Emergency Shelter: Homeless LGBT Youth in Uganda
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Hi,
My name is Jonathan Rotenberg. I am raising money for an emergency shelter for homeless LGBT Youth in Uganda. These young people are in grave danger right now and need your help.
Since the early 2000s, American Evangelicals have been fighting a holy war to eradicate LGBT rights globally and criminalize being LGBT everywhere. The epicenter of their battle is Uganda: A relatively poor, conservative, and kind-hearted country. Prior to British occupation, Uganda had been a welcoming place for LGBT people. But as the country faces so many social challenges today—poverty, corruption, control by outsiders—American Evangelicals figured out that LGBT people could be weaponized into a powerful force for recruiting Christians to their faith. With the legalization of gay marriage in the U.S. and growing acceptance of LGBT people, American Evangelicals saw a massive opportunity to demonize LGBT Ugandans as operatives of the godless, gluttonous west, bringing a scourge of homosexuality, disease, and moral collapse to a God-fearing country. Evangelicals brainwashed Ugandan citizens into believing that LGBT people are now the greatest existential threat to their country's culture and families. And that LGBT Ugandans exist only to "groom Uganda's children" and "initiate young people into homosexuality."
Why did American Evangelicals pour so much money and resources into demonizing LGBT Ugandans? Because ferocious homophobia is ruthlessly effective for converting traditional Christians to become Evangelicals. Evangelicals effectively unified a country against a great, terrifying, imaginary enemy: The scourge of western homosexuality. And they portrayed the traditional Catholic and Anglican churches as tools of western culture and responsible for having created the current "crisis." There is nothing like having a terrifying enemy—threatening everything you care about—to motivate people to change. American Evangelicals indoctrinated a nationwide army of anti-LGBT zealots. And they converted 1 out of every 10 Catholics and Anglicans to their faith in Uganda between 1991-2014, adding 3 million new members.
If this were not bad enough, American Evangelicals’ anti-LGBT campaign in Uganda turned deadly in the early 2000s. With the legalization of gay marriage in the U.S., Evangelicals realized they were losing in the battle of public opinion domestically. Seeing the success of their missionary work in Africa, they created a new, more sinister strategy to fight LGBT rights globally. They would start a global crusade to criminalize LGBT people everywhere, and Uganda would be its epicenter. They knew they had the political support they needed to pass ultra-harsh, anti-LGBT laws in Uganda. Once passed, these laws could then be replicated across Africa. American Evangelicals focused all of their anti-LGBT firepower on Uganda. They spent more than $26 million to lobby Uganda’s political leaders to create deadly, anti-LGBT laws. They spent millions running sophisticated bootcamps to train Ugandan politicians in how to foment hate against LGBT people and win loyalty from their constituents. Ugandan politicians were fed lies and phony data, and learned how to talk about LGBT people as ruthless predators who prey on children.
American Evangelicals’ relentless proselytizing and demagoguery gave birth to their greatest atrocity ever: Uganda’s 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA). AHA is the most severe anti-LGBT law in human history. The law not only punishes LGBT people with life-imprisonment and death, it prevents straight people from being able to help their LGBT friends without significant risk of being imprisoned themselves. Although AHA was condemned by human-rights organizations worldwide for its lack of clarity and barbaric punishments, there was no opposition to the bill in Parliament and virtually no debate. AHA won in a landslide in March, with 70% of Parliament members voting for it. American Evangelicals had duped an entire nation’s Parliament into carrying out its own self-serving political agenda.
Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act has 17 sections, each one defining ways that the government has been authorized to punish LGBT people and their allies. Some of the most egregious provisions include:
- Same-sex relations. AHA Section 2(2) states: “A person who commits the offence of homosexuality is liable, on conviction, to imprisonment for life.” In other words, loving another person of the same gender is punished with life imprisonment. Any gay parents raising children would both be subject to prosecution and life imprisonment in Uganda if they were to sleep together. Two people of the same gender holding hands—or kissing—in public would be subject to arrest and prison even if they were straight. Furthermore, AHA provides that when there are “aggravated” circumstances, an individual who has had a same-sex relationship will be put to death. Circumstances that require the death penalty include: Any adult who sleeps with a 17-year-old of the same sex or who transmits HIV to another adult or who has previously been convicted of homosexuality.
- Snitching. Section 14 states that every Ugandan citizen is now required to report to the police anyone they suspect may have “committed or intends to commit the offence of homosexuality.” If a citizen sees a gay couple expressing affection in public, she or he is obliged by law to report the couple to police. If a citizen suspects that “a child or vulnerable person may be involved” and does not report this promptly, the citizen is subject to prosecution and 5 years in prison. The consequence of Section 14 has been to establish a nationwide, secret surveillance force of millions of citizens, that watches LGBT people 24x7 for any evidence of homosexuality.
- Housing & Public Accommodations. Section 9 makes it illegal for any landlord or innkeeper to knowingly rent accommodations to gay people. According to Section 9, any property owner who knowingly rents a room to an LGBT person “commits an offence and is liable, on conviction, to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 7 years.” Section 9 has caused a growing epidemic of LGBT evictions and homelessness in Uganda.
- Allies & “Promotion” of Homosexuality. For LGBT Ugandans, the most chilling section of AHA is Section 11. Section 11 harshly punishes any Ugandan who “promotes homosexuality.” What does it mean to “promote homosexuality”? Anything that presents a positive image of LGBT people as normal, well-adjusted human beings—whether “published, printed, broadcast or distributed”—can be considered “pro-homosexual” propaganda. Anyone who tries to speak up about the brainwashing and defamation of LGBT people by Evangelical groups—or who simply wants to provide neutral, scientifically accurate educational information—is liable under Section 11 to be prosecuted as a “homosexuality promoter.” The “promotion” of homosexuality is punished with 20 years in prison. Section 11 has shut down all public dialog about LGBT issues and obliterated any hope of conversation about the plight of LGBT Ugandans. Anyone who wants to be a supportive ally or defend LGBT people from bullies can be threatened with prosecution under Section 11 and compulsory prison time. Even the most supportive allies in Uganda have had to disengage from helping LGBT people, for fear of repercussions to them and their families.
- Mandatory Conversion Therapy. Section 16 grants courts the right to order mandatory Conversion Therapy for any Ugandan who has been convicted of the “offence of homosexuality.” Conversion Therapy is a widely debunked, pseudo-scientific technique for ‘converting’ gay people into heterosexuals. It has been described by experts as “torture, cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, and contrary to human rights.” It is condemned by every major medical and psychiatric association in the U.S. and the World Health Organization. But AHA deputizes the Ugandan Government to force Conversion Therapy on anyone found guilty of having had a same-sex experience.
- Second order effects. In addition to its barbaric punishments, AHA has unleashed a slew of devastating second-order effects for LGBT Ugandans. Every day, LGBT Ugandans now confront widespread anti-LGBT vigilantism, death threats, outing threats, police shakedowns, violent propaganda, mob justice killings, hate crimes, and extortion.
Of all the populations in Uganda that have been ravaged by the sinister ambitions of American Evangelicals, none has been hurt more than Uganda’s LGBT youth. Evangelical proselytizing has envenomed the parents of LGBT youth in Uganda. This has led to a wide surge of Christian parents disowning their LGBT children and throwing them out of their homes. Once disowned by their families, there is nowhere for these young people to go. Young LGBT Ugandans are bullied and ostracized in their schools, neighborhoods, and churches. Left out on the streets by their families, they have no access to food, healthcare, psychological counseling or help with learning life skills.
The situation that American Evangelicals have created for Uganda’s LGBT youth is abhorrent and disgraceful. These young people have done absolutely nothing wrong—except for having been born LGBT. And they had no say in that matter. LGBT Ugandan youth deserve everything that any young person deserves. And yet, these bright, caring, thoughtful young people are treated worse than abused animals in Uganda. Most insanely, this merciless torture is all justified by American Evangelicals in the name of Jesus Christ and family values.
This is wrong. This is insanely wrong. This may well be the worst human-rights atrocity ever committed by an American religious denomination.
Fair-minded Americans don’t have to stand for this travesty. Young LGBT Ugandans need our help NOW.
Let’s make a difference!
In response to the Uganda LGBT crisis, we have built a safe, welcoming, caring refuge for LGBT youth in the capital of Kampala. Located in a secure, gated community, we opened the shelter in April 2023. Our facilities can accommodate up to 50 day-guests each day and provide overnight accommodations for 35. Every LGBT young person who comes to our shelter receives the following:
- Three nutritious meals a day
- Clothing when needed
- A safe, secure location—free from violence or harassment
- Full medical care (including emergency care and medications)
- Crisis stabilization and counseling
- Indoor and outdoor leisure activities
- Youth education and enrichment
- Training in economic self-sufficiency and job skills
- Employment and micro-entrepreneurial opportunities (including the opportunity to participate in our motorcycle delivery business)
Our staff includes trained social workers, a vocational counselor, an on-call physician, a security guard, and a cook.
Although we provide high quality services to every guest, we operate with high efficiency and at minimal cost. For example:
- We negotiated a remarkably inexpensive lease for our building: A beautiful, modern, clean home with room for 50 guests each day. We pay just $333/month for rent.
- We partnered with a well-regarded physician in Kampala who is quietly supportive of our efforts. He provides comprehensive healthcare for each guest, including preventative care, specialty care, emergency care, and medications. He charges us just $8.50/month per resident for all these services.
- We work hard to get donations of as many goods and services as we can, so that we don’t need to purchase these items. We have furnished the house entirely with donated furnishings. We have also received extensive donations of food, including rice and bananas.
The total budget for our shelter for 2024 is $22,687. This is highly cost-effective, compared to similar social service organizations in Uganda. The key annual costs for running our program are:
- Food - $6,000
- Rent - $4,000
- Medical Care - $2,675
- Wages - $2,551
- Utilities - $2,100
- Bail Bonds & Police Extortion - $1,700
- Basic Supplies - $1,500
- Program Expenses (laptops, etc.) - $1,500
- GoFundMe Fundraising Commission - $661
If you can support our shelter, you are not only providing services to deserving homeless youth. You are saving precious lives. You are giving hope to innocent young people who have been forsaken by their world. You are showing them that even under the worst circumstances—life under a despotic dictator and being viciously vilified by every important leader in your country—the human spirit can still prevail.
Your contribution to the shelter can have a massive impact on the lives of terrified, persecuted LGBT youth. Most of our young guests come here having survived devastating tragedies, only then to be thrown out of their homes by their families. Many guests have been abused, exploited, and robbed on the streets. At our shelter, they are welcomed by caring adults with a safe place to sleep, food, medical care, friends, counseling, and hope. We help young LGBT Ugandans to reimagine their lives and learn to survive in these dark times in our country.
How you can help. Any amount you can give will make a huge difference to our young guests. You can safely assume that—whatever you donate—will be matched tenfold. How is that possible? Because American dollars in Uganda go ten times farther for social services than they do in the U.S. If you gave $100 to a homeless shelter in the U.S., it would be a wonderful, kind gift on your part. But if you give $100 to our shelter in Uganda, your $100 will buy $1000 of critical goods and services.
No gift is too small or too large.
Here are examples of the powerful impact you can have on LGBT youth in Uganda with a modest contribution.
- $67 – provide clean water for all our guests for one month
- $102 – provide a full year’s worth of medical care to a homeless LGBT Ugandan youth
- $200 – bail a young LGBT person out of jail, whose only crime was being born LGBT
- $333 – pay for a full month’s rent for our building
- $500 – provide nourishing meals for a full month for our guests
- $1,000 – buy two laptops for vocational training
- $2,500 – pay for staff wages for mental health care, program services and security
There’s something bigger here too. Your support is critical to the survival of our shelter in Kampala and to the survival of our guests. And yet, there is more. You are not only helping the shelter, you are helping us get the story out to the entire world about the devastation in Uganda that has been wrought by American religious leaders. We intend to hold each of these religious leaders accountable for their crimes against the humanity. Eventually, we will demand a just, fair solution for all LGBT Ugandans. By keeping our shelter functioning today, you enable us to have an on-the-ground understanding of how AHA is affecting everyday Ugandans and how best to communicate with important decision makers. It may take some time, but we will eventually bring down AHA. I am confident of that. Until that day, though, we cannot let these young people perish or lose hope.
Please help if you can. Any amount you could give would make such a difference to these amazing young people. (And they can tell you directly about how your contribution impacts them individually.)
Clearly, the Uganda LGBT youth crisis is too big of a problem for any of us to try to take on alone. But this task is NOT too big for ALL of us. Perhaps you feel there is little or nothing that you could do to make a difference. Maybe you could donate $5 and also keep the LGBT people of Uganda in your thoughts. This may seem like nothing to you. But remember: It is YOUR unique light that you are offering. Your light… and another person’s light… and another… and another… all combining and beginning to magnify each other. Your light can create a movement of yet more lights that eventually find one another, connecting with the hearts and minds of caring people everywhere. This is how we can create a global movement of hope, justice, and compassion for LGBT Ugandans. Your light—shining with the lights of other kind, caring people—can brighten the whole world. Your light can illuminate the pathway home for our friends in Uganda.
We can do this. Let’s do it together.
With deepest gratitude & blessings,
Jonathan
P.S. Please share this campaign with your friends & colleagues!
Organizer
Jonathan Rotenberg
Organizer
Cambridge, MA
