African LGBTIQ REFUGEES Need HELP!

I am Richard Decker. I’m a retired Registered Nurse and Graphic Designer from San Francisco, California. I am working with a group of Trans and other LGBTQ refugees in a camp in Kenya which has several compounds. Most are fleeing Uganda where they would definitely be killed or imprisoned. The compound I am writing about has been repeatedly attacked by groups of angry homophobic refugees from other compounds. They've been attacked several times in the last months. Various members have been threatened, kicked, punched, knifed, and sent to the hospital more than once. Two weeks ago a member of their group with murdered with poison. This terrorized this small camp and they were feeling very lost and abandoned. Donations allowed them to hold a memorial for their friend and have his body shipped back to his home in Uganda. All the LGBTQ camps came together for a memorial celebration of this man’s life. This allowed them to feel more cohesive and hopeful, yet they know any day they could be threatened and hurt as well.

The speaker for this group is a person named Malaika Olla. She was attacked by a man who thrust a piece of rebar up inside her. It created an infected fistula which she suffered from for months. She was very near to death. It was people like you who made donations that allowed her to get life-saving surgery in Nairobi. Other members of this group and even a local doctor have been bloodied and terrorized. They need donations for food, medical care, and a sturdy fence and barrier for their compound. This barrier would help keep their area secure so they feel safe when trouble approaches.

(Olla is the person on the far right above and in the video)

If you donate to this group, they will verify each purchase or treatment with receipts and photos and video of the treatment or transaction. I have worked with them for several months and have come to trust them only after requiring adequate proof of the situation, documenting of attacks and wounds and photos of receipts and purchases. They also supply me with videos of this group’s inadequate living conditions.

I know of their sincerity. This a very desperate situation. These folks don’t know how they will ever escape the camp and start life again somewhere safe. They do their best to try to be positive about the future, most of the time they have to be constantly vigilant, worrying about the next meal, the next attack and finding it hard to sleep at night. They don’t have rooms or comfy mattresses. They live inside a shack with a dirt floor.

Imagine the indignity they felt to lose their former lives, their security, not to mention family and friends. Uganda’s and Kenya’s stringent laws regarding homosexuality and transgendered people are extremely oppressive. And wounding or killing a person like Olla is not treated as a crime.

These refugees didn’t come from situations like the ones they are in now. They were workers, students and creators. They are into Fashion, Art, and Transgender culture and LGBTQ Rights. They work and create with what they have in the camp. They are already known throughout the camps and frustrated hateful ‘straight’ gangs from other countries take out their frustrations on those they perceive to be weak. These people are sitting ducks right now. We are seeking donations from everyone who can spare some cash for these desperate individuals.

If you want to donate to a particular project, I will send you all the proofs and documentation they will provide me. Your donations are secure and I will be sure every penny gets to these guys. I receive no payment for this fundraising or any other reason. When you donate you can be sure that I will ethically collect the funds and distribute the moneys only for specific needs or projects. They’re so grateful and humble to get anything. Donations have been slow and inadequate the last several months. WE NEED YOU!

These women and men are trying to find a way free to themselves of their current and cruel circumstances. They really need some HOPE in their lives. SO PLEASE GIVE to MAKE SURE your AFRICAN LGBTIQ SISTERS DON’T GO ON SUFFERING AT THE HANDS OF HATEFUL CROWDS.