Help me raise money for lawyers?! By December 10th?!

Friends, I am fundraising on behalf of one of my dearest friends, Karen Tse, the founder of International Bridges to Justice (www.ibj.org). IBJ works to improve legal systems in developing countries, by working with judges, prosecutors, police -- and most importantly, defense lawyers. Although political repression makes the headlines, 99% of the cases where people are illegally detained or tortured is simply due to the lack of a functioning judiciary. Supporting the local legal community is one of the easiest and most effective ways to prevent torture -- which in many countries is simply done by police as a cheap and easy way to investigate crimes or gather "evidence," via a "confession." Karen is both a lawyer and a reverend, and started IBJ a decade ago after working in Cambodia as part of a UN project to improve the legal system. There, she met a 12-year-old boy accused of stealing a bicycle. He had been arrested, denied counsel, tortured by the police, abused in prison, and left to languish -- he didn't even have a trial date. Something as simple as a defense lawyer, basic rules of evidence and an arraignment hearing could save him and countless others. That's what IBJ does, by working on the ground with all parts of the legal community, not shouting about the problems. Every day, Karen leads IBJ in an uphill battle against injustice. The organization has expanded to 16 countries, with permanent staff in China, Cambodia, Rwanda, Burundi, Zimbabwe and India. I have seen the good things that IBJ is doing in Asia and Africa as a board member, and can attest that every dollar of every donation is well spent. So please give as much as you can. Fostering basic legal rights protects ordinary people and promotes stable societies. But it takes people like Karen -- supported by people like us -- to make it happen. ……………………………………………………………………………………………… During this campaign, your donations will be matched by up to $125,000 through the generous funding of a private donor. My goal is to raise $3,000 between now and December 10, 2009 -- Human Rights Day. Thank you for your interest and generosity. If you would like to know more about my work for IBJ, or how you can get involved too, please contact me at cukier@ibj.org