W HO WE ARE SERV I N G A N D W HY External paralegals vs. community-based paralegals C AS E ST U DY In northern Kenya, unlike the rest of the country, government offices only provide nationality documentation during certain seasons. In addition, government offices are not accessible to many people. Many young people miss educational and travel opportunities while waiting for application periods to come around. Application forms are free from government offices, but shops (which may be more accessible) sell them for money. Northern Kenya is home to the world’s largest refugee camp: Dadaab. Refugees in camps in the area are also at risk of documentation problems. In 2016, paralegals from Haki na Sheria, an organization based in the Kenyan Somali community, helped 500 households whose members were doubleregistered as both Somali refugees and Kenyan nationals to safely clarify their legal status during a governmental amnesty. Most projects surveyed for this guide use community-based paralegals. This may involve equipping people from affected communities to act as paralegals. It is also possible to combine community members and external actors in the same team. If training community members as paralegals is not right for your project, social / healthcare workers, teachers, civil society organization (CSO) staff, protection committees, community leaders, detention center workers, and local government bodies (e.g. National Human Rights Institution representatives) could potentially play a paralegal role. Hiring community-based interpreters or assistants to work with staff recruited from outside the community can have some of the same effects in terms of building trust in the affected communities. When deciding which approach or approaches to adopt, consider factors like resources, performance, accountability, existing community-based structures, and local NGO or legal aid laws. Many projects have paid staff paralegals while also engaging volunteers for certain activities—such as pro bono legal support with complex cases, or outreach volunteers to widen paralegals’ coverage.  The university clinic model is discussed further under 7.1 Identifying and Recruiting Staff and/or Volunteers. “COMMUNITY-BASED PARALEGALS ARE QUICKER WHEN IT COMES TO HELPING CLIENTS COLLATE THE DOCUMENTS THAT THEY NEED TO APPLY FOR NATIONALITY. COMMUNITY MEMBERS ARE MORE TRUSTING OF COMMUNITY-BASED PARALEGALS, AS THEY ARE MORE CONVINCED ABOUT THEIR LEVEL OF INTEGRITY AND COMMITMENT.” MAALINI RAMALO PROJECT COORDINATOR, DHRRA MALAYSIA 30 | A C O M M U N I T Y- B A S E D P R A C T I T I O N E R ’ S G U I D E : D O C U M E N T I N G C I T I Z E N S H I P A N D OT H E R F O R M S O F L E G A L I D E N T I T Y