Kenya, in East Africa, has retained colonial-era sodomy laws meaning same-sex relations between men can be punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Even aside from that, living as an LGBTI person in Kenya is difficult where homosexuality is a taboo subject. Beatings, persecution, being thrown out of your home are all a reality. Yet this is the country that LGBT people from surrounding countries flee to for safety.
Kenya’s refugee camps are a relative safe-haven for LGBT people escaping persecution in Uganda, South Sudan and Somalia. Run by the UN refugee agency, they so provide some protections, but life is still a daily matter of survival. One Melbourne man is leading the charge for change. David Ayliffe has founded “Humanity in Need – Rainbow Refugees” where individuals doing their own little bit to help LGBTI people in faraway nations like Kenya.