Secure the safety and well being of LGBT refugees in Sudan

Hi-- I'm Liam Hicklin, and I'm raising funds to secure the safety of a group of LGBT refugees currently residing in South Sudan. Below is a description by their point of contact of the situation they are facing. 100 percent of the funds that are donated will be transferred to them through Remitly.

Hello everyone, hope y'all are doing well. My name is Erisa and I'm a refugee from Gorom Refugee Camp in South Sudan and proudly gay. I fled my home country (Uganda) because I feared for my life after being physically attacked, tortured, imprisoned, and threatened with death many times due to my sexual preference. I fled to Kenya hoping for safety and protection from UNHCR through the Red Cross, but unfortunately, after being taken by UNHCR to Kakuma Refugee Camp, all the hope I had was buried. Reaching the camp, I found other LGBT refugees, about 400 folks from different countries, and we tried to make a community to care and protect each other. As LGBT refugees, we went through a very horrible situation that ended the lives of some of our fellow refugees. The government of Kenya refused to help any LGBT refugee again to resettle in safer countries, and our cases were dismissed.

Desperate for a better future and life, we made a difficult decision and traveled to South Sudan where we are currently living. We reached out to an organization called Across, which helped us to go to the nearest refugee camp, which is Gorom Refugee Camp. We held a meeting with UNHCR and it promised to help and protect us as long as we stay low profile. With time, we did some interviews, but unfortunately, the local people of the community and other refugees started to complain about us, which raised awareness about us. We started facing a lot of daily challenges as LGBT individuals, including physical and verbal abuse, homophobic and transphobic attacks, isolation, discrimination, unemployment, and the worst part of it all is the denial of basic needs like food, clean drinking water, healthcare, and other sanitary supplies. However, we keep our heads up hoping to receive some support and get our basic needs among others. That's why I'm here requesting your support, please.

We're fundraising to support a group of LGBT refugees, including their children, to help them access food, clean drinking water, housing, medical support, and hygiene needs.