By: Courtney Hitchcock
These past 8 weeks in Uganda have taught me a lot about the law and the struggle for justice that people all over the world face.
I was able to visit the field with IJM and see widows who have fought for their land from land grabbers, sometimes nearly dying in the process. IJM conducts support groups for these widows so they can come and talk about their experiences to find healing. The support groups also enable the women to find means of financial support for themselves as well as mobilizing the community to protect future widows from a similar struggle. I was amazed and humbled at their resilience and strength in the struggle to obtain land rights for widows all over Uganda.
Through both IJM and the DPP, I was also able to help with the reorganization of the Court of Appeal of Uganda. Often times in court cases in Uganda, files are lost or purposefully delayed by a file being hidden so it cannot be found. Because the courts are such a mess, cases may never be heard, and it is hard to fight corruption by finding a file that was “lost.” Those involved in the cases rarely find justice.
IJM has gone through each court and spent weeks organizing case files to help judges see the cases that must be heard and help those involved in the cases finally find resolution. The Court of Appeal reorganization took over a month and concluded just before I left Uganda. Through this process, we are praying that more cases will be heard and corruption will be readily identifiable in the system.
While the people of Uganda face a hard struggle to finding justice and equality under the law, I am so hopeful that the Lord will continue the work done at IJM to help those who cannot help themselves.
This post was written by a student at Regent University School of Law. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of Regent University, Regent Law School, or the Center for Global Justice.