All the UTG students and faculty involved in this project volunteered. The did a great job, but Clinic projects like this should provide a credit component to give the students incentives and rewards for their hard work. I hope that will be offered in the future.
Holding kids attention can be a challenge under even the best of circumstances. Our law students used some inventive ways to hold kids attention. Above is a drama used to demonstrate how children can end up being trafficked. Below, midway through a 2 hour class, they got the kids up and moving.
We had another group of law students present at St. Teresa's school. They ccovered children's rights to education, the law against child marriage and FGM. The group on the right covered human trafficking. They also provided detailed information on how to get help if these problems arise, perhaps the most important piece of the lesson. [...]
Ambassador Pat Alsup, an Obama appointee, invited me to meet with her at her office early in my Fulbright Specialist work with the Law Clinic in The Gambia. She clearly understood the mission to teach students the law while serving the community. So I asked her to come speak at the law school and she [...]
These girls are getting an education. Not all girls are so fortunate. This is a global issue. Child marriage is a related issue we struggled with in the Law Clinic in The Gambia. The Gambia law clearly requires a person to be 18 to marry, unless Sharia law is interpreted to provide an exception. This [...]
On the left you see what I think of as The Gambian version of the Hokey Pokey. I wish I had a video. On the right is more of a lecture approach. These and other styles were used to teach about a variety of subjects. The right to an education, privacy, freedom of association, human [...]
Our goal is to make the Street Law lessons practical, everyday lessons that engage the students in critical thinking. I think our law students pulled this off pretty well.
It was sunny, about 30C/86F in Kotu last Tuesday. There was a nice breeze if you were under a tree, but not in a classroom with 50 students. The electricity was out, so even the overhead fans were still. We taught right after lunch, but most of these students didn't have lunch. It is Ramadan [...]
I attended a three day Human Rights Conference last week. Speakers included The Gambia's leading members of the human rights network and legal community. The goal of the conference was to address past injustices so that the country can move forward. There is talk of setting up a truth and reconciliation commission to help [...]
On Wednesday, May 17 we took students to see the Supreme Court. Here we are just outside the Court Complex. Then just outside the Supreme Court's Hearing room. The Court convenes for the next two weeks, and has not done so in a couple of years. The Court has a new Chief Justice, Mr. Hassan Jallow, [...]
