Who We Are
Messina Legal Advice Office
Messina Legal Advice Office (MLAO) was established in 1988; the office is located in Musina Town in the Limpopo province of South Africa, and it is about 12 km from the Beitbridge Boarder Post.
MLAO is a non-governmental organization, and the only one in Musina Town.
The office services a community with a population of, according to the 10th of October 2011 Census, 68,359 thousand plus within the Greater Musina Municipality, including neighboring home lands (former Venda) and the surrounding farms and urban dwellers.
The office was established during the apartheid era where arbitrary arrest was the order of the day and political victims in prisons had limited or no access to legal advice and support. Hence the establishment of Messina Legal Advice Office which playes a pivotal and active role in giving pro-Bono legal advice to political detainees and carries out its mandate of giving legal advice and support to Musina and the migrant community.
Our Objectives
Assist in the protection and enforcement of human rights
Promote children`s rights and justice in the community
To create a culture of respect for the Bill of Rights contained in the constitution of the Republic of South Africa among all sectors of society, especially the vulnerable group, through education and sensitization
Daily monitoring of identified transit shelters including places of safety for unaccompanied minors eg the Refugees Reception Office (RRO) and SAPS detention centers
Educate the community, particularly the vulnerable such as woman, the aged, farm dwellers, prisoners, children about laws affecting them e.g. the maintenance Act, Domestic Violence Act, Extension of Security of Tenure Act (ESTA)
Conciliates on labour dispute and where there is no consensus reached, cases are referred to the commissioner for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA)
Carry out awareness campaigns through the media, such as having slots on the community radi0
Serve as an advocate for the rights of asylum seekers, refugees and international migrants
Accolades
Best NGO Runner Up 2007
Thank You Appreciation AME Church 2008
