention of a paralegal has given her a better chance at life by allowing her to start building her life one step at a time. CATEGORY: GENDER BASED VIOLENCE Challenge: Zainabu Mshetwa (16) from rural Kahama in Shinyanga, today makes school uniforms from a sewing machine t...
The paralegal who went beyond the call of duty
Standard One students at Igundu village can now attend school right in their village all because a paralegal succeeded in bringing together the community to start building a new school and provide the village’s children with the right to education. CATEGORY: CHILD MAINTENANCE Challenge: The village of Igundu is located off the beaten track, several kilometres outside the town of Kahama. Here kids walk long distances to attend Mwankima Primary School, the only primary school around, which is itse...
“The storm has passed but the journey continues”
When justice prevails it manifests itself in confidence, contentment and delight. Asteria Lucas (left), whose husband died several years ago wears a smile as she thanks Bernadeta Nkoronko (right), a paralegal in Kakonko who extended legal aid to her family, thus successfully reclaiming farmland she lost to her in-laws following her husband’s death in the village of Kasuga in Kakonko, Kigoma. Challenge: In the village of Kasuga in rural Kakonko District in Kigoma a clash over land ownership poppe...
When land rocked a marriage
At Kasumulu in Kyela, Mbeya Furaha Mwambwiga shows her land that was sold without her knowledge or consent resulting in a long, painful legal battle to recover it. Since getting the land back, she has grown cash crops and even progressed to open an eatery in the village. Challenge: Furaha Mwambwiga, a married woman who lives with her husband and children in the village of Kasumulu at the Tanzania-Malawi border in Kyela district, Mbeya region discovered that a plot of land on which the family far...
From a marriage on the brink of divorce to a growing, happy family
CATEGORY: GENDER BASED VIOLENCE Challenge: “For the last five years I’ve been a victim of frequent physical and verbal abuse from my husband. He once hurled a sharp object at me and threatened to kill me,” says Lucia Valerian who lives in the village of Shirimngani in Kilimanjaro as she recounts her tumultuous marriage.Married more than ten years ago, Lucia and her husband Valerian had a peaceful married life. Small vending businesses and other activities provided the couple with income to susta...
With seven children under her roof Suzan was staring into a life storm
CATEGORY: CHILD MAINTENANCE Challenge: Suzan John Petro, 35, of Magu District in Mwanza went through an extremely difficult situation that exacted upon her both mental and physical pain after being deserted by every one of the fathers of her seven children. For reasons not exactly known every single one of these men abandoned her right after having a child and with that set of circumstances she found herself with the massive burden of taking care of seven children.Feeding all the seven children...
Mwanamvua topples obstacles to restore her property
CATEGORY: INHERITANCE Challenge: “I was ejected from my house after the death of my husband and denied access to land and other properties we acquired together,” says Mwanamvua Kibwana (35), a mother of three who lives in rural Korogwe District in Tanga as she narrates what happened to her in the aftermath of her husband’s death.Through hard work when her husband was alive the couple generated income through which they built a decent house, bought a car, a powered-tiller and invested in a millin...
A divorced, childless woman’s long road to justice ends well for her
CATEGORY: MATRIMONIAL Challenge: “Incidents such as wife-beating, men insulting women, land-grabbing and other forms of abuse are also on the rise in our communities,” noted a gender expert, Michael Thoshiba in an exclusive interview.This is a brief story of 65 year-old Hellen Onguru, who won her divorce case following assistance provided by Musoma paralegals.Hellen was married on July 14, 1979 to a police officer and has lived as a house wife in a home that unfortunately had no children. For mo...
Paralegal goes the extra mile to get a blind boy back in school
CATEGORY: CHILD MAINTENANCE Challenge: Habibu Abdulah, 11, a disabled pupil at Michakaini Primary School in Chakechake is one among many children who from poor backgrounds whose parents find it extremely difficult to provide even the most basic needs. Habibu who is blind copes with life in a home where parents often clash over whether he should continue with school or stay at home. His disability adds another obstacle to their options.At school he couln’t keep pace with other pupils due to the...