Support the Lesbians of Kakuma Refugee Camp

Update: We reached the original goal of £240 in three hours! Thank you so much to everyone who has supported the lesbians of Kakuma Refugee Camp. I’ve updated the fundraiser and made £500 the stretch goal. This will be a massive help to women in crisis.

My name is Claire Heuchan. I'm the Founder and Chair of Labrys Lit, an international lesbian book group. Labrys Lit is run in partnership with FiLiA, a feminist organisation contributing to the women's liberation movement. And as a member of the FiLiA volunteer collective, I have been exposed to a wide range of feminist causes. There's one which is particularly dear to my heart: the lesbians of Kakuma Refugee Camp.

On top of the challenges most refugees face - struggling to access basic necessities like food, water, and shelter - these women are all the more precarious because of their sexuality. Other members of the refugee camp have attacked them. These attacks include rape, physical assault, threats, name-calling, and arson.

Now the camp is due to close, and lesbians will lose what limited protections it offers. Refugees in Kakuma have been offered a small sum to start their own businesses and become Kenyan citizens. As FiLiA Trustee Sally Jackson wrote :

"This is a positive solution for a lot of the refugees, but what about if you are lesbian (or gay, bisexual or transgender)? How can you run a business when people won’t buy from you because of their lesbophobia? When people will destroy your produce because they can’t abide your sexuality, where people will steal any profits because they don’t think you should be able to live your life?

This is not a solution that is safe for our lesbian sisters. If the (scant) protection the camp provides is ended they are at the mercy of a government, police force, health system and community that is institutionally lesbophobic and proud to be so. Their lives are in danger and there will be no-one to protect them. This is now an emergency situation."

Every last penny counts in such a desperate situation. And so, I'm doing a sponsored readathon to fundraise for our sisters at Kakuma Refugee Camp. This week I'm going to read for 24 hours, hoping to raise as much as possible. Any and all donations are greatly appreciated.

The proceeds of this readathon will go directly to FiLiA, who will send everything on to the lesbians of Kakuma. If you would like to learn more, women from the camp gave a recent webinar about their lives and struggles with FiLiA.