Help LGBT refugees in South Sudan

***This GoFundMe is being run by Casey Jaywork, a nurse in Illinois, USA. Text below is from Ace Noel, a queer refugee in South Sudan, who will receive all donated funds.***

My name is Ace Noel. I am a Queer refugee from Uganda, I fled my home country Uganda due to torture and persecution because of my sexual identity. Being LGBTIQ in Uganda means death penalty. Because Fear of being hunted, beaten, and killed. I narrowly escaped death after surviving a brutal attack, simply because identify as an LGBTQ

In 2020, I fled to Kenya, hoping for safety, but life in Kakuma Refugee Camp wasn’t any better. For nearly 4 years, I lived in constant danger, facing beatings, threats, and relentless persecution still at that camp . The violence never stopped.

Later in 2024, I made the difficult decision to leave Kakuma and seek refuge in Camp in South Sudan in a neighboring country. Now, I’m here alongside my team of fellow LGBTIQ refugees, all of us fleeing the same horrors. But life in this new place is even more terrifying. The country is torn apart by civil war, and the laws against LGBTIQ people are fueling even more violence against us. We've lost friends to this cruelty; lesbians and transgender refugees are being raped, and the rest of us live in constant fear of what tomorrow will bring.

THE REALITY WE FACE

We are not just struggling. We are starving. When we manage to eat today, we don’t know if we will survive tomorrow. Hunger gnaws at us constantly. Every day feels like our lives are slipping away.

We are without clean water, without proper shelter, and many of us, including those living with HIV, are without the medicine we desperately need to stay alive. Every day is a fight for survival. Without help, our future is uncertain.

HOW YOU CAN HELP: YOUR DONATION SAVES LIVES.

We are reaching out to you because we cannot do this alone. Your donation, no matter how small, can make the difference between life and death for us. The money will be used to provide:

1: FOOD.

2: CLEAN WATER.

3: SHELTER to protect us from violence and the harsh environment.

4: MEDICATION for those living with HIV/AIDS, who are suffering without care.

EVERY DOLLAR BRINGS HOPE.

Your support doesn’t just offer us food or water. It brings us hope. Hope that tomorrow we won’t starve. Hope that we can have shelter and safety. Hope that we can live to see a future where our identities are not a death threat.

WHERE YOUR DONATION GOES.

Since GoFundMe doesn’t operate in that country, all funds raised will be sent directly to Ace and his community via Sendwave. Your generosity will immediately go toward giving us the basics we need to survive another day.

Thank you for your compassion, kindness, and for standing with us in this fight for survival. Your support, whether through donations or sharing our story, means the world to us.