Worldwide Information Blogger Luc Schrijvers: Good news for the New Year

maandag 7 januari 2019

Good news for the New Year

Dear friends,

Happy New Year from All Out!

We wanted to start the year with some good news on three recent wins powered by All Out members.

Last month, we launched a crowdfunding program called Grassroots Empowerment, where business proposals from LGBT+ refugees are available for seed funding from the All Out community.

In partnership with the Refugee Coalition of East Africa, four groups of refugees presented life-changing business proposals. These businesses are their only chance at escaping the cycle of poverty that so many LGBT+ refugees face.

And now, thanks to the donations of 671 All Out members, each of these businesses are going to be fully funded, giving the entrepreneurs a chance at new and self-reliant lives.

If you haven't yet, check out the inspiring video showcasing these business ideas here.

On 1 January, Jair Bolsonaro – a man who said that he "would rather have a dead son than a gay one" – took office as Brazil's president. Knowing that times would be trying, hundreds of All Out members in Brazil donated so we could send Bolsonaro a big message.

The next day, we projected a giant statement of solidarity and protest onto buildings in Brasília, including Congress, which said: "We're LGBT+ and we will resist".

It's a clear message to Bolsonaro that we will not be intimidated and we will keep defending the rights of LGBT+ people in Brazil. Click here to check out more photos of the action on Instagram!

Not on Instagram? The photos are available on Facebook, too.

In September 2018, India's Supreme Court finally overruled their anti-gay law. All Out members took this opportunity to help our partners at Jhatkaa.org launch a bold campaign to change hearts and minds across one of India's biggest cities, New Delhi.

Thanks to hundreds of donations, messages of love and acceptance of LGBT+ people are being displayed right now in one of the most popular public spaces in the city. We're told this is the first time in the country's history that a pro-LGBT+ billboard is on display.

For a full month, these messages will create the space for hundreds of thousands of people to engage in conversations around the inclusion of LGBT+ people. Watch our video reporting back on this incredible moment today.

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Thanks again for all that you do. If you don't already, be sure to follow us onFacebook, Twitter, and Instagram to stay updated on the latest campaigning news!

Thanks for going All Out,
Matt, Ana, Sharifah, Yuri, Sarah, Leandro, Angie, Igor, Marilia, Monica, Mathias, Paula, and Tim