<div><strong>Message from the beneficiary:</strong>  Hello everyone, my name is Erisa and I am part of a group of LGBT refugees living in a camp in South Sudan.  We fled our home countries in search of safety, but what we found here is another form of suffering.

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<div>Every day is a fight for survival.  We face hostility, discrimination, and the constant fear of violence simply because of who we are. As LGBT people, we are not only outsiders in the refugee community but also rejected by the very systems that are supposed to protect us.  Our living conditions are dire.  Many days, we go to bed hungry.  There is never enough to eat, and our bodies grow weaker each day.  Clean drinking water is scarce, and we are often forced to drink unsafe water that makes us sick.  When illness spreads in the camp, we have no access to proper medicine or healthcare.  Even treatable conditions can become life-threatening.  The rainy season is here, and our shelters are falling apart. The ground floods, leaving us cold, wet, and vulnerable.

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<div>On top of this, we endure constant stigma.  Being LGBT in this environment makes us targets for abuse and harassment.  It often feels like the world has forgotten us.

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<div>But we have not given up hope.  We believe that with your support, we can survive this and work toward a safer future.

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<div>We are raising funds to cover the most urgent needs: Food supplies to keep us alive and healthy.  Clean water and basic sanitation to prevent disease.  Essential medication and healthcare support.  Stronger shelter to protect us during the rains.  Advocacy and resources to help us find resettlement in safer countries where we can live freely and without fear.

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<div>Your donation, no matter the size, will directly impact our survival and give us a chance to live with dignity.  Please stand with us in solidarity.  Together, we can make it through this darkness and move toward a brighter, safer future.

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<div>We’re not asking for charity, we’re asking for the chance to live.

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<div><strong>Message from the organizer:</strong>  I’m David and I’m from the US, organizing this fundraiser on behalf of refugees from Uganda and several other countries who eventually fled to the Gorom Refugee Camp near Juba in South Sudan (some after trying to stay in Kenya).  The UNHCR has provided some help but not enough.  Everyone deserves food, shelter, and safety from persecution.  I think as Americans we have a special responsibility to help because some Americans have contributed to the anti-LGBTQ+ bigotry in Africa, and the defunding of USAID by the Trump administration has left many regions in acute crisis. 

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<div>I have gotten to know Erisa online and spoken with him by video many times, and hence can vouch for his story.  Any funds donated here will contribute to the essential needs of the refugees, including food, water, shelter, and medicine.  Since GoFundMe does not operate in South Sudan, I will retrieve the funds in my US bank account and transfer them using Remitly to Erisa.  I encourage you to also support the fundraisers for other members of the larger group in Gorom Refugee Camp.

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<div>For more information:

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<div><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorom_Refugee_Settlement" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"></a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorom_Refugee_Settlement" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorom_Refugee_Settlement" target="_blank" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorom_Refugee_Settlement</a></a>

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<div><a href="https://edition.cnn.com/videos/world/2023/12/17/anti-lgbt-laws-africa-family-watch-international-mckenzie-vpx.cnn" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"></a><a href="https://edition.cnn.com/videos/world/2023/12/17/anti-lgbt-laws-africa-family-watch-international-mckenzie-vpx.cnn" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><a href="https://edition.cnn.com/videos/world/2023/12/17/anti-lgbt-laws-africa-family-watch-international-mckenzie-vpx.cnn" target="_blank" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://edition.cnn.com/videos/world/2023/12/17/anti-lgbt-laws-africa-family-watch-international-mckenzie-vpx.cnn</a></a>

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<div><a href="https://76crimes.com/2025/05/08/lgbtqi-refugees-in-south-sudan-trapped-between-a-rock-and-a-hard-place" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"></a><a href="https://76crimes.com/2025/05/08/lgbtqi-refugees-in-south-sudan-trapped-between-a-rock-and-a-hard-place/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><a href="https://76crimes.com/2025/05/08/lgbtqi-refugees-in-south-sudan-trapped-between-a-rock-and-a-hard-place/" target="_blank" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://76crimes.com/2025/05/08/lgbtqi-refugees-in-south-sudan-trapped-between-a-rock-and-a-hard-place/</a></a>

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Anonymous

Ellison Rhea

Brody Leathem

Remi Steinhardt

Becks Popham

Sylv Aoun

Haily Stanton

Hanna Karlsson

Cynthia Guerrero

Yuxi Da

Will Carson

David Lacoss

Zeke Hernandez

Irene Rojas Atarés

Linnéa Engvall

Aid for Erisa and other LGBTQ Refugees in South Sudan

Aid for Erisa and other LGBTQ Refugees in South Sudan

Still $7,189 to go. Help us build momentum.