19 April 2010

Freetown, Sierra Leone: As a UNV volunteer Rule of Law and Civil Society Organizations (CSO) Advisor, Elvis Enoh-Tanyi facilitates interfaces between civil society, the Government and other stakeholders to enable the participation of civil society in decision-making processes.

For example, the Deputy Minister for Finance and Economic Development, Dr. Richard Konteh was invited to interface with civil society members on a new NGO policy.

Elvis also helped put civil society into touch with legislators such as the parliamentary human rights committee, making sure that parliamentarians and civil society members understand the role and  challenges that each face in the execution of their duties, and how they both relate to their constituents - which Elvis contends are the same.

This can mean coming up with innovations to leverage the power of volunteerism. For example, Elvis has brought the Bar Association of Sierra Leone into the fore, creating and establishing the Sierra Leone Bar Association Legal Aid Scheme. He also challenged the Bar Association to play a watchdog role, and to take positions on issues regarding the rule of law.

This scheme gave young and experienced lawyers a way to volunteer their services in the provinces – out of close to 280 registered lawyers, there currently are only eight practicing lawyers living outside Freetown. With the support of Elvis and UNDP, in three months the 15 members of the pilot scheme have handled 244 cases on a pro bono basis.

Maternal mortality, HIV and Sexual and Gender-Based Violence are very high in Sierra Leone, and UNV volunteer Elvis Enoh-Tanyi's intervention has helped the Bar Association develop a project on 'impact litigation'. He works with the Association to pick out group litigations: "This creates impact, makes the Government sit up and realize these things are serious."

Elvis stresses that it's important that the international community and governments should only facilitate the integration and participation of civil society into development programmes and not impose – his job is only to broker national solutions for national problems.

"We advise them and provide guidance, but they take the driving seat to take forward the process while we are behind them." This encourages ownership and sustainability, he says.

"Working with civil society is a challenging job, but as a volunteer you put the host country first and yourself second," says Elvis who is qualified as a barrister, solicitor and notary.

The UNV volunteer concedes that there is still a lot of mistrust among Sierra Leoneans, but progress is being made. "I ask them to assume that I am not there," he notes, "but I tell them 'it's high time you take the lead, I will give you the backup'. If they burn their hands, we dress them and ask them to try again."

If sustainable human development is to be attained in Sierra Leone, he concludes, Sierra Leoneans must learn to run their own affairs.

(Click here to read part one of Elvis's story.)