By Ragan M Conteh

The Lady Ellen Women’s Aid Foundation (LEWAF) and the magistrate court of Waterloo are committed in the fight against all forms of injustices against women in the district and beyond.

They are working to prioritize women’s issues and other related concerns.

Their mission is to transform the lives of women and ensure that they are free from all forms of violence and injustices,

The work of LEWAF has obviously grown beyond expectations but lack of funding remains a key challenge for the organization.

It said it should have obviously expanded its interventions to other districts in Sierra Leone.

However, within the Western Rural district and by extension Western Urban, LEWAF  is well-known for their “Access to Justice and Legal Empowerment Program.”

AJLE program involves mediating cases among conflicting parties at community levels as a way of preventing the cases from reaching the local courts in Sierra Leone.

Most cases they address are related minor gender based violence offences for which through mediation such cases can be settled without any other grievances emanating afterwards.

The magistrate court of Waterloo is said to have a deep wealth of knowledge on the activities of LEWAF operating within the Western Urban and beyond. The court has called for a re-commitment of their partnership for a sustainable development in the fight against injustice within the district and Sierra Leone by extension.

This partnership signals the positive impact of LEWAF under its access to justice program which provides free para-legal services for vulnerable women in Sierra Leone.

When 2017 LEWAF started the implementation of the Legal Empowerment Shared Frame work funded by OSIWA, it needed then the introduction of Community Base Para-legal services to mediate minor cases which are not supposed to reach to the court or police station but the cases can be mediated at the lower level to ensure sustainable peace is maintained within the homes.

LEWAF has recorded 917 cases since 2017 to 2023 off which 839 were mediated and resolved, 40 were referred to relevant partners like the FSU, Rainbow Initiative , World Hope, Legal Aid Board.

10 out of these cases are still pending.

It is important to also note that 11 out of these cases went through litigation process but a legal team was in readiness always to represent the clients, LEWAF said.

As partners with the legal system of Sierra Leone, 8 cases were referred to LEWAF from the Waterloo court and they were considered as minor cases and require mediation.

These cases were mediated and resolved.

LEWAF had thanked OSIWA who have been their trusted partner and welcome new partners to help transform the lives of women in Sierra Leone in line with GOAL 5 and 16 of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Their programs of activities are in tune with the current government’s Medium Term National Development Plan ( 2024-2030).

LEWAF remains committed to ensuring that women and girls in Sierra Leone are free from all forms of violence and inequality and are valued, dignified and respected in households and communities.