Take a stand with LGBT Voice Tanzania

We would like to sincerely thank you for your generous support to LGBT Voice Tanzania, through your support we were able to raise about $30,963 from March 2014 to February 2016.

Here is how the money raised was spent:

1. Organizational running expenses: 

a) We were able to pay office rent from 1st April 2014 to 30th December 2015 @ 600 x 21 months = $12,600

b) We were able to pay Water bills @ $25 x 21 monts = $525

c) We manged to pay Electricity bills @ $50 x 21 months = $1,050

d) We Telephone @ $ 100 21 months =$2,100

e) Broadband Internet @ $120 x 21 months = $2520

f) Stationary lumpsum @ $241

g) Also covered bank charges @ 19.23 x 21 months = $ 403.83

h) Purcharsed  1 office desk @ $400

2. Ensuring Equal Rights project: 

We designed and implement a project called Ensuring Equal Rights  activities

a) We conducted advocacy workshops and awareness seminars @ $8,695.17

3. Litigation 

LGBT Voice spent hire a lawyer @ $ 5,000 but only  $2450 was raised on this site and $2,450 was raise through our website

It is evident that your support helped LGBT voice become more visible and efficient serving more than 500 LGBT individuals, our project Ensuring Equal Rights was very successful.

Through this project we managed to produce a report that was submited to the Universal periodic Review and now we are engaged in the review process our staff member will be meeting and breifing  diplomats from Permanent Missions in Geneva about the human rights situation in Tanzania, and thus influence the content of our statements and recommendations made in the submission.

We are officially clossing this campaign this Month but you can still support our organization through other campaigns.

Thanks for all the support.

A comment from Baina a civil society leader in Tanzania

"I had an opportunity to meet LGBT people who are educated and learned from them during this training,  I was totally wrong about you guys and now understand that we are all equal regardless of our sex orientation, I promise to work hand in had with you and make sure there is no discriminative law that will suppress the rights of LGBT in this country, please print books and reports and I personally will distribute them to my network"

As the year draws to an end, I would like to sincerely thank you for your support of LGBT Voice Tanzania; our organization has counted on your generosity to support our work toward LGBT rights for in 2015. We are extremely grateful for your support of our programs, and we hope that you will continue to show your compassion for LGBT people in Tanzania.

A few achievements in 2014

2015 was a historical year for both the organization and the LGBT community in Tanzania regardless of the political environment in the country.  We have documented  many  stories of harassment including: forcibly detaining individuals without charge, blackmailing LGBT individuals for release, corrective rape/and or sexual violence, beating LGBT individuals while in custody, and dismissing or disregarding complaints brought by LGBT people about harassment from others  and for the first time we were able to make a UPR submission that identifies shortcomings in Tanzania’s human rights laws and practices related to its treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people with recommendations to improve the lives of LGBT Tanzanians. The submission focused on three areas identified by LGBT Tanzanians that require the Tanzanian Government’s immediate attention: (a) police treatment of LGBT Tanzanians, (b) access to health care, (c) and the right of LGBT youth to education

Secondly we also managed to train 20 LGBT activists on organizational, informational and personal security and then formed an LGBT reference group track developments and provide frequent updates on the status of implementation of the proposed anti-homosexuality bill and the support it was receiving in parliament. Unfortunately the bill was kept pending.

Thirdly we managed to serve more than 200 LGBT in all our programs which include emergency support, counseling and guidance, referral for HIV testing and treatment and relocation to those who were forced to flee persecution.

Through your generous support, for the first time we were able to hire some good lawyers and file a ligation against the media that continually perpetuate Homophobia and Transphobia by publishing  false, malicious and defamatory articles to damage the reputation of LGBT groups and activists who spearhead the good work in  the opinion of right thinking members of our  society.  It is our hope that we win.

Lastly we managed to hold advocacy meetings with leaders from 33 non-governmental organizations and discussed the need to unite in the fight for equality, 18 leaders promised to stand with us in the fight but they still need to learn more about homosexuality.

Future Plans and need for funding

Our plan for the year 2015 was to  prevent the passing of the new legislation entitled ‘The Bill to Prohibit and Control any form of Sexual Relations between Persons of the Same Sex, 2014’, but the legislation was   not discussed and voted for in parliament.  We still plan to continue creating awareness about the negative implications of such legislation.

Kindly continue supporting our work so that we can implement all the planned activities that were not implemented this year.  We cannot rest till we see #EqualityinTanzania.

Comments from beneficiaries:

A comment from Baina

My religion taught me to hate gay people because they are sinners, one day I read an article about the LGBT movement in one of the western countries and thought that was western, but meeting LGBT people who are educated and learning from them during this training,  I was totally wrong about you guys and now understand that we are all equal regardless of our sex orientation, I promise to work hand in hand with you and make sure there is no discriminative law that will suppress the rights of LGBT in this country, please print books and reports and I personally will distribute them to my network

A comment from Alan

I believe that the work of LGBT Voice has brought light to most of us and but also has created a platform where LGBT people can stand and air their needs

We are excited to bring to you these updates, thanks to all of you for your continued support that made it possible for LGBT Voice to continue running.

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender individuals in Tanzania continually face significant challenges especially interacting with the law enforcers. Because homosexuality is criminalized, the law enforcers harass and demean LGBT people with impunity. In order to charge a person with violating the law criminalizing homosexual conduct, the police must catch an individual in (or attempting) the sex act a rare occurrence. Due to this obstacle to formal prosecution, police harass LGBT individuals as an informal means of punishment.

We have collected many similar stories of harassment including: forcibly detaining individuals without charge, blackmailing LGBT individuals for release, corrective rape/and or sexual violence, beating LGBT individuals while in custody, and dismissing or disregarding complaints brought by LGBT people about harassment from others.  

A transgender man was arrested in his own home and then required him to pay US$300 to be released after extensive physical torture over the course of three days, all the while telling him that he needed to “live like women. A gay man in Dar es Salaam reported that he was arrested and the police requested a bribe of 600,000 Tshs for his release.

Due to the current situation in the country Lesbian, Gay Bisexual Transgender and Queer  individuals continue to decline  seeking  health care due to fear of revealing criminal conduct to health care providers.  Similarly, health care providers cite the criminalization of same-sex sexual conduct as a basis for denying services to LGBT people.  Moreover, criminalization perpetuates stigma, and stigmatization prevents lawmakers from addressing LGBT-specific health needs.

Our volunteers on the ground are working hard creating awareness, challenging the bad laws and policies to end homophobia and Transphobia and also providing emergency assistance to the LGBT who urgently need assistance.  

The media is also is used to damage the reputation of LGBT organizations and activists by publishing negative and misleading information about Homosexuality in Tanzania to lower the reputation of people who spearhead the good work in  the opinion of right thinking members of our  society.

For the first time LGBT Voice  was able to make a UPR  submission that identifies shortcomings in Tanzania’s human rights laws and practices related to its treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender  people with recommendations to improve the lives of LGBT Tanzanians. Though LGBT Tanzanians face widespread discrimination. The submission focuses on three areas identified by LGBT Tanzanians that require the Tanzanian Government’s immediate attention: police treatment of LGBT Tanzanians, access to health care, and the right of LGBT youth to education

Kindly continue supporting our work because we still have a long way to go and all what we need to implement needs a ot of resources.

A comment by  Alan

I believe that the work of LGBT Voice has brought light to most of us and but also has created a platform where LGBT people can stand and air their needs.

We're excited to bring you this update from Ensuring equal rights of LGBT people in Tanzania project, the fight for equaity is in progress making sure that the proposed anti-LGBT  law is prevented from passing. After training 20 Activists we went on with creating awareness abot the negative implications of the proposed law and why this law should not pass.

Due to limited resuorces we were unable conduct Closed-door dialogues with MPs, political party leaders and government officials to discuss the issues that are facing the LGBT community in Tanzania, the negative implications of the passage of the new bill and proposals to ensure respect for the equal rights of LGBT persons in the context of Tanzania’s new constitution. Because the project was supposed cover for transport and accommodation costs for meeting participants, hire venue and  cover incidental expenses. The budget for this activity is $9,000 but we only had $1,533, and decided to continue creating awareness among the civil cosiety.

We managed to hold meetings with leaders from 33 non govermental organizations and discussed the need to unite in the fight for eqaulity, 18 leaders promised to stand with us in the fight but they still need to learn more about homosexuality.

The need to hold closed- dialogues with MPs,political party leaders and government officials remains urgent and this project can not succeed if this group is not reached because they are the one hold the powers to dicide for the future of the LGBTI community in Tanzania. Kindly continue standing with us to the end of the struggle.

Here is what Baina had to say during our meeting with leaders from the civil society:

My religion taught me to hate gay people because they are sinners,one day I read an article about the LGBT movement in one of the western countries and thought that was western, but meeting LGBT people who are educated and learning from them during this training,  I was totally wrong about you guys and now understand that we are all equal regardless of our sex orientation, I promise to work hand in had with you and make sure there is no discriminative law that will suppress the rights of LGBT in this country, please print books and reports and I personally will distribute them to my network.

The number of people who are willing to stand with LGBT voice  in the fight for equal rights of LGBTI people in Tanzania is now increasing and the need for more resources is increasing. There is a need for printing posters, stickers and brochures with advocacy messages. 

I would like to sincerly thank you for standing with LGBT Voice Tanzania from 26th March 2014 till this day. through your support we  raised a Total sum of $20,358/= and this is how we spent the Money.

1. Office Rent:  @ 600 x 13 months = $7,800

2. Training activists: $7,000 

  a) Per diem @ $30 x 20 pax x 5 days = $3,000

  a) Conference parckage @ $30 x 20 pax x5 days = $3,000

  c) Facilitation fee @ $100 x 2 people x5 days = $1,000

3. Broadband internet @ $120 x 13 months = $1,360

4. Electricity @50 x 13 months = $6,50

5. Telephone bills @ $100 x 13 months = $1,300

6. Water bills @ 25 x 13 months = $325

7. Stationary (wholesale) $241

8. Bank charges @ $19.23 x 13 months = $250

Purchase of 1 office desk 4x3ft @ 400

The Total amount  spent trhough the last 13 months is $19,276/= we have a balance of $1,082 to be spent 

We urgently need raise $10,000 by 30th April so that we can be able  to hold Closed-door dialogues with key stakeholders. These dialogue sessions will be organized by the reference group and will aim to discuss with MPs, political party leaders and government officials on the issues that are facing the LGBT community in Tanzania, the negative implications of the passage of the new bill and proposals to ensure respect for the equal rights of LGBT persons in the context of Tanzania’s new constitution. The project will provide for transport and accommodation costs for meeting participants, hire of secure venues and incidental expenses.

Kindly continue supporting us so that we can finish the great work we are doing.