About - Clear International

Pray

Become a prayer partner. Receive regular updates from interns, staff and volunteers from the projects in Africa. Like our Facebook page CLEAR International Australia Ltd to receive regular updates of stories of those CLEAR has assisted, or email [email protected] to register to receive our prayer updates. ‘Let us then approach the throne of God with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need.’ Hebrews 4:16 ‘Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.’ Colossians 4:2 Some suggested prayer needs: Pray for our in-Africa partners, for the lawyers, the students and support staff working within each office Pray for those they assist, be it in drafting a will, in settling pleadings or in providing education seminars Pray for the authorities, both governmental and judicial, that they will deliver justice according to law and uphold the weak and dispossessed Pray for each of the CLEAR member societies within Australia Pray for the UK and Australian interns working within the CLEAR offices and those travelling on missions trips to Africa.

Do

Raise Awareness You can make the difference to the poorest people in Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda. In our Western society it’s hard to imagine what life would be like if our government wasn’t accountable, where corruption was the norm and people lived in extreme poverty. It’s so important we don’t forget and make the injustice known. Start by telling others. You can arrange an event. Downloads are available on the CLEAR UK website (www.clearinternational.org) to help you make it truly memorable. Campaign We can join together and really make a change for the better. On the CLEAR UK website (www.clearinternational.org) we have made the process easier for you to write emails to the people who can make life changing decisions to better the justice system. Emails only take a few moments to write but can make the world of difference. Offer Your Expertise Different skills are needed from time to time and we are building a database of potential volunteers who can offer legal research and case preparation time and skills, book-keeping/accountancy skills for the CLEAR offices. Some work can be done from a law library in Australia but we welcome volunteers visiting our projects to understand the difficulties on the ground and to meet those with whom they will be collaborating. Arrange an event Tell your friends about us. Arrange for us to speak to your colleagues, church or club. Start by sending them a short film on the night, and ask them if they’d be interested in knowing more. Get involved in raising funds and the project’s profile by taking part in a sponsored event: Choose your own event: swim, cycle, run a marathon (or half), run a car boot sale, diet, or just throw a party and ask people to donate to your worthy cause! Arrange a Get Out of Jail lock in: Persuade your friends to be locked up over one Friday night and replicate as near as possible the conditions in an African jail. They each need to be sponsored to leave the next day! Summons and other mock court documents are available on our website.

Go

There are three principle ways of getting involved “on the ground.” By prior arrangement, you can visit the African offices of our CLEAR Partners – a great addition to a summer holiday! Our partners would be more than happy to explain their work and show you what they do. Join a mission team, which travels to East Africa in the Spring of each year. Serve as an intern with our CLEAR Partners, preferably for a minimum of 6 months (9 months for CLEAR Kenya). ‘For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25:35-40. Internships One of the practical ways in which CLEAR supports the projects in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda is by sending interns to work alongside the local staff. Usually these interns are recent law graduates who offer around six months to work with one of the projects. We are always looking for people wishing to serve in this way. It’s an ideal way to spend a gap year, or part thereof. CLEAR has also sent more senior lawyers who have taken career breaks. Generally, we would like a minimum commitment of around six months. Go to the CLEAR website clearinternational.org to watch former interns talk about their time with CLEAR in Africa or read their stories to discover more about the projects and the work you might be involved in. Please pray for the current interns as they continue to serve in this way. Mission trips Every Spring a team of Australian lawyers join with a team of UK lawyers to travel within East Africa to get a taste of what life is like legal-mission style. Typically the team will visit CLEAR offices, encouraging staff and volunteers, and perhaps, with the assistance of local lawyers, get involved in the local prisons work or human rights education in a regional community. Most importantly, such trips widen support and spread the news of what is happening. If you are interested in seeing legal mission first hand, are free in late September to mid-October, and would like to know more, please email [email protected] for further details. Please download a report from our 2011 trip here (please contact us for details on recent trips)

Give

CLEAR International raises funds to help our partners provide the service in their own countries. Our aim is to help our partners overseas to reach a point where they are self-sufficient, financially and organisationally. Social justice projects cost money, and although CLEAR offices work on shoestring budgets and rely heavily on volunteers to provide relief to the poor. But it’s YOU who make the difference as to how many people can be rescued from the unending nightmare of prison without trial, how many women are saved from domestic violence and how many children are “rescued” from the streets or avoid the streets altogether because of the education and mediation training being done in their rural communities. LEAR offices overseas receive core funding from Australia and the United Kingdom through CLEAR International’s fundraising efforts. Those offices are then able to seek project specific funding locally through Justice Law and Order Sector development aid and by working in cooperation with other NGOs locally. You may give to support the work of CLEAR on the following bases: deductible – to support the development and relief work of CLEAR’s partners in the developing world; or non-deductible – to support the work of: A) CLEAR in Australia, through sponsoring students or young lawyers missions trips or sponsoring short to immediate term interns or awareness raising; or B) the activities of CLEAR’s partners in the developing world that do not fall within the Ausaid requirements for deductible funds. CLEAR is registered as a tax concession charity with the Australian Tax Office and is a registered charity (Queensland charity CH2193). To make a donation, please click here for deductible donations, please click here for non-deductible donations, or you can send a cheque made payable to: “CLEAR Australia Public Ancillary Fund” for deductible giving; or “CLEAR International Australia Ltd”; for non-deductible giving GPO Box 649, Brisbane Qld Would you consider giving regularly to CLEAR? Only committed regular giving helps us to plan well for the future and ensure that we can continue to support our partners in this vital work for justice. The sacrificial giving of Australian lawyers can make a huge difference in the countries where our support is directed. Most of the day to day running of the existing projects are supported by lawyers with family trusts and the local efforts of the CLEAR projects through social enterprise initiatives.