Friends of Canon Gideon
Donation protected
Uganda is a country of true heros and heroines in the fight against HIV--and for more then twenty years, Reverend Canon Gideon Byamugisha has been a firm, gentle and fearless leader in this remarkable community. In 1992, he was the first religious leader in Africa to annouce that he was living with HIV. In the ensuing years, he has provided essential leadership in the fight against stigma, shame, denial and discrimination.
In his life, ministry and theology he has shown what it means to uphold the human dignity and rights of all people--including those with and most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. He has been clear and forthright that gay men, lesbians and transgender people have the right to live and love with dignity and in full health, and he has shown a clear light on the ways that global inequities affect us all.
For all of this, everyone who works on HIV and particularly those who work in or carry Uganda in their hearts is in the Canon's debt.
Now is the time for us to pay back his strength and bravery. Reverend Canon Byamugisha has recently been diagnosed with colon cancer which requires urgent surgery and treatment. While this can be provided in Uganda, it is expensive and Canon Byamugisha and his family are unable to raise the needed funds. Currently there are efforts underway in Uganda to collect money, with the HIV/AIDS community and members of his church coming together. We are hoping to help in these efforts, to come to the aid of a great man who has given so much love and hope to some of the world’s most vulnerable people.
As the Canon said in 2012:
AIDS has told us what we have always known, that although we are one globe, but there are two worlds. There are two worlds living in close proximity—the world of the accepted, the world of the rich, the world of the educated, the world of the empowered.
Please join us in helping us bridge the divides between worlds and preserving the health of a man whose leadership is still needed in Uganda, and throughout the world.
If you have questions about how your donations will be used, if you want to get regular updates (which we will also post to this page) or if you want to add your own tribute to the Canon, please email Emily Bass -- embass at gmail dot com.
In his life, ministry and theology he has shown what it means to uphold the human dignity and rights of all people--including those with and most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. He has been clear and forthright that gay men, lesbians and transgender people have the right to live and love with dignity and in full health, and he has shown a clear light on the ways that global inequities affect us all.
For all of this, everyone who works on HIV and particularly those who work in or carry Uganda in their hearts is in the Canon's debt.
Now is the time for us to pay back his strength and bravery. Reverend Canon Byamugisha has recently been diagnosed with colon cancer which requires urgent surgery and treatment. While this can be provided in Uganda, it is expensive and Canon Byamugisha and his family are unable to raise the needed funds. Currently there are efforts underway in Uganda to collect money, with the HIV/AIDS community and members of his church coming together. We are hoping to help in these efforts, to come to the aid of a great man who has given so much love and hope to some of the world’s most vulnerable people.
As the Canon said in 2012:
AIDS has told us what we have always known, that although we are one globe, but there are two worlds. There are two worlds living in close proximity—the world of the accepted, the world of the rich, the world of the educated, the world of the empowered.
Please join us in helping us bridge the divides between worlds and preserving the health of a man whose leadership is still needed in Uganda, and throughout the world.
If you have questions about how your donations will be used, if you want to get regular updates (which we will also post to this page) or if you want to add your own tribute to the Canon, please email Emily Bass -- embass at gmail dot com.
Organizer and beneficiary
Emily Bass
Organizer
Brooklyn, NY
Leslie Nielsen
Beneficiary
