The African Probate & Policy Initiative is designed to foster study, research, and on-site experiences in Africa - in Tanzania this year!
The Initiative focuses on the role of probate and property laws in Tanzanian society, the impact of HIV/AIDS and other illnesses, and the human rights implications of both on life in Tanzania. The Tanzanian legal system is based on British common law but includes elements of Islamic law (khadi courts), codified customary law, and traditional law. This melding of various legal systems can prove cha
05/17/2013
Very cool!
Lawyers who inspire Gretchen Bellamy, director of international public interest programs at the University of Miami School of Law, saw this disparity as a profound human rights problem. So the former Peace Corps volunteer launched the African Probate & Policy Initiative and took four law students to Tanzania this summe...
10/30/2012
Fame! We made it to the ABA Journal!
Make sure to click on the online gallery!
No Will, But a Way: Law Prof and Students Launch African Probate & Policy Initiative - Magazine - AB
Updated movie!
http://www.law.miami.edu/webcast/video.php?location=vod&stream=AfricanProbatePolicyInitiativeVideo_1.mp4&width=480&height=270&page
University of Miami | School of Law The University of Miami School of Law - Located in one of the world's most exciting and international metropolitan areas, with a renowned faculty, a rich and diverse curriculum, a carefully selected student body, and world-class facilities, the UM School of Law is in the forefront of the nation's la...
Check out the movie I made about the Initiative!
University of Miami | School of Law The University of Miami School of Law - Located in one of the world's most exciting and international metropolitan areas, with a renowned faculty, a rich and diverse curriculum, a carefully selected student body, and world-class facilities, the UM School of Law is in the forefront of the nation's la...
Friends, the Initiative has finished and our week in Zanzibar was a success. Overall, we completed 103 wills and 315 hours of pro bono service. Amazing. Each student completed 63 hours of service....the goal for 3 years of law school is 75! They are all well on their way.
I am beyond proud of each of my students, Chip, Phillip, Seth, and Kelsey. It was a challenging summer, but they fulfilled every expectation I had for them and then some. They made me laugh and cry and proved to me that law students care and they want to give back. I have been rewarded this summer in ways I never imagined, and I am thankful to my students and the law school administration that believed in this initiative.
On to planning for next year - my goal - 200 wills. :) Game on.
Gretchen
FINAL TOTAL: 103!! Unreal! 99 more than I originally thought going to Mwanza! Details to follow - but this is HUGE!
Wednesday, July 4 in Arusha - Oh what a day!! It just keeps getting better. Today we met with a women’s co-op group. We sat in the yard, passed around one of the women’s baby, and gave our presentation. Seth did a great job of presenting what wills are and why they are important. The women were fiery and spunky. The energy was so positive. We all (the women and us) agreed that we must get the men involved like we did the day before. However, that didn’t stop each one of them from drafting a will! I explained to them that we are there to empower women – that the cycle must be broken and they must understand and realize their rights. That to protect their children, boys and girls, for the future, they must act now. We are picking up more and more steam now! I can’t wait until next year.
In the late afternoon/evening, we met with women from a local women’s right NGO. We did our presentation and one of the women adamantly refused to draft her will stating, “I am just not interested!” The leader of the organization then lectured all of them of the importance of participating and that this was part of the very reason they were organized! The woman finally relented and it turns out she had the most to lose if she didn’t write a will! In the end, all of the women drafted a will and that pushed us to 70 wills drafted!!! That’s 140% of my original goal! As it turns out though, we were drafting wills in the dark (thank goodness for Iphone flashlights – but it was soooo worth it!
We were invited to dinner by Professor Roland Adjovi. He is the Director of the Arcadia Center for East African Studies at the Nyerere Center for Peace Research. We ate dinner at the students’ compound. It was nice to hear about what the students are studying. I’m looking forward to collaborating with Roland in the future. He wants to come to Miami and give a presentation (he goes to the US twice per year). Fantastic end to an amazing day!
We're up to 61 and still have one more session to go!
As of Tuesday, July 3, we have drafted 47 wills!!!
Tuesday in Arusha - Wow! What a difference a day makes. Today we visited with ACE African (check out the organization – it’s amazing). Then we went with one of the counselors there to a very rural village (about 45 minutes on a terrible dirt road with terrible ditches that caused our van to get stuck!). As soon as we got out of the van, we were greeted by women from the village with hugs and kisses! It was the warmest greeting we have received since being here – at least by the people we are drafting wills for.
We did our introductions and today Kelsey was put on the spot and she did a great job introducing what wills are and their importance. We were then asked twice how we (University of Miami School of Law) can help women in Tanzania have their rights protected. I could no longer contain myself after one woman explained that the men in the village take the money the women make and will buy a car for the woman but will put it in his name. I stood up and gave an impassioned speech about the importance of supporting your partner – that a marriage is 50-50. That a husband’s family (wife and children) will likely be kicked out of the property once the husband dies. I explained that in Tanzania it is better for a woman to get a divorce (she will get 50%) than to have her husband die intestate. At the end of the speech, I invited them to fill out the will questionnaire….and all 16 people in the room (5 women, 11 men) drafted wills! It was an amazing site and completely overwhelming. We are up to 47 wills!!
We were actually late to our next meeting with the East African Law Society because we had many wills to draft. The meeting with the EALS was very informative. We learned about how the regional law society functions, and it was great to see such a diverse group of people working together.
Dinner at Green Hut – a local joint, where, for the 3rd time on the trip, a bird swooped down (my chicken flew off the plate and onto my leg thanks to the waiter! Fun times!
