Dear Friends,

I’d like to invite you to an event supporting Delphine Djiraibe, 2004 RFK Human Rights Laureate from Chad, and her new organization, Public Interest Law Center (PILC) - Chad’s first legal organization dedicated to providing affordable legal services to the Chad’s most impoverished residents.

Recently Delphine was selected as a grantee by Spark, a San Francisco-based foundation which funds projects to help change patterns of inequality facing women throughout the world. Spark is hosting the Black and Pink Ball 2008 on September 12th in San Francisco, CA and giving a portion of the event’s proceeds to support Delphine and PILC.

How Can You Help?

Join Spark on September 12th to support Delphine, and women around the world.

Black and Pink Ball
Friday, September 12th, 2008
VIP Reception from 7:00 - 9:00 pm
Main Event from 9:00 - 1:00 am
Mezzaninie
444 Jessie Street, San Francisco,
Click Here to Purchase Tickets www.sparksf.org

If you are unable to attend, you can still help Delphine and other human rights defenders by donating to the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial’s Membership program at http://www.rfkmemorial.org/membership/

More Background on the Public Interest Law Center (PILC):

With the support from the RFK Memorial Center for Human Rights, the Public Interest Law Center opened its doors to clients in May 2007. Since then Delphine has served more than 170 clients, a majority of whom are women and historically have lacked access to legal representation.

PILC addresses widespread human rights issues faced by Chadians who cannot challenge government abuse or afford to hire a lawyer to solve even basic legal problems. PILC holds regular open-house clinics to help citizens better understand their legal rights and identify what types of abuses can be litigated in court. It also provides free or low-cost legal counsel and representation to those who cannot afford to hire an attorney on their own. PILC has taken on clients addressing issues such as child support, child custody, spousal support, and land rights.

Chad’s people have an annual per capita income of $230, making it the fifth poorest nation in the world. Four-fifths of all Chadians are subsistence farmers and roughly two-thirds are illiterate. Health care and clean water are resulting in an average life expectancy of only roughly 45 years.

Please take this opportunity to stand for human rights and support Delphine’s pioneering work in Chad.

Click here for more info on the Black and Pink Ball: www.sparksf.org

Click here for more info on the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Membership Program:http://www.rfkmemorial.org/membership/

Warm Regards,

Monika Kalra Varma,
Director, Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights