Evaluating the Effectiveness of LADA's Paralegal Program in Zambia

The Law and Development Association’s (LADA) is a grassroots NGO which has been providing human rights advocacy, free legal assistance, education and awareness-raising in the Southern Province of rural Zambia since 1994. The Adult Paralegal Program was founded by LADA to provide poor women and children with free legal assistance relating to basic human rights; property issues; inheritance; and child abuse in its various forms: early marriage, defilement, neglect, and child labor. Because LADA operates in an area of acute poverty, the paralegal program relies on the resource of volunteer workers, primarily poor farmers who give up their time to become trained paralegals providing services free of charge to their community. The objective of this workshop was to assess LADA’s adult Paralegal Program in the Southern Province of Zambia and make recommendations.