Juliana, who is one of the key people in our international network
aimed at helping Nakafeero and her partners assist LGBTQ people in the
Kakuma refugeee camp, has interviewed Nakafeero about the challenges
they are facing in the camp right now.
On the run from homophobes in Uganda.
"I am a lesbian advocating for about 100 to 200 LGBT refugees in
the Kenyan Kakuma refugees camp. Living here is like living in jail
for the rest of your life," Nakafeero says.
She say that when she was in Uganda the homophobes wanted to
slaughter her like a goat because of my because of her orientation sex orientation:
"They burned my mom and my sister in the house knowing that I
was inside the house. Yet I had already escaped to my nearby friend
who help me to come to the camp in Kenya that night."
She says that the only family she has now is the group of Ugandan
LGBTQ refugees she is helping in the camp.
An urgent need for food
The most urgent need right now is money for food, as it has become
harder to raise money via the fundraiser campaign. There is a need for
sanitary products for the women and clothes and shoes for the kids,
she says.
She adds that the health services provided are rudimentary, and
risky, in the sense that you might become infected with other diseases.
She also tells the story about getting access to a help package sent
to the her in the camp. Not only did she have to pay customs, but the
clerks demanded a Kenyan tax number for her to get access to the
parcel. She found a way around that hurdle, but it says a lot about
the conditions she and her friends are facing:
"In the end it worked out and we we have learned, of course,
something about how this generally works and what could be
complications on the way... It's it's very good that that it did
arrive at the same time as we faced this dire need for food and
sanitary pads."
Lack of medicine
Nakafeero says that lack of medication is one of the problems which
really disturbs her a lot right now:
"I'm somehow sick and not feeling good at all. Although I
haven't got any medication at the moment. Medication it is one of the
main problems apart from food.... You need money from the fundraisers
to get the medication that is needed right now."
She is very happy that they got the funds needed to build a fence
around their encampment, however, and she thanks everyone who contributed.
Nakafeero Swabulah is a lesbian leader of LGBTQ refugees i Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya and in another camp in South Sudan. They need medication, shelter, food, sanitary pads, detergents, clothes and more.
