Bringing the law alive

Legal literacy volunteers in the Volta Region of Ghana receive their certificates for completing training in alternative dispute resolution ... (Alayna Kolodziechuk Photo)

... And then it's time to celebrate. (Alayna Kolodziechuk Photo)

How did you spend your summer vacation? Alayna Kolodziechuk decided to do something a little bit different.

The Dalhousie law student is wrapping up a three-month internship in Ghana with Women in Law and Development, Africa (WiLDAF), working on issues related to access to justice and increased female participation in democracy.

Ms. Kolodziechuk's internship involved training legal literacy volunteers, working on screening clients for WiLDAF’s legal aid program, making information about property and family law more accessible to the community, and reporting on WiLDAF's community activities. It allowed her to get an up close and personal perspective on another country's legal system -- something she says made for a steep learning curve.

"I have learned so much -- legally, socially, politically --I don't even think I realize how much I've learned yet. The development officers are great teachers, as are the communities our projects target."

Ms. Kolodziechuk has been involved with non-profit organizations in Canada for many years, and has a particular interest in human rights work. She was hoping to find some kind of way to combine her law school experience with development work, and found such an opportunity through WiDALF.

"I've become more and more passionate about the law and its capacity to affect changes in communities despite its limitations,” she says. “It has been really great to think about the law creatively and understand the unique and shared difficulties legal professionals face in Ghana."

From Ontario, Alayna Kolodziechuk is going into her second year of law at the Schulich School of Law.

She recommends students try their hand at development work in Canada prior to taking on an international experience. "There are so many opportunities in Canada to learn from and contribute to without hopping on a plane. I think having previous experience in Canada makes an intern a better resource to the host organization."

That said, however, she admits that nothing can truly prepare an intern for a cross-cultural experience -- and not just in terms of adjusting to the lifestyle. "Letting go of my biases about what's right -- legally and socially -- is always a challenge. Furthermore, it's not easy to know which things you should be flexible about and which you shouldn't when topics come up such as prostitution, polygamy, etc. I think of it as the politics of conversation -- what you can say, what you can't, and how you say it."

Now that the internship has wrapped up, Ms. Kolodziechuk will return to Canada with a whole new set of tools to put to work for her future law career. “The chance to live and work in another country is so invaluable. It forces you to grow as a person, to look at issues from a different perspective, to challenge your understanding of the world.”

“This experience has really made what I learned in first-year law come alive,” she adds.