1 cup of rice until Christmas

After the excitement of the last online show of Queers of Joy, where the Kings of Joy were interviewed and Lucretia, Festo and Fahad shared their dire situation in Block 13 and performed a harrowing lip sync to "We are the World, We are the Children...", the hype wore off quickly with a sobering message from Lucretia.

"We have one cup of rice left to last until Christmas." The community of 56 adults plus children had a lot more on their minds.

Since my partner, Chris started fundraising through the Queer of Joy trans, non-binary and gender diverse community, we have collectively raised funds that have made a difference for the community.

Block 13 are an incredible group of humans who are self-organised. They have a finance team, Lucretia is a human rights defender and more. They have been very responsible and accountable, showing Chris through the camp and explaining how things work, receiving smaller amounts of money at a time.

If you haven't yet heard how Queers of Joy and Block 13 met, catch up here. Meanwhile, you'll remember that their shelter has been petrol bombed several times, being burnt to the ground with people dying from these attacks. The community has had no shelter and people have been sleeping on the ground. You can see in the photos the difference that's been made by donating. Mattresses have been bought as well as rice and a cooking pot. Thank you for your contribution.

If you'd like to contribute, here's the link to give: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/queersofjoy

We are learning a lot about this situation and are reaching out in our networks to anyone who could help this group of LGBTQIA+ refugees. ORAM (Organisation for Refugee Asylum & Migration) and Rainbow Railroad have also written a detailed report about the community dated October 2021. Email me if you'd like a copy - [email protected]

When communities and people connect, all of our lives are enriched. Please keep sharing.

Love,

Danica