Expanding Legal Services
The context for the project
Mizan Young Lawyers Center (MYLC) is a civil society organisation that was established to advance human rights and access to justice in Ethiopia. It was set up in 2015 by ten lawyers who had graduated from Dilla University.
MYLC has been working to promote legal awareness and provide civic education and legal aid services, specifically targeting less economically privileged community members during pre-trial, trial and post-trial phases. Recently, MYLC has also been engaged in human rights strategic litigation activities.
Prior to the CSIF project, MYLC focused on civil cases, such as divorce, labour and inheritance. They had two staff members, one office and, although they provided good-quality and necessary services within the community, they had poor organisational systems, including poor documentation procedures and no financial management system or staff. MYLC provided legal support to an average of ten people every week.
The intervention and strategies
MYLC is part of a consortium led by Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) with Advocates Ethiopia (AE). The consortium has received funding and training from the Civil Society Innovation Fund (CSIF). The training was need-based and was complemented by follow-up coaching. MYLC underwent training in financial management, innovative advocacy strategies, rights-based and gender transformative Project Cycle Management and Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning, and leadership and organizational culture.
The changes achieved so far, and the project’s contribution
The training and funding from CSIF has both expanded MYLC’s impact and improved its internal systems. MYLC has grown the team and now has fifteen including lawyers and paralegals providing free legal aid services. They have expanded their services to include criminal cases and report that they may be the only NGO in the region to provide holistic legal services in both criminal and civil matters. As a result, they now provide legal services to an average of 30 detainees per week.
Following the training, MYLC feel more able and confident to design and implement effective programmes and to organise advocacy initiatives. They have also strengthened their internal financial management systems, digital documentation practices and finance staff. They feel having these systems makes them better placed to attract funding from other donors in future.
MYLC has also expanded and strengthened its collaborative work with other local organisations that provide complementary services. For example, through their partnership with Association for Women's Sanctuary and Development (AWSAD), they are now able to refer detainees who have experienced violence to rehabilitation centres, for further support available.