PoC is excited to announce two upcoming events:
- The annual re-qualification bursary awards event at 6pm on 17th November
This year, due to Covid-19 restrictions, our annual bursaries event will be held via a webinar. As always, we will be celebrating the bravery and hard work of the human rights defenders whom we support via our bursaries. We will also be taking the opportunity to thank our generous supporters, without whom this work would not be possible.
“My life and profile have changed significantly thanks to your belief in me and the opportunity and support you gave me. If it were not for your organisation, I would not be who I am today because I was able to undertake studies without worrying about fees. I am a mother of three boys. Life would have been incredibly tough without your support. Your support enabled me to focus on studies and to forget about my having been banished from Zimbabwe. This organisation gave me a new life and I will forever be grateful.”
Victoria, political activist in Zimbabwe and former PoC bursary grantee
Our bursary scheme offers grants to prisoners of conscience to help them pay for post-graduate education and re-qualification, which in turn enables them to secure employment commensurate with their skills and experience. This scheme is complemented by our Employability Panel of specialist organisations which helps individuals to access meaningful employment opportunities.
Click here to register for our event.
More information about the event will be available on our website and social media in the coming days.
- The Christmas Big Give which runs from 1st to 8th December 2020
Prisoners of Conscience teams up with the Big Give Christmas Challenge again this year to double the impact of donations made between 1 and 8 December 2020 to our Wings of Hope Campaign. Your support would enable us to achieve our online donations target of £20,000 and continue serving the needs of prisoners of conscience.
All around the world many people are dealing with human rights violations. To make a stand against human rights abuses is dangerous. Human rights defenders can find themselves out of work, prevented from accessing vital services, imprisoned or forced into exile. They can face sexual and physical violence, torture and even death at the hands of their oppressors.
Prisoners of Conscience provides financial assistance to people who have been persecuted to help keep them alive and safe. We pay for accommodation, medical and legal bills, food, clothing, travel, university fees and more. The people we support tell us this makes a big difference to their lives. Not only does it mean they can survive physically but it also gives them hope. Hope that their actions haven’t been in vain. Hope that other people also care about human rights – and care about them.
“It’s never easy to start your life from scratch in a new country. The organisations like PoC are acting as a life-line for people like us helping them building their lives again.”
W, architect and religious minority member in Pakistan
More information about our Wings of Hope Campaign will be available on our website and social media in the coming weeks.
If you would like to support our work, you can do so here. Thank you.
