Empowering Sexual Minorities, Together we can break the Ice

 

 

 

Year End Report

 

 

 

2009

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Contents

 

 

Ø      Introduction

Achievements

Ø      Community Sundays

Ø      Resource centre

Ø      Partnerships

Ø      Website

Ø      Capacity building

Ø      Cells

Ø      Research

Ø      Documentary

Ø      International participation

Ø      Advocacy around the anti-homosexuality bill

Ø      Religious anti-homosexual campaign

Ø      MSM project

Ø      Court cases

Ø      MTN marathon

Challenges

Ø      Religious anti-gay campaign

Ø      Anti-gay bill

Ø      Funding

 

Conclusion

Appreciation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Introduction

Once again we come to the end of yet another year of struggle, achievement and challenges. As is our culture at Icebreakers Uganda, we humbly submit this report to inform all our partners of the main activities and achievements of Icebreakers Uganda in the past year. Remembering our priorities being empowering  sexual minorities with moral support and courage, educating gay people in Uganda on risky sexual behaviors, educating gay people in Uganda on their human rights, conducting advocacy for observation of gay human rights thus reducing discrimination and denial in dealing with those affected with HIV/AIDS, researching on aspects of gay rights, nature of relations, patterns of relationships as they influence and impact on health, networking and collaborating with other organizations for comprehensive services, putting up information to end bias and ill-will towards gay aspects in society.

 

We are still committed to learning and developing at all levels throughout the organization and we have now consolidated our work with the grass roots by introducing community Sundays where LGBTI people come to our resource centre where we support them in different fields as may be necessary. It is clear from the improvements and changes throughout the organization that the returns of our efforts flow through the care and support we give to the LGBTI community in Uganda.

 

2009 has been a challenging year not only for Icebreakers Uganda but the entire LGBTI community in Uganda with the worst cases of hate campaigns and homophobia which have all culminated into the tabling of one of the most ridiculous and anti-human rights bill the world has seen in a long time – the anti-homosexuality bill 2009.

 

This report highlights some of the excellent work that has and is still taking place on the ground and the way forward. The organization had to meet the increased expectations of the LGBTI community given the dangerously tense situation in the country yet our funding base did not match our workload, however the team has tirelessly made sure that we continue looking at the people served and strengthen our care groups otherwise referred to as cells.

 

Apart from the anti-homosexuality bill 2009 which has generated national and international concern, highlights of the year have included Community Sundays where the community convenes for support and care, Partnership with Ishtar-Kenya MSM, Partnership with Transgender, Intersex and Trans-sexuals (TITs), Workshops on security, Research in conjunction with Freedom and Roam Uganda (FARug), we are in a process of making a documentary, participation in the Changing faces changing spaces conference in Nairobi-Kenya, Participation in the World Out games in Copenhagen-Denmark, participation in the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) in Banjul-Gambia, launch of our Men having Sex with Men (MSM) project and fighting the Anti-gay campaign by the religious fanatics.

 

All in all, we are proud of what we have achieved so far and with the increasing challenges; pledge to do even better as we move on.

 

OFFICE OF THE ADMINISTRATOR

ICEBREAKERS UGANDA

 

ACHIEVEMENTS

Community Sundays

By the end of 2008, we had made great strides in as far as our grassroots cells are concerned but 2009 came with a very exciting development at Icebreakers. This is the community Sundays which were made possible with support from the Global Fund for Human Rights (GFHR). 

 

Sundays will never be the same for the LGBTI community in and around Kampala who are now able to converge at our resource centre every Sunday and enjoy movies, read book and magazines, interact and meet new people and basically have fun and unwind.

 

Icebreakers being a care and support organization, this is a very important development in our work and it has offered a shoulder for the LGBTI community to lean on in this very trying year.

 

Resource centre

Our resource centre has managed to grow from strength to strength over the past year. We have seen a steady increase in the number of people from within and without Kampala visiting and using the resource centre.

 

The number of books, magazines and movies has more than doubled and now our visitors have a variety of literature from which to choose.

 

It has remained a safe space where people can walk in and express themselves freely as well as use any of the services on offer.

 

Partnerships

Icebreakers has been working closely with Ishtar MSM based in Nairobi-Kenya and this year we formalized this partnership thus we now share knowledge on MSM issues, literature and many other activities as the need arises. We also formalized a partnership with Transgender, Intersex and Trans-sexuals (TITs) to cover for some of the areas we might not be well equipped to cover.

 

We have also maintained partnership with the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project (EAHAHRDP)Ministry of Health Uganda through the Skin/STDs/MARPI,TASO Uganda and the Mildmay centre in managing the HIV scourge within the LGBTIQQ community in Uganda, Our other partners include the gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya (GALK), HOCA-Rwanda, local partners who include Other Sheep-Uganda, Queer youths Uganda, Spectrum Initiatives, Integrity Uganda, FARUG, WONETHA, SMUG, Amnesty International, etc.

 

Website

Our website has continued to reach out to the greater community both within and without Uganda and we have seen our online guests increase over the year.

 

The website has been particularly important in keeping the community abreast with issues and updates around the anti-homosexuality bill 2009, the developments at Icebreakers and our projects.

 

Our website is at www.icebreakersuganda.org

 

Building Capacity

We have managed to keep the LGBTI people we reach abreast with how to stay safe by participating in security workshops mainly facilitated by Protection Desk Uganda (PDU) as well as building their capacity through continued workshops, we some members partner with Behind The Mask (BTM) in a video advocacy project which has enabled us to first track out production of a documentary.

 

We have had members attending many other workshops outside Uganda and these have helped build the capacity at Icebreakers.

 

It should however be noted that we still have an urgent need for capacity building in areas like leadership building, organization running and accountability.

 

Cells

Our grassroots networks have continued to exist and this in itself is an achievement given the level of hate campaigning that has gone on over the past months. These are part of the Youth Grassroots Advocacy Initiative (YOGA) of Icebreakers Uganda.

 

These cells are acting as support groups for their members and a link between the people at the grassroots and the organization giving direction on what should be prioritized at the organization.

 

Research

Apart from participating in the Crane Survey whose results have recently been released, Icebreakers-Uganda is part of a team carrying out a research on Homosexuality and Homophobia in Uganda. We hope that the results of this research will be out in 2010

 

Documentary

Using the knowledge we got from BTM, we are in the process of shooting a low cost documentary on LGBTI lives in Uganda vis-à-vis religion. This documentary will be circulated widely when production is complete.

 

We however still need funds to successfully accomplish this project

 

International participation

Icebreakers-Uganda in its bid to contribute to the struggle on the international level managed to send its members to many workshops, conferences and other activities in different countries around the world. These have included but not limited to World Out games in Copenhagen-Denmark, Changing faces changing spaces conference in Nairobi-Kenya, the NGO forum and African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) summit in Banjul-Gambia, etc

 

Participating in advocacy around the bill

We joined the civil society organizations’ coalition against the anti-homosexuality bill 2009  and we are particularly contributing to the co-ordination of the activities of this coalition.

This coalition has been central in responding to the threats posed by this draconian bill and has among others released press statements, organized public dialogues around the bill, designed strategies for engaging members of parliament to understand the implications of the bill, etc-and icebreakers has participated in each and every activity the coalition has carried out (these activities are ongoing)

 

Religious Anti-homosexual campaign

When the American evangelicals came to Uganda to launch the anti-homosexual hate campaign, Icebreakers was at hand to clear the air on most of the issues these people were raising as well as the aftermath of this campaign which has seen us constantly engaging different actors locally and internationally in our attempt to water down the hate that is being spread against the LGBTI community.

 

MSM project

We launched our Men having Sex with Men (MSM) initiative. Icebreakers Uganda MSM Initiative (IMSMI) is basically a project aiming to specifically look at MSM health issues and specifically in relation to HIV/AIDS and STIs. It aims at providing support and care for MSM infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. The main activities of this initiative include MSM social wellbeing, health and capacity building.

 

Court cases

We participated in following up and documenting on the various arrests that have been going on in the country. Many individuals have been put in prison while others are now out on bail, however no case has disposed off instead we are having more and more people being jailed on suspicions of being homosexual.

 

MTN marathon

 

As part of our service to the wider community, Icebreakers Uganda participated in the MTN Kampala marathon. This event was sponsored by MTN Uganda and it raised funds to help resettle the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in northern Uganda which has been trapped in a civil war for more than two decades.

 

Challenges

Religious Anti-gay campaign

Just when we thought that we were on course for a year of tremendous strides, an organization called the Family Life Network (FLN) sponsored a seminar that brought right wing religious evangelicals from the USA who launched a hate campaign against the LGBTI community. This meant that many people feared coming out for support and care because it became so risky for them to associate with LGBTI people who are already out.

 

As a result we have had to devise very difficult means of reaching out to these people which is also expensive, tiring and given the fact the our funding base is very small, we could not motivate some people to give in their extra effort and time.

 

Anti-gay bill

The anti-gay campaign culminated into the anti-gay bill and now LGBTI people are scared of coming out to enjoy the many services we are in position to provide, volunteers are scared of going on with their work hence we have seen a fall in the number of people openly working with us and given the fact that the work to be done is even more, we have to deal issues of fatigue due to overloading of individuals this sometimes affects the quality of work, we have seen an increase in hate talk in the media and some LGBTI visitors to Uganda have feared to make their trips.

 

Funding

Given the scope of our activities, we still have an acute shortage in funding and though fundraising efforts are in progress, funding is still a major challenge in as far as our activities are concerned. It is our hope that we will be able to raise enough resources to carry out our planned activities.

 

Conclusion

Given the prevailing situation in Uganda throughout the year, we are grateful to God, our partners and our volunteers who have put in their time, energy and counsel to see that we manage to achieve what we have and it is our prayer that this spirit continues. Icebreakers Uganda will as always commit to making the lives of LGBTI persons in Uganda and the world over better.

 

Appreciation

We appreciate our partners in the struggle who have stood with us through thick and thin because without their support, our achievements would have been a lot more difficult. These include but not limited to:

Ø      Global Fund for Human Rights.

Ø      American Jewish World Service.

Ø      HIVOS.

Ø      Astreae Lesbian Foundation.

Ø      East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project (EAHAHRDP)

Ø      Sexual Minorities Uganda.

Ø      Freedom and Roam Uganda.

Ø      Spectrum Initiatives Uganda.

Ø      Integrity Uganda.

Ø      Queer Youth Uganda.

Ø      Ishtar MSM.

Ø      HOCA-Rwanda

Ø      Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya.

Ø      Transgender, Intersex and Transsexuals in Uganda.

Ø      Most at Risk Populations Initiative.

Ø      Other Sheep.

Ø      Amnesty International.

Ø      And many others.

OFFICE OF THE ADMINISTRATOR,

ICE-BREAKERS UGANDA

December 2009