Support Nairobi Trans Safehouse!
Donation protected
About our safehouse:
- We are the organizers of Trans Empowerment Initiative , a Nairobi-based collective that aims to empower trans men, trans masculine, and gender non-conforming (TGNC) people in East Africa. Our organizational aim is to harness the lived experiences of our community to create prompt and coordinated actions that directly address our most pressing needs.
- In March 2021, we established the first safehouse for TGNC people in Nairobi . This safehouse provides cost-free shelter with an emphasis on people who use drugs, community members facing mental health challenges as a result of unsafe housing conditions or homelessness, and prioritizes refugees & asylum-seekers.
- Since opening, the safehouse has been home to drop-in residents (individuals who come in and out to access food, temporary safety, use the internet, and other utilities) as well as permanent residents (individuals who have no other place to stay and the safehouse is their only shelter).
Help keep our safehouse open by supporting our monthly costs:
Rent: $600 USD / month
Utilities (water, electric, internet, trash): $300 USD / month
Food (for 4+ residents): $300 USD / month
Sanitation supplies (for 4+ residents): $200 USD / month
Crisis fund (for medical & other emergency expenses): $300 USD / month
Monthly expenses: $1,700 USD
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Our call to action:
- We are a small organization of volunteers and community members, many of whom are facing the same challenges as those we support. As such, TEI has no offices and pays no staff, which means that all of the funds raised go will go directly to guaranteeing the continued existence of the safehouse
- As an organization, we are directed by the needs we see and experience firsthand as TGNC people in Kenya. We recognize that in order to help our community address long-standing issues around mental and physical well-being, we must first provide a safe space where individuals can live free from violence.
- Drawing inspiration from other trans-led organizations, we call upon individual donations from the broader LGB community and other allies in order to sustain our urgent mission. Our work is entirely conducted by and for TGNC individuals, many of whom are refugees, asylum seekers, or internally displaced persons.
- The aim of this project is to sustain an essential tool for addressing the most immediate needs of our community - a goal we could not achieve without the financial support and solidarity from change-focused individuals.
Thank you to all those who support us and amplify our message!
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This GoFundMe is being hosted by Ellis Locke, a US-based friend of TEI. All funds will be sent directly to the TEI organizers via WorldRemit.
Organizer
Ellis Locke
Organizer
Boise, ID