rights now: winter/spring 2013

7/29/2019 Rights Now: Winter/Spring 2013

1/24

R

estaurants are a part o daily lie

or many Americans: more than

hal go out to eat at least once a week;most people know someone who hasworked in a restaurant; and many have

worked in one themselves. But a great

number dont realize the injustices

that restaurant workers endure day in

and day out. UUSC and the Restaurant

Opportunities Centers United (ROC-

United) are committed to shedding

light on unair working conditions andtransorming the industry. Te planto achieve that includes empowering

customers to choose compassionate

consumption and change the national

conversation about workers rights.

Opening the Doors to Americas KitchensConsumers power to transform the restaurant industry

By Ariel Jacobson

Rights NowThe newsletter of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee

Winter/Spring 2013

uusc.org

Continued on page 6

ROC-United members take part in a Darden shareholder action. Photo courtesy o ROC-United.
http://www.uusc.org/http://www.uusc.org/


2/24

Winter/Spring 2013

Editor

Jessica L. Atcheson

Design and Production

Reid Haithcock

UUSC bargaining unit employees

are represented by Human

Rights Workers Local 2661,

UNITE HERE!

We Welcome Letters

Rights Nowis grateful to readers

for their interest and support.

We invite you to share your

questions and comments by

submitting a letter to the editor:

[email protected]

Rights NowEditor, UUSC

689 Massachusetts Avenue

Cambridge, MA 02139

UUSC is supported by individual

members, Unitarian Universalist

congregations, and foundations

that share our commitment to

building a more just world.

2013 All Rights Reserved

Get Rights NowonlineWould you prefer to receive

Rights Nowby e-mail instead of

in your mailbox? Sign up today

by sending an e-mail to

[email protected].

[email protected]/fax

The Unitarian Universalist

Service Committee advances

human rights and social justice

around the world, partneringwith those who confront unjust

power structures and mobilizing

to challenge oppressive policies.

Rights Now

CoverOpening the Doors to AmericasKitchens

Page 2

Youth at the Crossroads o Faithand Justice

Page 5Preparing Youth or Peace in Kenya

Page 10Surviving and Thriving

Successul models or sustainablerecovery in Haiti

Page 13More Than Money

Page 14In Their Own Words: Sae DrinkingWater Is a Basic Human Right

Page 17A Deliberate Act

Page 18UUSCs Not-So-Hidden Treasure

The National Volunteer Network

Page 20Coming to the Streets o EgyptTransitional justice or the people

Rights Now

In this edition of
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.uusc.org/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.uusc.org/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


3/24

We have recently been through an electionin this country in which young votersplayed an important role in the victories o

progressive candidates, the growth in women

oceholders, and the changes in norms

indicated by increased support or marriageequality. As is true almost everywhere, youth are

signaling the shape o our uture society.

I teach a course in human rights every

January at New York University. I love doingthat not only because it provides me contact

with some o the brightest young people o the

new generation but also because it reminds me that all things are possible. My

students are not jaded or cynical; most o them are ounts o innovative ideas

and unstaunched ambition. Tey are not araid o testing crazy theories orchallenging common assumptions.

Tats why youth are so oten the drivers o social change around the

world, and since UUSC is bent on nding the most innovative, entrepreneurial

approaches to the worlds problems, its also why we so oten end up workingwith youth in Haiti, Egypt, Kenya, and elsewhere. Tis issue oRights Now

ocuses in part on just that kind o work.Nor do we orget that our own Unitarian Universalist youth can provide

unlimited enthusiasm or social justice. Te UU College o Social Justice,

proled here, is UUSC and the UUAs vehicle or tapping into that energy.Young people are making a new world. UUSC is committed to seeing that it is

a just world. Te combination is exceptional!

Bill Schulz

1

A message from UUSCs president


4/24

2

Youth at the Crossroads of Faith and JusticeBy Sam Jones

he Unitarian Universalist College

o Social Justice (UUCSJ) embarkson its second Summer o Justice

this year, with a particular emphasis

on youth engagement. UUCSJ,

a collaboration o the Unitarian

Universalist Association and UUSC,sits at the intersection o UU aith and

UU justice work a crucial place or

youth involvement.Following a partnership model

pioneered by UUSCs programs,UUCSJ has developed an array o

programs built around rsthand

experience and learning with partner

organizations working around theglobe. Incorporating UU theology

and history into our programs brings

an awareness that we dont beginrom scratch in this work, said

Rev. Kathleen Mcigue, UUCSJs

director. Grounding our programs

in contemplative practices such

as group reection and worship, andindividual prayer or meditation

helps to create a wider, more holistic

understanding or our participants.UUCSJ has specially tailored several

programs to deliver that experience toyouth and young adults.

Ater a powerul rst year, the

Youth Justice raining returns this

July, bringing high-school studentsrom across the country together to

Attendees o the 2012 Youth Justice raining in Boston, Mass.


5/24

3

explore justice issues in the context

o their UU aith. Last summer, 10young people gathered in Boston,

Mass., or a week o intensive training

and service. Working with Boston-

based social justice organizations, theyouth studied tactics or social changethrough a lens o economic injustice.

Delving into the call to justice work as

part o their aith was an integral part

o the week, as was examining how to

bring home the skills and knowledgethey gained.

Richelle Perry, a youth participantin the 2012 training, wrote, It was a

great experience, and I think everyone

got really excited about the prospectsor social justice work in our churches

and communities. Im already seeing

the changes my week at the justicesummit can make in my community.

Tis years Youth Justice raining will

be expanded to accommodate 30 high-

school students and will take place inJuly 2013.For college-aged students and

other young adults, UUCSJ will

sponsor internships this summer

with overseas partner organizations.

Last summer UUCSJ launched theinaugural Global Justice Internships

or young adults ages 1934. wointerns were placed with the Papaye

Peasant Movement (MPP), a UUSC

partner and Haitian armerscollaborative, which has worked

The next generation o activists is embarking on a new journey

o spiritual discovery and social justice. Mark the occasion with a

token that symbolizes a strong connection to their congregation

and UU heritage.

Visit shop.uusc.org today to order UUSCs aming-chalice jewelry

and charms.

Gifts for Coming-of-Age Youth
http://shop.uusc.org/http://shop.uusc.org/


6/24

4

Beyond YouthUUCSJ oers a number o experiences or adults, too! Take part in hands-onjustice work through one o the ollowing programs:

Haiti Just RecoveryWork alongside members o Haitis Papaye Peasant Movement (MPP) as

they construct the next phase o the eco-village, an innovative model or a

sustainable rural community (fnd out more on page 10).

UU Holdeen India Program:Justice for Rural IndiaHelp grassroots UUA partners document their eorts organizing or land

rights while you learn frsthand how they are changing the complex web o

power and privilege.

New Orleans Community Building:Turning the TidesExplore a holistic and equitable recovery rom Hurricane Katrina with the

Center or Ethical Living and Social Justice Renewal, a community-based

organization that UUSC helped establish ollowing the hurricane.

To check out dates, learn more, and register, visit uucsj.org today.

or over 40 years on community

organizing and sustainable agriculturein rural Haiti.

Te UUCSJ interns spent two

months living at MPPs training

compound, immersed in thecommunity there. One, EmmaElbaum, taught English to many o

the workers and children who lived

in the area. Te other, Evan Carter,

used his video production skills on

MPPs behal, helping create media tocelebrate MPPs ortieth anniversary

and spread its message ar beyondHaiti (watch a video he made at

uusc.org/mppmedia). Both ound

the internship to be an extraordinary

learning experience, and MPP is

eager to welcome new interns in thesummer o 2013.

For more inormation about the

2013 Youth Justice raining, service-learning opportunities, and young adultinternships, please visit uucsj.orgor

contact UUCSJ at [email protected] 617-

301-4326.

Sam Jones is UUCSJs associate ormarketing and enrollment.
http://uucsj.org/http://www.uusc.org/mppmediahttp://uucsj.org/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://uucsj.org/http://www.uusc.org/mppmediahttp://uucsj.org/


7/24

5

As Kenyas April 2013 presidentialelections approach, peopleare reporting rising tensions and

increased momentum or violence.In 2007 presidential elections there

sparked a wave o violence that killed

1,000 people and displaced 600,000

more. But there is hope that this yearwill be diferent. In Kenyas WesternProvince, the Kakamega Grassroots

Initiative (KGI), a UUSC partner, is

training youth to become catalysts or

peace.

Te youth are eager to learn whatthey can do to build peace beore the

elections, said Rev. Polycap Keta,head o KGI. Tis development is

meaningul given that youth were

oten at the oreront o the 2007violence and has been ostered by

KGIs work with displaced people since

2008.

KGI identied 40 multiethnic

youth leaders to participate in anintensive course in peace-building

skills in November 2012. Keta

reported on the trainings success: the

youth enthusiastically committed to

spreading the message o peace andunity among their amily and peers in

the bus, in the grinding mill, in their

amilies, wherever they go.

Moving orward, the youth willadvocate against interethnic violence,inuence their peers, and share their

skills. Tey plan to gather periodically

or joint reection and hone their

eforts by discussing their work with

each other. So that youth have a stakein peace, KGI gives them a small

business loan to start work. Teyliterally become peacemakers in the

marketplace, the very site o much

o the 2007 violence. Tey are beinggiven a chance in order to give peace a

chance.

Martha Tompson is manager o UUSCs

Rights in Humanitarian Crises Program.

Preparing Youth for Peace in KenyaBy Martha Tompson

wo youths who have pooled their unds to

start a clothing business in a Kakamega market.


8/24

6 continued on page 8

As the restaurant industry grows

more than 10 million workers

and record sales o $632 billionin 2012 peoples attention to

how ood choices afect health, the

environment, and local economies

has grown (think ethical eating,

organic and local ood, and more).Yet how workers are treated, in

restaurants and throughout the

ood supply chain, has largely

been omitted rom this increasedconsciousness. A true concept o

sustainability must also encompass

the human rights o all the people

who work to bring us our ood.

Challenges in the restaurant industry

ROC-United, a UUSC partner thathas more than 10,000 members

in 19 cities, has been striving to

redene the industry or years.

Teyve successully organized and

trained thousands o restaurant

workers, opened two worker-owned

cooperative restaurants, and engagedabout 100 restaurant employers

in choosing the high road to

protability with air labor practices.

Signicant systemic problems

remain, however.ROC-United has documented

extensive poverty, wage thet, health

and saety hazards, discrimination,

sexual harassment, and lack obasic benets in the industry. Tey

ound that more than 87 percent

o restaurant workers lack paid sick

days and two-thirds o all restaurant

workers reported cooking and servingood while sick. Te ederal minimum

wage or tipped workers remains

at $2.13 per hour, the same it was

20 years ago. And although the law

requires employers to make up the

diference between that and the

Opening the Doors to Americas KitchensContinued from front cover

ROC-United workers rom around the community visit

the historic Haymarket memorial in Chicago. Photo by Ariel Jacobson


9/24

7

Hal o all Americans eat out at least once a week. Te restaurant hasbecome our second kitchen. In her groundbreaking new book, Saru

Jayaraman exposes a missing plotline in the story o our ood: thestory o whos behind the kitchen door, how theyre treated, and why itmatters. Hers is a captivating, rousing story. I you care about where yourood comes rom, this book is or you. Read this book, get inspired, and

join the ght or air ood behind the kitchen door.

Anna Lapp, ounder o the Real Food Media Project and bestselling

author oDiet or a Hot Planet

Take Action for Restaurant Workers

WatchBehind the Kitchen Doorvideo trailers at uusc.org/bkd.

Change the conversation by makingBehind the Kitchen Doora

bestseller; buy the book at uusc.org/bkdorder.

Be part o a UUSC Get-ogether with author Saru Jayaraman

on February 24 register at uusc.org/gettogether or checkout the archive later.

Download a diners action kit at uusc.org/ccc/restaurants.

Apply or a microgrant to spread the word (see page 9).
http://www.uusc.org/bkdhttp://www.uusc.org/bkdorderhttp://www.uusc.org/gettogetherhttp://www.uusc.org/ccc/restaurantshttp://www.uusc.org/ccc/restaurantshttp://www.uusc.org/gettogetherhttp://www.uusc.org/bkdorderhttp://www.uusc.org/bkd


10/24

8

regular minimum wage o $7.25 per

hour i tips ail to cover the gap, thereality is that employers seldom do.

aking consumers behind thekitchen door

What will it take to change

these conditions? Ater repeated

unsuccessul attempts to pass

air minimum-wage legislation, ithas become clear that it will take

a groundswell o public support

to advance rights or restaurantworkers. Most critical to this efort

is the active participation o theonly group more powerul than

the immensely well-resourced and

politically connected National

Restaurant Association lobby group

consumers.

Just as diners changed therestaurant industry by asking

or organic and locally sourced

options, they can shit restaurant

practices rom the bottom up byrequesting respect or workers

rights. o motivate consumers, Saru

Jayaraman, ROC-Uniteds codirector

and coounder, has writtenBehindthe Kitchen Door: What Every Diner

Should Know About the People Who

Feed Us, which is being released on

February 13 to highlight the tippedminimum wage o $2.13 (2/13/13).

Tis book provides an inside look

into the personal histories and

experiences o restaurant workers.It is the key to reaching a broadaudience and a unique opportunity

or Unitarian Universalists and other

UUSC and ROC-United supporters

to bring a discussion o restaurant

working conditions into the nationalconversation.

I you help take the lead in buying

the book and sharing the books

message,Behind the Kitchen Door

has a chance to make it onto theNew York imes bestseller list

garnering urther national attention

or restaurant workers and their

call or better conditions. Workers,employers, and consumers will

together orge a new path orward

to sustainability. Remember, the

customer is always right and its

time to tell the restaurant industrywhat customers think is right or

workers.

Ariel Jacobson is a senior associate in

UUSCs Economic Justice Program.

continued rom page 6

ROC-United coounders: Saru Jayaramanand Fekkak Mamdouh


11/24

9

At UUSC, our members are central to our theory o change. You

help us to educate and mobilize members o your community and we want to provide you with some resources to do it.

Please apply or a microgrant to help you spread the word

about respecting the rights o restaurant workers!

What is your exciting idea to support the launch o Behind

the Kitchen Doorand stand up or restaurant workers in your

community? Resources may be available to hold discussiongroups, events, and actions.

To learn more and apply or a Choose Compassionate

Consumption microgrant, please visit uusc.org/ccc/microgrant.

Proposals will be accepted on a rolling basis apply soon!

Looking or a unique git or

your loved ones or yoursel? Get

ready to fnd it in UUSCs online

auction, running March 1530.

Featured items will include one-o-

a-kind paintings rom youth artists

in Haiti, luxury vacation stays, a

service-learning trip to Haiti, and

hand-woven baskets rom a UUSCpartner in Kenya.

Mark your calendar today and visit

uusc.org/auction on March 15 to

start your bidding!

Microgrants to Create a Groundswellof Consumer Pressure

Bid for Justice!
http://www.uusc.org/ccc/microgranthttp://www.uusc.org/auctionhttp://www.uusc.org/auctionhttp://www.uusc.org/ccc/microgrant


12/24

Since Haitis 2010 earthquake, UUSChas partnered with the PapayePeasant Movement (MPP) in the

Central Plateau on pilot projects to

support survivors, create sustainable

rural livelihoods, and oster peoples

control over their own ood. Beyondinitial relie work, UUSC has made

a long-term commitment in Haiti,

redening recovery to include social

justice. As part o these eforts, UUSC

has championed two innovative

MPP models: the eco-village and tire

gardens. Tese models are bearingruit and vegetables, as the case may

be and UUSC is helping transorm

them rom testing ground into

template.

Te concept of the eco-village

Te rst MPP eco-village built withnancial and on-the-ground support

rom UUSC is home to 10 amilies

that survived the earthquake in Port-

au-Prince and ed to the countryside.

Delivrance Jean-Baptiste, her husband,

and their our children moved into a

new home there in December 2011.In addition to a roo over their heads,

they have land to arm a way to

make a sustainable living, something

thats hard to come by outside o (and

oten even in) Port-au-Prince. MPP

provides them with training in organic

arming methods. A year ater amilies

started tending the land, Chavannes

Jean-Baptiste, MPPs ounder and

leader (and no relation to Delivrance),

observed: Many o the amilies in the

eco-village had never done agriculture.

But now they do it so well and theylike it!

More than a village a vision

Chavannes would be the rst to tell

you, though, that this is about more

than one eco-village and 10 amilies

its about a vision o a prosperousand sel-reliant rural Haiti. Ater

seeing the eco-villages initial success,

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance,

the emergency and reugee program

o the Presbyterian Church U.S.A.,

began working with MPP to und an

additional our villages; villages twoand three are under way, and UUSC is

raising unds or a sixth village. Tis

adds up to a community o 60 amilies

enough to create and sustain a

school and rural clinic.

Wendy Flick, manager o UUSCs

Haiti program, will soon beginpresenting the model to the Haitian

government and various international

nongovernmental organizations

in hopes o getting it adopted and

replicated on a broader scale in Haiti.

Surviving and ThrivingSuccessful models for sustainable recovery in Haiti

By Jessica L. Atcheson

10


13/24

11

ire gardens

One o the most compelling eatures

o the eco-village is the tire gardens

personal vegetable gardens in recycled

tire planters alongside each house.

Te planters retain rainwater and are

ar more productive than traditionalgardens. Just ve tire gardens can eed

a amily o our or a year. Each amily

at the eco-village has at least 20, which

means they can sell surplus produce

peppers, spinach, carrots, and more

at the nearby market.

Flick spoke to Delivrance ater herrst tire-garden harvest. She was so

excited, Flick recalled. She had just

been to the market with her mature

peppers the week beore and had sold

$60 U.S. worth o peppers in Haitian

terms, that is a ortune. She was beside

hersel. With that income, Delivrance

can aford school ees or her children

and doctors visits. Tanks to the

things that we plant and harvest, it

helps us make it through, she says.

From the country to the cityire gardens are now being piloted in

Port-au-Prince, where UUSC is working

with a group o youth and young adults

called the Bright Educators o Delmas

(known as GEAD, its Haitian acronym).

As Guerna Salomon, a member o the

GEAD executive committee, explains,Te purpose o the project is to enable

people in Port-au-Prince to eat rom

their own gardens and to know how the

ood was cultivated.

Families at the MPP eco-village along with UUSC staf and volunteers.


14/24

12

GEAD members learned the

technique rom MPP, and months later

Salomon gestures to the ourishing tire

gardens beside her, overlooking the city

with rebar and reconstruction in view.

Here it is, what we learned, she says.

We didnt want to keep it to ourselves;

we came here, and we shared it with

everybody else. More than 48 amilies

in Port-au-Prince are now cultivating

these gardens. As neighbors see the

results, more and more people want to

join the movement.

Hope and success

Word about these models is spreading

because they work. Delivrance and

her amily have now been in their

home or more than a year. Teir tire

gardens are thriving, and they are

growing additional crops on the land

next to their homes. Tey are part o a

robust rural community, and they are

looking toward the uture. Delivrances

husband, Elanese Jerome, says it well:

Well never lose hope. As long as we

have lie, well continue to grow.

Jessica L. Atcheson is UUSCs writer and

editor.

Watch videos aboutMPPs eco-village atuusc.org/villagevideos.

Register or a service-

learning trip to Haitiwith the UU College oSocial Justice atuucsj.org/haiti.

Donate to support thesixth eco-village at

uusc.org/haiti/donate.

Learn More and Take Action
http://www.uusc.org/villagevideoshttp://uucsj.org/haitihttp://www.uusc.org/haiti/donatehttp://www.uusc.org/haiti/donatehttp://uucsj.org/haitihttp://www.uusc.org/villagevideos


15/24

13

More Than MoneyBy Maxine Neil

Alielong UU, Eleanor EbeEmmons-Apt is currently amember o the First Unitarian Churcho Pittsburgh, where she serves on the

Social Action Council and takes part

in the Interaith Impact Network. For

those and other reasons, Emmons-

Apt is a dream supporter or a human

rights organization like UUSC.

Emmons-Apt, a member o

the UUSC Board o rustees and

Stewardship Circle, believes that the

stability, saety, and joy she has been

blessed with also carry the obligation

to deend the rights o people who

are oppressed and disenranchised.

Growing up during the struggle or

desegregation o schools in Boston, she

learned this rom her mother and has

in turn passed these values down to her

own children.

She chooses to invest in UUSC

both personally and through her

amily oundation as an expression

o those values. I love that this

organization gives concrete expression

to the UU principles especially the

worth and dignity o every person; the

goal o world community with peace,

liberty, and justice or all; and respect

or the interdependent web o all

existence, Emmons-Apt says.

More than just donating, Emmons-

Apt delves deeply into UUSCs work.

She identies what she nds moststriking about it: I like the UUSCs

nimble, exible approach to human

rights work and the continual

assessment o what issues are most

important and where in the world work

can be done right now. Emmons-Apt

embodies UUSCs dream donor someone who not only gives money but

also has a deep commitment to active

participation in UUSCs mission.

Maxine Neil is UUSCs director o

institutional advancement. I you would

like to learn more about how you cansupport UUSCs work, please contact Neil

at 617-301-4313 [email protected].
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


16/24

UUSC worked with the Community Water

Center (CWC) in Visalia, Cali., to ensure

that community voices were heard during

the struggle to pass Caliornias A.B. 685,

a landmark bill afrming the human right

to water. Tanks to grassroots work by abroad coalition, that bill was signed into

law September 25, 2012. Te ollowing is

an abridged interview rom October 2012

with Maria Herrera, CWCs community

advocacy director; to read the ull

interview online, visit

uusc.org/mariainterview.

Many people arent aware that

access to clean water is an issue in

the United States. ell us what some

California communities face.

In the Central Valley here in

Caliornia, and all over the state,

many communities dont have accessto sae, clean, or afordable drinking

water. Oten times these are also low-

income communities o color, small

communities o a couple hundred

homes. For decades, they havent

had the luxury o sae drinking water

coming out o their taps, and they relyon old and dilapidated inrastructure.

So what does passage of A.B. 685

mean for children and families in

California?

For decades amilies have had to

live with this reality paying really

high water rates or water they cant

drink, and then having to travel to

neighboring communities to get

clean drinking water. We wanted to

insure that sae drinking water is abasic human right and make sure that

we are advancing that goal thats

specically what A.B. 685 is going to

do. It recognizes this issue, unveils the

reality that communities have been

acing, and gives clear direction to

state agencies to consider this policywhen theyre making decisions that

could impact whether people have sae

drinking water.

CWC has been working for years to

get this law passed. ell us about that

journey.

It wasnt easy, because there was a lot

o opposition rom powerul interests

who didnt want to see the status quo

in Caliornias water policy change.

We did community advocacy in

partnership with allies in the aith-

based community, like UUSC and the

UU Legislative Ministry o Caliornia

[UULMCA]; public health advocates;

and environmental organizations. We

connected community partners directly

to decision makers to show that this is

In Their Own Words: Safe Drinking Water Isa Basic Human RightAn interview with Maria Herrera of the Community Water Center

Conducted by Jessica L. Atcheson

14
http://www.uusc.org/mariainterviewhttp://www.uusc.org/mariainterview


17/24

15

a human issue that has real impacts on

Caliornia amilies.

Te stories, testimonies, and direct

communication with leaders made a

signicant diference in moving the

bill orward. September 25, when the

governor signed the bill, was a gloriousday or our communities a day o

shiting power.

How did you feel when you heard that

Governor Brown signed the bill?

I literally was speechless or a moment

beore I got out, Oh my god, we won!We won! We had struggled or years,

and this was truly groundbreaking. And

then, o course, the tears came, because

I just couldnt believe that we a

small group o people had overcome

powerul interests and had inuenced

our decision makers to the point that

they did the right thing. Tat was just a

momentous occasion that I will orever

remember.

How has it been to work with UUSC,

UULMCA, and the Safe WaterAlliance?

I eel so privileged to have worked with

amazing, dedicated, passionate people

you can see how much they care

about this issue and the respect that

they have or the community partners

who are part o this efort.And UUSC was a true partner that

helped CWC do what needed to get

done supporting our community

advocacy and our work to raise public

awareness, broaden support, and

educate decision makers. You helped

Maria Herrera


18/24

16

On September 26, 2012, GovernorBrown signed A.B. 685 therst state policy on the human right

to water in the United States into

Caliornia law. Te Community Water

Center (CWC) and the Environmental

Justice Coalition or Water, both

grassroots UUSC partners, worked or

many years to pass this meaningul

legislation, which requires state

agencies to consider the human right

to water when making decisions about

unding criteria, regulations, and

policy.

Te law reads: It is hereby declared

to be the established policy o the

state that every human being has the

right to sae, clean, afordable, and

accessible water adequate or human

consumption, cooking, and sanitary

purposes.

A.B. 685 was introduced by

State Assembly Member Mike Eng

(D-Alhambra) and cosponsored by the

Sae Water Alliance, which includes

UUSC, the UU Legislative Ministry o

Caliornia, community partners like

CWC, and allies. Te victory was made

possible in part by a visit to Caliornia

rom Catarina de Albuquerque, the

U.N. special rapporteur on the human

right to water, who evaluated and

spotlighted the poor water services in

Caliornia.

us ensure that A.B. 685 was truly a

bottom-up efort and the communities

who needed this bill were part o the

decision making.

What is next on the horizon now that

the bill is law?

Weve got to work with the state and

various agencies on implementation.

Even though the bill doesnt go into

efect until January 1, 2013, it is

already making change. I recently sat

in a meeting with the Department o

Public Health in which the director

began the meeting by reminding

us all that sae drinking water is

a huge priority o the governors

administration and that A.B. 685

recognizes that this a human right.

It really changes the dynamic o

discussion.

Read the ull interview at

uusc.org/mariainterview.


editor.

Historic Water Legislation in California
http://www.uusc.org/mariainterviewhttp://www.uusc.org/mariainterview


19/24

17

A Deliberate ActBy Maxine Neil

Many o us are good at planning.We plan or vacations, children,college tuition, weddings, and

retirements. Unortunately, not many

plan or what happens when we are no

longer here. Tere is oten ear around

writing a will, almost as i the act will

lead to our immediate demise. Rodney

and Jeannette Debs o Niceville, Fla.,

have conquered that ear, though, and

are two o more than 175 individuals

who have included UUSC in their estate

plans.

Rod and Jeannette have been

together since 1982, when Jeannette

was an active member o the UU

Congregation in Binghamton, N.Y.,

and Rod visited or the rst time. Since

then, Rod attended seminary, theyraised a daughter, and Rod became the

senior minister at the UU Fellowship o

the Emerald Coast in Valparaiso, Fla.

Te Debs amily recognizes the

importance o supporting human

rights and social justice not only now

but beyond their lietimes. In addition

to making provision or their daughter

in their will, they have included

UUSC. As Rod describes it, UUSC

conducts global work or social justice

by working eciently with partners

around the world reaching at-risk

populations where other NGOs many

times will not or cant go, and I want to

leave a legacy that is signicant i only

to the beneciaries o UUSCs work.

Including UUSC in their estate plans

assures the Debs amily that, even

when they are no longer around, the

work o protecting women, girls, and

other vulnerable people will continue.

And they are proo positive that

writing your will does not bring on

ones imminent demise!

Maxine Neil is UUSCs director o

institutional advancement. I you wouldlike to learn more about including UUSC

in your estate plans, please contact Neil

at 617-301-4313 [email protected].
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


20/24

One o UUSCs most valuableassets comes in the ormo people power: the National

Volunteer Network. Engaging ellow

congregation members in UUSCs

work, these volunteers gain personal

growth and development while

helping UUSC thrive.Te mainstay o the Volunteer

Network is the local representative,

who serves as a direct link betweentheir congregation and UUSC. Local

reps build solid relationships with

congregational leadership, such

as ministers, religious education

proessionals, board members, andsocial action committees. Te local

reps are UUSCs eye-to-eye partners

in their congregations people who

are close to the ground, know and are

trusted by those they serve, and sharewith UUSC their experience o how to

best achieve mutual goals.

Local reps and other congregational

volunteers help to raise approximately

12 percent o UUSCs annual revenue,

a vital component o UUSCs annualbudget. Tere are local reps serving in

over 540 congregations nationwide.

Tey are an important reason thatUUSC is able to put 87 percent o its

expenses toward program work, not

administration. Local reps are vital in

helping UUSC communicate efectively

by mobilizing their congregations toact together when urgent issues need

member participation.

Regional coordinators are

UUSCs Not-So-Hidden TreasureThe National Volunteer Network

By Lauralyn Smith

18

Members o the UUSC National Volunteer Network with UUSC staf and partners.


21/24

19

experienced volunteer leaders

who mentor 10 or so local reps innearby congregations. Local reps not

under the jurisdiction o a regional

coordinator are mentored by UUSC

staf. Regional coordinators arentliaisons or a specic congregation,but they do help UUSC connect

more broadly with UU districts and

clusters. UUSC supports the Volunteer

Network leadership with an annual

training conerence and ongoingsupport resources.

Te Volunteer Network leadershipalso includes national cochairs,

who participate in volunteer policy

decisions. Te cochairs, who overseethree territories in the United States,

nominate and mentor 912 regional

coordinators in their territory.

In addition to the roles listed

above, UUSC also has a multitude oproject coordinators people who

help with specic campaigns, such as

Justice Sunday, an annual program

that provides resources or learning,

reection, and action on a key humanrights issue. More than 340 people

acilitate Justice Sunday and many

more work on other programs and

projects.Te Volunteer Network grassroots supporters joining together

in their dedication to human rights

is one o UUSCs treasures. UUSC

could not be as efective as it is

without these volunteers!

Lauralyn Smith is UUSCs seniorassociate or member development. I

you are interested in becoming a membero UUSCs National Volunteer Network,e-mail [email protected].
mailto:volunteerservices%40uusc.org?subject=mailto:volunteerservices%40uusc.org?subject=


22/24

20

Coming to the Streets of EgyptTransitional justice for the people

By Jessica L. Atcheson

Revolution is hard, messy, andractious. ransition romdictatorship to democracy inevitablygives rise to conict between any

number o groups. But democracy,

even with its own challenges, is

worth it. Dalia Ziada, executive

director o the Ibn Khaldun Center orDevelopment (IKCD), a UUSC partner

in Cairo, sees rsthand how the

people who stood in ahrir Square are

experiencing this every day. As Egypt

moves orward into democracy, UUSC

is working with IKCD to oster a senseo reconciliation and transitional

justice among all Egyptians and

doing so in some very creative ways.

On the ground in Egypt, Ziada

and IKCD are concentrating on ourkey areas o conict. Reconciliation

eforts are ocusing on tensions

between the ollowing:

UUSC partner Dalia Ziada


23/24

21

Te people and the police

Te Muslim majority andreligious minorities

Revolutionaries and members

o the old regime

Nongovernmentalorganizations and thegovernment

As director o one o the oldest

human rights organizations in the

Middle East, Ziada is acutely awareo the hostility between government

and civil society. We hope now, as weare turning into a democracy, that the

relationship between the government

and the people they should becompleting each other, not competing

against one another, she says.

Ziada hopes to encourage empathy,

understanding, and partnership

across the board. For the interest oEgypt, everyone should be involved in

the transormation, she adds.

o achieve that, UUSC and

IKCD have embarked on innovative

grassroots eld work in the ormo the One Hand project. Its very

important or civil society now to

nd creative ways to do things. Nowwe are a semi-democracy; we are no

longer under a dictatorship. So thetechniques and the tools and the

targets should be diferent.

Accordingly, IKCD will be using

street theater to communicate

with people, educate them about

transitional justice, and garner theirideas and eedback. Scripts or the

street perormances address religious

conict, human rights, and more.

People will learn, will have a vision,and will help us nd the solution,

Ziada explains.

Youth are critical to this process.

Tey took the lead in the revolution,and they are indispensable to this

transition phase. In addition to the

One Hand project, IKCD is working

on an academy or turning youthrevolutionaries into politicians.Youth are the uture, Ziada says.

When we see the young people who

made the 2011 revolution in the

government in ve years, ten years,

that will be the real success o therevolution.

Te work o reconciliation isessential to a healthy uture or

post-revolution Egypt. I think it is

the vision o all young people, o allyoung revolutionaries, to see Egypt

as a liberal democracy ve years

rom now, Ziada shares. By liberal

democracy, I dont mean liberalism

as a political ideology, but I meanree democracy real democracy

that comes with civil rights, with

individual reedom, with respect or

human rights and womens rights,

with proper empowerment o allpeople. ogether IKCD and UUSC

are paving the way rom unrest and

revolution to understanding andjustice.


editor.


24/24

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