Hey comrades.

It’s been a couple of days since my last update, but I’ve continued checking in with the eight queer refugees in Gorom, as I usually do.

First, I want to thank everyone who has been reading, bumping, sharing and helping keep their story visible. I see comrades continuing to show up for them and I genuinely appreciate you not letting their situation get forgotten.

For anyone reading this for the first time , I connected with these eight people through the queer refugee community after they arrived in Gorom from Kakuma, Kenya. Since then, we’ve stayed in contact and they’ve been sharing their struggles and challenges with me. I do my best to listen, check on them and bring their situation to this community because I know they need more help than I can provide alone.

Today, I finally have a little good news to share.

The support from a kind comrade that I mentioned previously finally reached us. Once I confirmed it had arrived, I sent the money to the group so they could buy food and cooking gas.

They were so happy and grateful. They told me they didn’t have enough words to thank the person who stepped in to help them. Knowing they could at least get something to eat and cook brought them some relief.

To that comrade, thank you so much. And thank you to everyone who has continued boosting and sharing their story. Your kindness genuinely matters.

I also noticed another $25 donation that I hadn’t mentioned in my previous update. Thank you to the comrade who contributed! That brings the remaining goal from $2,890 down to $2,865. Every bit of support helps us move forward.

Unfortunately, not everything is getting better.

David recently told me that the trans woman who was seriously injured during the earlier attack is still struggling. The area around her injured eye continues to hurt and she’s having difficulty seeing clearly from that side. They’ve bought painkillers for her but the pain returns after a few hours.

I’m worried about her. She needs proper medical assessment as soon as it can be arranged safely. I wish I could be there to help her access care myself, but I’m in Juba, doing what I can from here.

The food support helped but these eight people still need safety, medical care, shelter and other basic necessities.

We’re still trying to raise $2,865 specifically for these eight refugees. We’re hoping to help with safer accommodation, food, clean water, mattresses, blankets, mosquito nets, clothing, medical needs and cooking essentials. We also hope to help David restart his bakery work so he can begin earning an income again.

If you’re able to donate, the support link is in my profile. If anyone knows LGBTQ+ organization that could help, please reach out to me.

And if you can’t donate, please keep bumping or sharing their story. Some of you have been doing that consistently since I first started posting about them and I really don’t take it for granted. You never know who might see their story and be able to help.

Small note: the fundraiser page is still being updated, so some older information may appear for now.

Thank you for continuing to care about these eight people. We’ve made a little progress but there’s still a long way to go.

They’re still waiting for safety and I’m going to keep doing what I can to help them find support.