Support LGBTQ refugees and their children

Hi,

My name is Esther and I am fundraising on behave of the Queer and Trans Community residing in Kakuma Refugee camp in northern Kenya.

To ellaborate more, Kakuma Refugee camp hosts refugees from over 100 countries with different cultures, beliefs and religions. Amongst them are the LGBTQ+ refugees who are not welcomed in the community and face violence and discrimination from the other refugees.

A few months ago, I was contacted by a young gay Ugandan man named Eric Masagazi (his names are used with verbal consent), who was looking for help and ideas from other Queer people from around the world to raise funds as a way to protect his community in the camp.

Throughout this time, he has documented and shared with me some of the horrific conditions that they face. Though entitled to water, food, and education in the camp, many in the Queer and Trans Community are either violently attacked (including with weapons like machetes, stones etc), or forcefully excluded by the general population. The most vulnerable of this group are the children. These children are the children of Lesbian mothers who were either forced into marriage or victims of "corrective" rape. Even though they are entitled to go to school, these children are physically and verbally abused by the children of the other refugees because their mothers are "Devil Lesbians". The LGBTQ+ refugee Children are scared to go to school or even play outside. They are constantly living in fear.

The Homo-Transphobia has become so bad that people are being attacked with sticks and machetes. Night patrols have been created to prevent their tents and makeshift homes and property from being burned.

Recently, a little boy, whose mother is a Lesbian, was poisoned and had to spend a week in the hospital. He almost died. And this is just to name a few.

Any money that we can fundraise will do directly to the Queer and Trans Community in Kakuma to help protect, educate, and feed them.

The plan for the money raised is this:

1. Provide educational material such as workbooks, writing instruments, and reading books for the children.

2. Provide additional food and water supplies to the community to supplement their meager rations.

3. Provide extra safety to the community in the form of fencing the community blocks off from the general population to prevent further night attacks.

Over the past months, I and my family have been supporting this community and we've had the honor and pleasure to see how this money was able to improve the quality of life for this community.

I/We are calling on you to help us fulfill these basic but important needs for an extremely vulnerable community who has been shut out and ignored for so long.

A small donation goes a long way for people who have nothing.

Thank you in advance for your support and help.

Esther M

CA, Hamilton ON