Help us build a safer, stronger, and more connected future for LGBTIQ+ African asylum seekers and refugees.

Why We Need Your Support This Pride Month

Pride Month is a time to celebrate love, visibility, and liberation — but for many African LGBTIQ+ asylum seekers and refugees in the UK, it’s also a reminder of the pain, isolation, and persecution they’ve faced simply for being themselves.

At Out & Proud African LGBTI (OPAL), we provide a lifeline:

💜 Safe spaces to meet, connect, and heal

💜 Weekly social gatherings and empowerment workshops

💜 Mental health and HIV support

💜 Help with food, transport, and accommodation for those in hardship

💜 Advocacy and witness statements to support asylum claims

💜 Community visibility through Pride marches and cultural events

👥 Who We Support

We work with LGBTIQ+ asylum seekers and refugees from countries such as Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Sierra Leone, and Zimbabwe — where being LGBTIQ+ is still criminalised. Many of our members have fled violence, sexual assault, blackmail, and forced marriage. Some arrive in the UK with nothing but fear, trauma, and the hope of finding safety.

OPAL gives them the community, dignity, and tools to rebuild their lives.

🏳️‍🌈 What Your Donation Will Do

Your gift this Pride Month will help us:

• Cover travel and food costs so members can attend life-changing workshops and social events

• Organise safe and joyful Pride activities for African LGBTIQ+ people who’ve never been able to celebrate their identity publicly

• Offer mental health support for those coping with PTSD, depression, and rejection

• Support asylum applications through legal referrals, translation, and emotional advocacy

• Maintain our community space, where our members find warmth, friendship, and hope

No contribution is too small.

🌈 £10 – Covers transport for a member to attend a support group

🌈 £25 – Provides food for a Saturday Social

🌈 £50 – Supports a Pride visibility event

🌈 £100+ – Funds part of our hardship grant for a homeless refugee

💬 From Our Members

“OPAL gave me the courage to live again. I met friends who didn’t judge me. For the first time, I felt free.” — Emmanuel, Ghana

“Without OPAL, I would still be hiding who I am. Here, I’m not just safe — I belong.” — Grace, Uganda

🙌 Stand With Us This Pride

This Pride Month, show your solidarity by supporting a grassroots African LGBTIQ+ organisation that makes a real difference in the lives of people at the margins. Together, we can amplify voices silenced by fear — and replace persecution with pride.

👉 Donate now and share with friends.

🏳️‍🌈 Because everyone deserves to be Out, Proud, and Free