Great news! I'm excited to share with you that a Mexican appeals court overruled an initial judgment in one pending case brought by the Habitat International Coalition of Mexico (HIC-AL), a UUSC civil-society partner working to implement the human right to water in Mexico. HIC-AL is working on behalf of the residents of Ampliacion Tres de Mayo, a community of 100 families who were cut off from a water network by the local municipality. For the first time, the district appeals court judge recognized violations of the human right to water and ordered the utility to give more water to the community.

The legal journey for the residents of this rural community began after more than 10 years of purchasing water for their basic needs, because the local water utility failed to provide them with services. The community got in touch with HIC-AL asking for their assistance. With UUSC support, HIC-AL presented four cases on their behalf to challenge this situation and gain a court ruling that states that the residents of Ampliacion Tres de Mayo have a right to water. Although the idea for all of the cases was the same, each case went before a different judge, per Mexican law at the time.

In the first case, the court decided that the applicant must show proof of ownership of the property where she lives before it would even consider her claims that her right to water was violated. In the case brought on behalf of Lydia Velazquez Reynosa, the judge did not analyze the human right to water and dismissed the case because Lydia is not the owner of the house where she lives. HIC-AL supported the community to appeal this decision. In the appeal, HIC-AL explained that the right to water is not linked to property ownership and bolstered their arguments for adequate water services beyond four hours per week, asking the appeal judge to analyze the violations of the human right to water.

As a result of the pressure from the cases  and to counteract the efforts of HIC-AL and the community in pursuing their right to water, the authority installed a water line and began providing water to the community twice per week, about four hours total. And a few days ago, we received the great news from Maria Silvia, HIC-AL's legal officer, that the appeal tribunal has ruled in their favor and accepted their argument! The court has decided to rule on the merits of the case and analyze the violations of the human right to water.

Looking back on their journey, Maria told us shortly after the judgment was announced: "Thanks to the line, we gave water to these women and their families; now more than 100 families have water. But it is not enough to put the line and provide water four hours per week. Certainly four hours per week is a violation of their human right to water."  

Maria can testify that recognizing the human right to water and realizing it are two different things. She said, "To have a real change we need a lot, more than a law. You cannot only change things because you have a better constitution — everyone has to apply pressure, including NGOs and local community groups." This victory comes as we are reflecting on Earth Day and reminds us that human rights and positive social change do not occur overnight!

Two months ago, I traveled to Haiti assisting UUSC Haiti Emergency Response Manager Wendy Flick and also serving as a photographer, capturing photos and video of our partners and their work. I met most of UUSC's partners and visited many of our on-the-ground projects. In addition to the many kisses and warm hugs exchanged in greeting, it is the strength, pride, and resilience of the people I met that I cherish the most. It's amazing how motivated I became when surrounded by such great energy, work ethic, hope, and resilience. They are truly some of the most amazing people I have ever met, and I'm certain their hard work will benefit their communities and country beyond their lifetime.

My experience enabled me to see firsthand the importance of the way in which UUSC works — using the eye-to-eye partnership model — and what this means to our partners and their work. In addition, I was reminded of the significance of lifting Haitian voices, especially as we commemorate the two-year anniversary of the earthquake that devastated Haiti on January 12, 2010.

I learned about the need for increased education and awareness around issues such as gender-based violence and child slavery. Guerda Lexius of Limye Lavi (Light of Life) in Haiti shared, "Recently Limye Lavi has decided that gender-based violence and child slavery issues are so closely tied together that when you bring up one you must also address the other. The issues are very closely tied together, along with education."

I participated in brainstorming solutions for income generation, and we encouraged our partners to network with one another around finding solutions to common issues. On several occasions our partners spoke about the importance of the way UUSC is working in Haiti.

They expressed their appreciation and recognized UUSC's uniqueness in working in a way that supports them to become independent from aid. Coleen Hedglin of Beyond Borders told us, "Haiti needs this desperately! Bring hope to Haiti through solidarity and partnership, not oppression and dependency."

UUSC works through eye-to-eye partnerships, building relationships of empowerment rather than relationships of dependency. It was fascinating and powerful hearing from our partners that they joined hands with UUSC because they recognize and appreciate our intent to provide aid from a place of solidarity.

Our partners' experiences and testimony highlight the importance of UUSC continuing to work for a just recovery by providing aid with dignity to our partners on the ground. It is equally as important for those of us who are not on the ground to find ways to be in solidarity. Join UUSC for an on-the-ground report via a webinar from Haiti and learn more about what you can do to support the recovery effort at home in the United States.

Within the last week, I have learned about several new efforts to help change the situation in Darfur.

My favorite celebrity entertainment show, “Extra,” highlighted George Clooney’s efforts to help save the people of Darfur, but more importantly they commended him on his efforts to spread the word throughout Hollywood. He is doing great work to promote the issue and to educate everyone he can about the situation and how we can change it. Some high-profile stars who are openly supporting George’s efforts are Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Maria Bello, and Don Cheadle -- who has also been very active. "Extra" has a blog about the issue along with a short video of George and friends.

DesignersForDarfur, a charity fashion show, is another effort happening on the celebrity scene to raise awareness and funds on behalf of the Save Darfur Coalition. Learn more about this new and exciting event.

I also caught a special Fox 25 report on divestment of Fidelity. It was a very informative piece that I think really caught people’s attention. STAND (Students Taking Action Now Darfur) has a blog running on the Fox 25 website about the piece.

Last, but certainly not least, I received an e-mail from the Fidelity Out of Sudan campaign that I thought was pretty interesting. Join or learn more about this campaign.

A steady stream of action and advocacy is exactly what we need. The Drumbeat for Darfur Campaign couldn’t have launched at a better time for me. After attending the huge Save Darfur rally in April 2006, I was sure that we finally made enough noise for all of America to hear. I was sure we signed and sent enough electronic and paper postcards to fill the White House. I was sure that there would be an immediate response from the Bush administration and Congress, and that action would be taken to finally put an end to this horrible genocide happening in Darfur.

Unfortunately, we had not made as much noise as I thought and the postcards failed to fill the minds in the White House with the thoughts and concerns of the people in America. So with all the effort and planning that went into these huge events, did anything really change for the people in Darfur? With all the mail that got delivered to the White House, was any of it even opened? What were we missing? What did we do wrong? These are the thoughts and questions that filled my head before the sound of the drumbeat. Before the sound of the drumbeat there was only silence – a dead silence.

Finally, the silence has ended as the drumbeat has begun! This is a very exciting time for me because it gives me new hope that we can help save the people of Darfur. All of the questions that flooded my mind for the last four months have been answered by the sound of that drumbeat. From here on out, I will march to the sound of the drumbeat as I try to do everything that I can think of to spread the word and get -- but most importantly keep -- people involved until this genocide is a part of history that will never happen again on our watch.

After watching the “Water for Life” documentary featuring rap artist Jay-Z, I felt great knowing that the hip-hop community may really become another avenue for educating the public on the issue of the right to water.

Jay-Z is one of the most influential artists in the world and by him making the focus of his first world tour “Water for Life," I think he took the awareness to a whole new group of people who may have never learned of the issue otherwise. Because his fan base is so diverse and international, I really believe he is making a huge difference by capturing the much needed attention of the youth worldwide.

I have great confidence in Jay-Z’s ability to inspire, motivate, encourage, and support real issues that affect real people. I believe that he will continue to raise awareness by using the many avenues in which he has created for himself which includes entertainment, clothing, and merchandise.

I expect to see more from Jay-Z in the near future as I believe that this is just the beginning for him. I really hope that people in the United States and around the world embrace his efforts as they would any community leader, politician, or president. I urge people to support the efforts of Jay-Z as well as any human being who is fighting for this much-needed change.

Find more information on what Jay-Z is doing. These pages list ways for the public to get involved and support this important and powerful movement. Bookmark these pages and check them at least once a week to keep up with what’s going and now and what will be happening in the future.

The Save Darfur Rally in Washington was just the beginning for me! I gained so much information and important resources that I began planning my next steps even before I was back at work in our Cambridge office.

I have never seen anything like the Save Darfur Rally. So many powerful speakers, different religious groups and interesting people attended the Rally. I was extremely proud of the youth turnout because they had a really strong presence that has been absent at similar events.

In the beginning I felt enraged over the situation in Darfur. I had no idea how I could get involved to make a difference and for a while I believed that I couldn’t make a difference. I tried to understand how something like this could happen and all I could come up with is that people must not know about it.

I immediately got involved in the Million Voices for Darfur postcard campaign through UUSC. I took about 100 postcards and gave them to three people who I knew in my community. I got an amazing response mainly from a store owner and family friend, Raking Williams. Less than 24 hours after I dropped the postcards off, he was calling me to say he needed more.

So I continued with the postcards, supplying Raking, friends and family and getting amazing results. One day I received a call from my Aunt Imani and she asked me what she could do to help the people of Darfur. I told her about the postcards and she immediately suggested fund-raising and making the community aware of the genocide.

The weekend in Washington provided me with a great vision. After spending time with the Darfurian speakers provided by UUSC and asking them questions and hearing their ideas, I was motivated and ready to do whatever it takes to stop the genocide in Darfur. I have a vision. I’m going to sweep my community by storm pushing this issue as if my life depends on it, because the lives of the people of Darfur depend on it.

And then I will take it beyond my community with the help of student activists in neighboring communities that I met over the weekend. This is just the beginning for me!

The Call for Justice Weekend was the most intense hands-on learning experience I have had in a long time. It was a weekend filled with enlightenment, truth, courage, and positivity -- all strong things that I rarely get to witness together. I was extremely proud that weekend! Proud to be present, to be a part, and most of all proud to be impacted by something so great and moving that I would have never even known about if it wasn’t for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

I saw a lot of different people and heard a lot of different conversations and testimonies. Even though the people and sometimes the languages were different, the cause stayed the same and the unity never left.

I have noticed more recently that a lot of issues presented in general are delivered in black and white, and so I have never been able to find clarity or partial understanding on most issues because I believe there is more to it than black and white. The Call for Justice Weekend really assured me that I was not being stubborn all those years and that there is more to an issue than two sides. There are many sides and many issues, but in the end they affect one group -– human beings -- and we are all the same. So to see people come together was just very inspiring to me and will be with me for the rest of my life. That sight gave me hope that people can feel compassion for each other in these difficult times, despite their titles or personal agendas, net worth, or background. They can still unite and elevate over all of the things that are least important and fight for the things that are right and for all!

To see such diverse panels of speakers and to hear different experiences that all tied under one roof convinced me of one love that I have heard about in songs and seen portrayed in art; but to actually see it and, most of all, feel it, was just unreal. I wish I could feel like that at least once a day or once a week -- it was great!