If you’re reading this blog, you already know that AJWS is a special organization. You know that we fund some of the world’s most marginalized people to stand up and fight for their rights. You may also know that we mobilize thousands of Americans to advocate for U.S. foreign policy that centers human rights. But here’s something you might not know — and it’s why our grantees will weather mounting challenges to global human rights imposed by the Trump administration.
Covering every country where we work, AJWS has expert local staff working hand-in-hand with the organizations and movements we fund — offering strategic guidance, mentorship and even psychological support. That means our partners receive so much more than funding. These human rights experts — AJWS’s In-Country Colleagues (ICCs) — have extensive backgrounds in grassroots activism. And in their role as ICCs, they help AJWS partners to connect, share, and work together, so they can support each other in times of crisis. Times exactly like this.
We call this work ‘accompaniment,’ and it’s one of the three pillars in AJWS’s model for sustainable change, along with political advocacy and human rights grantmaking. AJWS’s 18 ICCs have never been more critical to our success than in this environment of scarcity caused by massive cuts in U.S. foreign assistance. So I want you to meet one of the bold, brave ICCs around the world — the behind-the-scenes experts supporting our partners to grow, evolve and, in this critical moment, survive.
Paulina is our ICC in Mexico. She spent years working as a human rights lawyer before joining the AJWS team — and her legal expertise is helping elevate our partners’ calls for justice all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Let me explain. In 2021, the Mexican government filed a lawsuit accusing American gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson of facilitating illegal trafficking of weapons across the U.S./Mexico border — one bold step to finally hold companies responsible for the flood of gun violence that’s plagued both countries. To bolster the case, Paulina worked with AJWS grantees — organizations representing families of the victims of gun violence — to collect powerful, personal testimonies that were part of an amicus brief, a legal document providing outside perspectives critical to a case.
The U.S. Supreme Court is set to rule on the case this year.
“This is a case about the illegal trafficking of guns feeding violence in my own country,” says Paulina. “But we’re bringing in the human side of this tragedy. We’re helping by raising the voices of our partners into spaces where they usually cannot be heard.”
Paulina’s work here weaves together parts of AJWS’s unique, three-part model that allows us to be so effective: grantmaking, accompaniment and advocacy. Drawing on her legal expertise, she collected compelling testimonies from AJWS grantees that will strengthen this case — one piece of a larger effort advocating for stricter gun control and safety.
Paulina’s story is one of many.
For these beloved colleagues, being an ICC isn’t just a job — fighting for justice, freedom and human rights is their life’s work. Help us fuel these fights and keep supporting our 500+ partner organizations around the world with a gift right now.
We know that from our ICCs to our partners to our network of donors and allies, the global AJWS community is not just unique – we’re unstoppable.