When a funding freeze hit Uganda, it left the country’s LGBTQ+ community without access to critical HIV treatment. For many, it quickly became a matter of life or death.
Real Raymond, a longtime LGBTQ+ activist living in rural Uganda and Founder of the Mbarara Rise Foundation, faced a crisis after the USAID funding cuts.
“For the first time, we had to tell LGBTQ+ individuals in crisis that we might not be able to help.”
Mbarara Rise Foundation operates five drop-in HIV centers across southwestern Uganda, where they offer medical treatment, legal aid, trauma counseling, and a safe space for LGBTQ+ individuals. After funding stopped, they had to close their doors. That meant people like Brian, a 31-year-old gay man living with HIV in Rukungiri District, couldn’t receive their medicine.
“Am I going to die?” Brian asked Real over the phone. Both knew that missing even one day of medication is life-threatening. “This was the first time I felt truly hopeless,” Real openly shared during a recent conversation with our CEO.
After the call, Real sent our crisis team an email, and we sent rapid funding right back.
“With this help, we reopened two of our five centers, and Brian got back on treatment.”
Real shared that Brian is now feeling healthy and supports others in the community to stay on treatment. “It was heartbreaking, but the ordeal also pushed us to find new ways to serve with almost nothing,” Real admitted.
Thanks to the rapid response of GlobalGiving’s Community Aid Fund, we were able to quickly bridge critical donations to Mbarara. The funding also helped deliver medication directly to individuals’ doorsteps, cover hospital transport for emergency cases, and provide legal and psychosocial support to 60 individuals.
However, critical work is still left to be funded.
“Our team has had to scale back operations. Staff members took pay cuts and some were laid off. We paused outreach activities in more remote districts like Kanungu and Ntungamo. Volunteers stepped up, but there is much to do. So we’ve really leaned into community strength.”
“We’ve built local partnerships with small clinics, LGBTQ-friendly lawyers, and even rural taxi drivers willing to offer free rides for medical emergencies.”
“It’s not enough, but it’s something,” Real said.
We want to help them reach enough. A donation to the Mbarara Rise Foundation is “Not just about dollars, it’s about solidarity,” Real said. “We ask donors to stand with us. Your support helps us save lives.”
“What we most need is consistent support,” Real said. “Consistency really matters,” agrees Victoria Vrana, CEO of GlobalGiving. “One of the simplest and most powerful ways to help is by setting up a recurring donation.”
However you choose to give, your support can help Mbarara Rise Foundation continue saving lives in Uganda’s LGBTQ community. You can also support a broader network of solutions by donating to GlobalGiving’s Community Aid Fund. This fund was created in response to the USAID collapse to support trusted, locally-led nonprofits like Mbarara. It is made up of organizations that many donors might never find on their own.
Support the GlobalGiving Community Aid Fund
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