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HOPE FOR MIRIAM'S TWINS
First Glance
Miriam is a member of Fem Alliance (FEMA), a small grassworks support network that primarily serves women in rural Uganda who are lesbian, bisexual, or transgender.
Right now her situation is desperate. She is the mother of twins – the result of a “corrective rape” because she is lesbian. Her family has abandoned her. One of the twins has some (very treatable) asthma. But Miriam has no resources to begin life on her own and to care for her children.
FEMA is determined to support Miriam in her time of need, but its own resources are few and already stretched thin across many members. So FEMA is reaching out … to you.
Your support makes all the difference in the world – literally – for Miriam and her twins. Short-term housing, food, and basic medication offer life and hope to Miriam and her twins. Please help!
I (David Weiss) met Jay, the director of FEMA, when I was in Uganda in March on a faith-based support mission for LGBT persons. I am administering this fundraiser because FEMA doesn’t have consistent internet access and because it’s very difficult if not impossible to use PayPal to receive funds in Uganda. So all funds pledged will come in to my US PayPal account. I will then wire all the funds raised to FEMA at the end of the fundraiser.
The Rest of the Story
Uganda is a beautiful place with some of the friendliest people on the planet. I’ve experienced the beauty and the friendship firsthand. But for LGBT people in Uganda beauty and friendship are often replaced by fear and danger. This was the case for Miriam.
When her family realized that she was lesbian they mobilized a group of local men to subject her to “corrective rape,” believing that this would “cure” her of being lesbian. This is a widespread practice in many places (not just Uganda) where being lesbian is so despised that families will resort to violent means to attempt to change sexual orientation.
As a result of this gang rape Miriam became pregnant. At this point her family locked her indoors, convinced that giving birth and becoming a mother would complete the “cure.” In August she gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. Despite the violence of their conception, Miriam loves the babies and wants to raise them.
After the twins were born, some of Miriam’s friends – including her partner – often came to visit. When the family saw this, they demanded to know whether she was “still lesbian.” She stated the simple truth that she has no feelings of attraction for men – never has and never will.
In response, her entire extended family met and decided not only to throw her and her babies out of the family home, but also to disown her – effectively preventing her from turning to other relatives for help. They believe that her continued lesbian feelings make her a bad omen for the entire family.
So today Miriam lives only by the grace of others – her small circle of friends and the network FEMA supporters. None of them have the resources to support her for long, but they are scrambling to meet her day-to-day needs right now.
The Fem Alliance can support her emotionally, spiritually, and ultimately with long-term economic empowerment opportunities, but right now YOU can change her world by securing food, housing, and basic medical care for Miriam and her twins until she gets on her feet.
Your Chance to Help
This is a special appeal by FEMA because of the babies. FEMA normally spreads its precious financial resources across as many women as possible, knowing that many go under-served. But the only chance these little babies have is if they and their mother receive enough funds to give them some real security for the first few months of their life. Thus, FEMA hopes to raise $3000 for Miriam and her twins.
Of the money we raise through this campaign, the first $3000 will go entirely to Miriam and her twins. If we raise more than $3000, the remaining funds will go to FEMA, where they will be used to meet the needs of all members.
The internet has brought opposite ends of the world closer than ever before, but sometimes the images and stories that stir us only serve to paralyze us as well because we don’t know how to make a real difference in a complex world. This campaign does not claim to change the world in a big way – unless your world includes Miriam and her twins. For them, this is a world-changing campaign, and this is your chance to change the world for them.
We hope that each person who reads this far makes a gift to the campaign (any size helps!) or at least passes on a link to our campaign to someone else.
To all of you have are moved to contribute or support us in any way, Miriam, Jay, and all the members of the Fem Alliance say, “Thank you and God Bless!”
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