Published: Dec. 5, 2023
On November 1, 2023, Friends from around the country visited by Zoom with Hellen Lunkuse Tanyinga, co-founder and co-clerk of Bulungi Tree Shade Friends Meeting In Jinja, Uganda. Hellen and Bulungi Tree Shade Friends Meeting have been on the cutting edge in supporting LGBTQi people in Uganda. The persecution of LGBTQi people there has impacted them greatly. A worship group leader was murdered, nine members were taken in by police and tortured, and many have had to flee their homes and employment. Some have been assisted in leaving the country by the Friends Ugandan Safe Transport (FUST). A project of Olympia Friends Meeting, to date FUST has helped 3,010 LGBTQi people (and a few allies and children) flee, and they are now located in dozens of countries around the world.
Hear more about this work in this video of the presentation, which was hosted by the Peace and Social Concerns Committee of North Pacific Yearly Meeting.