By Tshenolo Masha.
On 17 November 2016, Tshenolo Masha met with the 16 Limpopo Community advice offices in Polokwane at the South African Human Rights Commission to reflect on the work of the ProBono.Org Community Advice Office Support Project during 2016.
Community advice office representatives gave feedback on the successes and challenges that the project experienced throughout the year. Many of the participants noted a change in their perception of the legal profession. For instance, Johanna Mkhabela from the Manthata Advice Office was under the impression that legal professionals were inaccessible to poor people and that they could not identify with some of their challenges, but after interacting and linking up with Mashola Attorneys the advice office felt that the legal professionals are able to apply their knowledge of the law to the client’s case and take into account the socio-economic situation of the clients. The meeting also discussed some of the training needs of the advice offices for the coming year such as labour law and mediation. This will inform the discussion that ProBono.Org will have with legal professionals in Limpopo on how they can get more involved with community legal empowerment and training for community advice office paralegals.
