Gauteng
By Margaret Fish, Grants and Communications manager
Six CAOs from Gauteng, including Kagiso, Kempton Park/Tembisa, Orange Farm, Alberton, Mabopane and Dobsonville, attended a joint meeting on 28 March as part of the CAO Support Project.
They were introduced to Ahmed Mayet, who will coordinate the project going forward. Ahmed has extensive experience with the CAO sector, having spent many years at the Foundation for Human Rights.
Shafie Ameermia announced that the Minister of Justice has confirmed she received a letter from the Deputy Chief Justice requesting support for the CAO sector, and she will be convening a meeting of CAOs later this year.
He also shared that the CAOs will receive further training on the digital case management system developed for ProBono.Org. This will help them to record their cases and improve the efficiency of their operations.
The CAOs and the national paralegal movement play an important role in access to justice. CAOs were invited to make some suggestions as to how they would like to contribute to the marking of ProBono.Org’s 20th anniversary later this year.
Bricks Moholo from the Orange Farm Human Rights Advice Centre proposed that the Gauteng CAOs collaborate to resolve some of the common challenges in their communities, such as family house and electricity issues.
KwaZulu-Natal
By Pearl Khumalo, Acting Regional Manager
ProBono.Org Durban, in collaboration with Deneys, engaged with community advice officers from Clermont, Inchanga, Ntuzuma, and Inanda. The community advice officers shared insights into the impactful work they are undertaking within their respective communities.
The discussion focused on opportunities to expand pro bono legal services into these communities through strategic collaboration and partnership. The National Director, Shafie Ameermia, also shared information about the upcoming PILnet Global Conference scheduled for November 2026, highlighting it as an exciting opportunity for African issues to be placed at the forefront of the global access to justice dialogue.
The session concluded with an introduction to our digital case management system, developed in partnership with the Empire Partner Foundation.
