Bar Wotever pay the rent for a Sanctuary House in Uganda

Since May 2015 Wotever World have paid rent for a sanctuary house for our LGBTQ friends in Uganda. We pay in arnd £130-£150 and we raise this voia our crew and audience members. We shake the bucket once a month at Bar Wotever and this normally covers it fine. If you want to help by donating online, please feel free to do so. It's mates helping mates out....

Eventually we will do something bigger re this and we have linked up with Rainbow Riots to help LGBTQ peeps in Uganda better. More about Rainbow Riots here: http://rainbowriots.org/

Until we have anything else in place to help out, we continue to pay in monthly rent money to help with this house.

WOTEVER SUPPORTS A SANCTUARY-HOUSE FOR LGBTQI PEOPLE IN UGANDA

Wotever World was recently approached by a brave young man, S-, who is trying to help his friends stay safe. They currently occupy an (increasingly rare) 'safe' house for LGBTQI people in Uganda and were about to be evicted if they didn’t find funds soon. In addition to being a home for LGBTQI permanent residents, the house is also a rare place where LGBTQI people can come in an emergency, gather together and be safe. If they are evicted, THEY HAVE NOWHERE ELSE TO GO.

WHY THEY NEED YOUR HELP

“We are worried for our lives” says S-, “It is difficult to get a job (or keep one) when people know you’re gay. We have been disowned by our parents. This house is the one place we can live with our fellow community”.

In Uganda people are arrested not only for being lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, but for also being accused of being LGBT, for socialising with people who are LGBT, and for renting a room to, or hosting anyone one who is perceived to be LGBT. Any local organisation that puts up a strong fight for the rights of LGBTI people is considered illegal as it is deemed ‘promotion of homosexuality’ by the law. Such mentality has promoted violent attitudes towards the LGBTI community. They have suffered eviction from their homes, loss of jobs, mob attacks in the streets and murder. LGBTI people are subject to arbitrary arrests (even when reporting crimes against themselves) and are sometimes groped or beaten while in police custody. It is no surprise therefore, that victims of public abuses are scared to report them to the police, leaving them unable to seek redress. Spaces for dialogue or awareness raising have been closed or censored and many LGBTI people are also disowned by their families.

In the past, S- and his friends managed to make a small living by selling their craftwork in a nearby market, but the local council recently demolished the market and they now have no viable way to make money.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

We want to do what we can to keep our LGBTQI brothers and sisters safe. Wotever World recently raised funds to pay for the rent arrears, with donations from kind people at Bar Wotever. We have pledged to raise more funds for ongoing support of the safe house, so that they can remain there. The rent amounts to no more than £100 per month. However, to maintain this support, we need to raise as much as possible to ensure it is paid on a monthly basis.

If you would like to help ensure that S- and others like him have somewhere safe to live, or to retreat to in times of real emergency, you can donate here.

THANK YOU

In solidarity, and with peace and love,

Wotever World.