A Filipino United Methodist deaconess has long fought for justice in the Philippines — most recently by helping to find safe harbors for those targeted in the extrajudicial killings.
Norma P. Dollaga is a co-founder of Rise Up for Life and for Rights, an ecumenical alliance campaigning against extrajudicial killings that have targeted mostly drug users or smalltime pushers. About 7,000 people have been killed.
“Resistance is a gift,” she says of her tireless quest to sensitize people and alleviate humanity from suffering. “Redemption and liberation is what we need. Justice will shepherd us through.”
Dollaga, a member of the Philippines Central Conference, and the alliance assist church-related institutions, movements, networks and organizations that partner with the urban poor, workers, youth, lawyers, human rights groups, child rights advocates and women’s groups. Rise Up frames its work as a “from victim to advocate” approach, she said.
