Refugee Trans Initiative grew out of our general dissatisfaction with how we as [refugees and] transgender members have been treated in the community while within the UNHCR Resettlement process.
- the lack of real representation, the alarming fact that a lot trans stories and experiences are literally sold to donors without any substantial help being offered in return,
- the continuous security issues that are routinely downplayed or ignored,
- the lack of empowerment and teaching of skills for trans people within the community
- and the lack of moral and psychosocial support that a lot of us forgo merely to just get by.
Refugee Trans Initiative (RTI) was formed by Vanilla in September 2018. Vanilla realized she was transgender from earliest childhood and after suffering persecution at the hands of family and society fled to Kenya to seek asylum in 2015 where she still keeps facing constant ridicule amongst a whole host of other problems shared by other trans people in the process. She was sent to the [Kakuma Refugee] camp where she was harassed and beaten nearly to the point of death and later relocated to the urban area because of this and yet the situation isn’t all that different. Vanilla felt the need to create an organization where trans people can be represented and have a voice and be empowered financially and have some sort of life as other people, and get easy access to health care.
Currently a lot of the trans refugees/asylum seekers here are faced with joblessness and can’t find any employment simply because of their nature and character. Many have resorted to sex work as a means to survive. Many lack skills to equip themselves with and earn a living from doing some form of practical work. We lack access to health care and the most basic necessary [medical services and harm reduction tools like condoms or dignified medical care.]
A lot of us need counselling for the trauma we’ve endured but there aren’t any measures in place for us to access these services.
We call upon any body/organization in a position to offer us funding to help us realize the following;
- Housing and a safe space where we can gather from time to time and encourage each other as family
- food (explain one sentence what this looks like)
- medical coverage (explain one sentence what this looks like)
There’s currently seven of us in Refugee Trans Initiative right now but we’ve got plans to expand and include more trans people that need urgent help. We’d love to join the coalition as soon as possible.
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