John Baigent, founder and Executive Director of Partners in the Horn of Africa, a Canadian charity working in Ethiopia, has been selected to receive the Dalhousie Law School Alumni Association‘s 26th Weldon Award for Unselfish Public Service.  Throughout his life Baigent has sought to improve the quality of life of the disadvantaged in all the communities in which he has lived and worked. The veteran British Columbia lawyer will be honoured particularly for his volunteer work in Africa and his commitment to the plight of the people of Ethiopia.

The African chapter of Baigent’s community service began in 1963 when he served as a volunteer and teacher in Ghana, West Africa, for Canadian University Students Overseas (CUSO).  He also served as the Organization’s first resident program coordinator for that country.  Upon his return to Canada he worked as CUSO’s first director of West Africa programs.  Baigent received a Sir James Dunn Scholarship to study law at Dalhousie in 1965.  While at law school he ran CUSO training programs during the summer months.  Following graduation in 1969 Baigent was awarded a Viscount Bennett Scholarship and earned a Master of Laws at Harvard University. He pursued a distinguished legal career in British Columbia where he specialized in labour and constitutional law.  However, Baigent never let go of his concern for Africa. He says, “the country is hard to get out of your blood and I persuaded my law partners to inaugurate a sabbatical program so I could get back there.”  In 1988, he took time away from his practice to work in Ethiopia for the World University Service of Canada. During this period Baigent fell in love with the country and its people.  In 2001 he founded and became Executive Director for Partners in the Horn of Africa. “Partners” has an annual budget of approximately $1,000,000 and focuses on the areas of greatest need - building schools and health clinics, administering micro-finance programs, providing care for HIV orphans, digging wells and building bridges.  A unique feature of Partners is that 100 per cent of its donations are used for projects in Ethiopia.  The directors work on a volunteer basis and all administrative costs are paid by the directors and a few key supporters.  With all projects there is an Ethiopian partner that is required to cover 15 to 20 per cent of project costs usually through the supply of labour or local materials. In return, the partner shares in all decision making. Baigent believes this partnering will make a profound difference for the people of Ethiopia: “Real and lasting changes in the third world have to involve local residents, empowering them to take charge of their own future.” Baigent now works full-time for Partners spending about half of his year in Ethiopia.

The Weldon Award for Unselfish Public Service, sponsored by the Dalhousie Law School Alumni Association, was established in 1983 to serve as a tribute to the ideals of the Law School’s first dean, Richard Chapman Weldon. The award will be presented by Dean Phillip Saunders at Dalhousie Law School at a date to be announced.