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By Melanie Nathan, JANUARY 23, 2023

Let us start with a BIG THANK YOU to our major Corporate Donor, EVERLAND,  for the generous donation that has made this program possible.

I am so proud of our terrific African Human Rights Coalition TEAM accomplishment, and all the groups and leaders who answered the call to take charge and fill needs. With thanks to our generous donors and our AHRC Team, African Human Rights Coalition delivered its first phase of a newly set up food grant program in Kakuma Camp, Kenya, for LGBTQI+ refugees.

We provided food/ grants to 44 group leaders representing 380 LGBTQI adults plus 90 children.

The creatively designed process went smoothly and well and was completed in record time, with thanks to everyone’s extraordinary cooperation and the hard work on the ground.

AHRC has provided services to LGBTQI+ refugees in Kakuma Camp since 2014. Our services, inter alia, have included supplementing food rations and sanitary supplies, which has ramped up significantly as more LGBTI people show up, fleeing criminalizing laws, state sponsored violence, taboo and demonization.

During the COVID-19 lockdowns we were poised and able to distribute food on an ongoing basis for two years, utilizing various partnerships and funding streams. When this came to an end, EVERLAND stepped up and we were able to re-design this Program for 2023.

In a matter of months we realize we have under-estimated the need, as more and more arrivals show up, with limited pipeline and few solutions for the long term.

Unlike their heterosexual counterparts in the camp, LGBTI people must exert a special level of self-security and special care, so as not to expose themselves to anti-LGBT harm in an atmosphere that continues the very demonization that they fled from. Hence, LGBTI refugees are limited in what they can accomplish through employment and livelihood to sustain their needs in this environment. This complex situation requires our partnership and so we continue to develop supplemental food programs to mitigate the hunger that people are bound to suffer given limited nutrition received through low and inadequate rations.

AHRC is the ONLY organization providing such programing on a regular basis to LGBTI people in Kakuma and the need is growing.

We would like to ramp up our next distribution set for March 01, 2023, as we expect even more applicants and are hoping more donors will consider contributing.

Life is harsh in Kakuma for everyone. It is a thankless environment where many feel hopeless. Supplementing food is critical. For the price of one large cuppa latte plus tip, we can supplement an individual for an entire month.

With your help, we look forward to spreading hope and love.

PLEASE DONATE HERE

Many thanks,

Aluta continua
Melanie

Melanie Nathan | pronouns: she / her / hers
Executive Director African Human Rights Coalition
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