In 2000, at a time when Uganda’s legal landscape had little space for domestic workers or children exploited in labour, a young lawyer named Lillian Keene Mugerwa dared to ask the hard questions. Who was speaking for the food sellers, the market women, the security guards, and the house helps? And what justice existed for children trapped in work instead of school?
Out of this deep concern for the voiceless, the Platform for Labour Action (PLA) was born.
Lillian and her colleagues had just completed a powerful but disturbing study on domestic work in Kampala. They had interviewed over 600 households, and the findings were harrowing. Many domestic workers were victims of physical violence, sexual abuse, withheld wages, and psychological trauma, yet none of these issues were making it into policy discussions.
“We didn’t fully know what founding an NGO meant,” Lillian would later reflect, “but we knew something had to be done.”
That ‘something’ became PLA, a Platform for Labour Action (PLA), which is a National Civil Society Organization that was founded in the year 2000. PLA is focused on promoting and protecting the rights of vulnerable and marginalized workers through the empowerment of communities and individuals in Uganda.
In the early years, PLA had no funding, no fancy offices, and no international backing. What it had was a woman of courage, the support of a few committed lawyers, and a relentless drive to make justice accessible. From free legal aid to policy advocacy, from rescuing children in labor to empowering HIV-positive workers, PLA grew one case, one story, one breakthrough at a time.
Lillian’s leadership was not just administrative, but it was deeply personal. Her ability to listen to survivors, engage policymakers, and walk with the communities she served made her a rare leader who blended compassion with strategic brilliance.
She later represented Uganda in the prestigious Human Rights Advocates Program at Columbia University in New York, sharpening her global advocacy skills. But she remained firmly rooted in Uganda’s informal sector, where PLA was redefining what justice looks like.
As we mark 25 years of PLA, Lillian’s legacy remains our compass. We honor her not just as a founder, but as a builder of movements, a nurturer of teams, and a woman who chose to act when it was easier to look away.
In Lillian’s words, “To build a movement, you need a community, family, friends, volunteers, and funders. And you must stay focused, even when visibility is low.”
As PLA sets its eyes on global partnerships and scaling our impact, we carry with us her founding flame—steady, strong, and unafraid.
Authored by Angella Asiimwe, Consulting Blogger under Voice Consults
https://angelaassiimwe.wordpress.com/2025/07/10/the-founding-flame-celebrating-lillian-keene-mugerwas-legacy-at-25-years-of-pla/
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