LoeRose Bartholomew Mbise, representative of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania, describes her life as full of struggle, not for her personal benefit but for the people of Tanzania. She has been involved and led a number of advocacy initiatives particularly related to people’s right to health.
Engaging in advocacy means that you will be involved in collective bargaining, and you will be putting gentle pressure on the authorities to demand and ensure the rights of people. “I have faced some criticism from different fronts including from the government while taking up the issues of deprived communities,” Mbise said, as she shared her experience during an Omatala workshop held on May 13, 2017. This Omatala workshop is one of a series of discussions that are part of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Twelfth Assembly in Windhoek, Namibia.
Working with communities an important strategy
Dr Prabin Manandhar, Country Director of LWF Nepal, believes that working with communities and bringing the authentic voice from the grassroots level is one of the key strategies to deal with such criticism. “When we bring the legitimate voice from the communities and encourage the local people to take their issues forward, there will be less criticism,” he said. He believes that forming an alliance of like-minded organizations, adopting a rights- and community-based approach, supporting people to empower themselves and ensuring their participation are other key strategies to deal with such issues.
LWF Nepal has been involved in advocacy on a number of issues such as gender justice and rights of marginalized populations including Haliya, Kamaiya (bonded laborers) and Dalits, among others. Also, LWF Nepal has been raising the issues of earthquake-affected populations in village, district and national forums. He mentioned that LWF Nepal had submitted a Universal Periodic Review report to the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2015, advocating for the rights of the most marginalized people.
LWF office in Geneva: An opportunity for local to global advocacy
Since most human rights mechanisms are based in Geneva, it is possible for the LWF to take grassroots issues forward to the global level. In 2016 LWF raised awareness of land rights in Angola, land registration and birth registration in Myanmar, recovery of land and land-grabbing in Mozambique, and refugee issues in Uganda, among others.
LWF/Umesh Pokharel
