Survivor-led Approach - Lamp Lifeboat Ladder

In December 2021, one of our most committed supporters and donors, Dean Dakolias, kindly offered to match up to $100,000 in donations to Lamp Lifeboat Ladder from Reed Smith lawyers by the end of the year.  We’re thrilled to announce that in just 16 days a group of incredibly generous lawyers at Reed Smith donated over $150,000, taking our total raised to $250,000 including Dea ...

During conflict and instability, women are often victims of torture and other horrific forms of harm. They remain vulnerable to abuse in flight, in camps, and in urban refugee settings. They are often afraid to report sexual violence because of shame or fear of being ostracized by their families, which leaves them at even greater risk. Almost 1 in 3 women globally have been abu ...

Our unique survivor-led refugee resettlement project, Lamp Lifeboat Ladder and primary implementing partner, Reed Smith LLP, have been short-listed by American Lawyer Media’s Legalweek 2022 Leaders in Tech Law Awards 2022.  We have been nominated in the ‘Innovations in Pro Bono’ category! In September 2019, the government of Canada signed Public Policies authorizing resettlemen ...

Tomorrow, 18 December, is International Migrants Day, a day designed to encourage us to think about the challenges and difficulties of international migration. This year’s theme – It Takes a Community – seeks to remind us of our interdependence, our common humanity and the special and unique contributions we make to our shared communities. Whilst I think that term ‘migrant’ is ...

Our international project director and creative inspiration Jayne Fleming describes Lamp Lifeboat Ladder and why it is such a unique and special initiative in this video. The name ‘Lamp Lifeboat Ladder’ comes from a Rumi poem, ‘Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder. Help someone’s soul heal. Walk out of your house like a shepherd.’ The name was chosen by survivors of torture an ...

The vision of giving survivors of torture a chance to heal and start a new life is coming to fruition in 2021, though a resettlement program led by Reed Smith lawyers. Seven families (28 individuals) have already arrived in Toronto and Alberta, Canada, with their families for resettlement through Lamp Lifeboat Ladder. The families are from Syria, Iran and the Democratic Republi ...

Help us reach our fundraising target of $100,000 CAD for our survivor-led refugee resettlement initiative for survivors of sexual violence and torture. Visit the CanadaHelps.org website and please consider donating to Lamp Lifeboat Ladder! Through an agreement with the Canadian Government, we are working to resettle 90 survivors and their families currently living in Jordan and ...

I thought this article by Heaven Crawley, professor at the Centre for Trust Peace and Social Relations at Coventry University, was very interesting as it highlights how many academics, policy makers and others working in the refugee sector propose solutions to that work in the interests of the global north, and that these ‘solutions’ often perpetuate ‘out of sight out of mind’ ...

Looking back on 2020, we reflect on the devastating impact COVID-19 has had on people around the world, particularly on refugees and survivors of torture and sexual violence. It has also shown us their enormous strength and resilience. Throughout the pandemic, our initiative Lamp Lifeboat Ladder has continued to accompany refugee survivors of sexual and gender-based violence on ...