B
NARRATIVE VALUE
Certainty
●●○ medium
ABCDEFG
There is no confirmed −; independently verified + decide the position (B). No unreachable strike-through.= non-additive meter
As of: 2026-Q4Status: ActiveCeiling reason: No confirmed −
History2026-Q4BHistory grows each quarter
BarefootLaw: Bringing the law to people who cannot reach a lawyer. The letter is B; certainty is medium. Unconfirmed concerns are placed under “Watching.” (As of 2026-Q4; estimate based on public information.)
Main narrative
Uganda has extremely few lawyers for its population, and most of them are in the capital. When land is about to be taken, or an inheritance is about to put a family out of its home, there is no one to ask. In 2012 Gerald Abila, a young lawyer, began answering legal questions for free on a Facebook page.
That became BarefootLaw. It now combines social media, radio, telephone, local-language video and in-person clinics in the regions, reaching 450,000 people a month with legal information, having supported around 970,000 people in total and been involved in resolving some 18,000 problems. The core of the work is translating the text of the law into advice that avoids going to court. Most enquiries concern land, family and debt, and the other party is often a wealthy landowner or a relative. This is an organization that has added one low-cost circuit to a system in which the outcome depends on whether you can pay a lawyer.
One person’s story (N1)
+ A single story
Most of Uganda's lawyers are in the capital, and many people facing the loss of their land had no one to ask. In 2012 Gerald Abila, a young lawyer, began answering legal questions for free on a Facebook page. The organization now combines social media, radio, telephone, local-language video and in-person clinics in the regions, reaching 450,000 people a month with legal information, supporting around 970,000 people in total and being involved in resolving some 18,000 problems. Nature of sources: program-official plus independent (foundation and national press).
Source nature: BarefootLaw / Skoll Foundation / T2 program-official and industry media. Positive effects are not used to offset negatives.
Positive / negative effects
+ effects
- The positive side of this assessment rests on the single story (N1) above and its source. A per-item ledger of positive effects has not yet been compiled for this organization.T2 program-official and industry media
Watching (unconfirmed; not counted in the assessment)- Effects largely self-reported
- the limits where representation is needed
- funding dependence
Looking ahead (not included in the assessment)- Expanding in-person clinics in the regions and local-language content.
A second look
Reach and resolution figures rest mainly on the organization's own counting. Free legal information cannot substitute for representation where a case requires it. It depends on donations and grants, and if the money thins the caseload falls.
Sources
+N1BarefootLaw / Skoll Foundation｜2025｜🔗
How to read this assessment
A Independently verified +, with no confirmed −
B Leans +, with independent backing
C Mixed. A confirmed − sets the ceiling, or much is unverified
D A serious confirmed − sets the ceiling
E A serious − reaches the core of the organization
F Serious and systemic, with little redeeming +
G Only extreme cases
Out of scope An entity whose core purpose is illegal
On hold Independent evidence is scarce on both + and −
- Reachable upper bound (ceiling): a confirmed − sets the ceiling, and independently verified + decide the position within it. + do not cancel out −.
- The weight of evidence is not symmetric: only confirmed − are counted; the volume of disputes or allegations goes under “Watching.” + are counted from independent evidence, while an organization’s own PR is treated as “reference.”
- Size is not value: scale is not used in the assessment. Matters that stay within money or competition—investors, shareholders, sanctions, trade secrets—are also excluded.
- The letter (assessment) and certainty (how reliable the information is) are separate axes.
This is a translation; the Japanese version is authoritative. The assessments here are generated automatically by AI based on published criteria. The operator does not alter individual results. Because they are AI-generated they may contain errors, and they are opinion and commentary, not statements of fact. Where evidence is insufficient, the entry is marked “On hold.” Requests for correction are accepted via the form.
Terms: Narrative Value = an assessment (A–G) of the distance between the narrative an organization tells and its reality / Ceiling meter = a visualization of the reachable upper bound / Watching = unconfirmed matters not counted / Protected stakeholders = people, animals, nature, and future generations. | Generated by: AI | As of: 2026-Q4 | Back to top