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A Voice For the Voiceless

The Advocacy Project (AP) recruits students to help marginalized communities tell their story and claim their rights.

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Juliet Hutchings and the World Peasants and Indigenous Organization (WPIO)

Juliet Hutchings joins The Advocacy Project as a Peace Fellow for the World Peasants and Indigenous Organization (WPIO) based in Kampala, Uganda. Working with WPIO Director, Freddy Wangabo, in a small office housed by Amnesty International, Juliet will help to spread the word about the current plight of the indigenous tribes of Central Africa.

Slavery, unfortunately, is a common occurrence in Central Africa, especially with the Pygmy population. Freddy and his small staff have been tirelessly working toward equality for tribal peoples of Africa, infiltrating various ethnic groups by persuading powerful friends of numerous slave-owners to then influence said slave-owners to see the error of their ways—and it is working.  Freddy and WPIO are currently creating tangible, legal ways for Pygmies to access health care, voting rights and dignity. Juliet will join Freddy and the WPIO as a filmmaker, a web consultant and a partner in spreading the message of peace.  

Juliet is currently in her final year of her MFA program in film & electronic media at American University in Washington, DC. Having always loved to tell stories, and having a strong sense of empathy and diplomacy, Juliet finds that she and WPIO make a perfect fit. Juliet’s passion for telling stories through film and video previously brought her to Ethiopia with Veronica’s Story, where she documented how the international community is working to eradicate the AIDS virus and help orphans find safe, healthy homes. She also worked on an historical film about a child’s perception of the Communist regime in 1950s Central Europe, in Prague, Czech Republic. Locally, Juliet created a short film about the nonprofit organization HIPS, Helping Individual Prostitutes Survive.

During her tenure as an undergraduate at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, Juliet worked on various documentary projects including a film uncovering abuse in the American prison system, a historical documentary about the advent of modern healthcare in the US and a series for PBS to help immigrants learn English.  

As Carl Sagan once said, “Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.”  With that philosophy in mind, Juliet heads to Uganda with hope, excitement and a readiness to learn, grow and educate.

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