In 2023, the PlanetRomeo Foundation stood alongside LGBTQIA+ communities during a year marked by both crisis and progress. The passing of Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act in March shocked us with its severity and devastating consequences. Our partners in Uganda were forced to cancel projects, redirect their work toward emergency relief, and in some cases help community members flee the country. One of our partners was even arrested, underscoring the urgent need for immediate support.
Thanks to a crowdfunding campaign among donors, we were able to provide emergency grants to ten Ugandan partners, helping them strengthen shelter security, relocate community members, and offer food and safe spaces.
Beyond this emergency response, the Foundation continued its mission to empower grassroots LGBTQIA+ organisations worldwide. Across three regular funding rounds, we supported projects focused on community building, cultural and sports initiatives, and shelters.
With 60 projects funded in total, amounting to €328,535, the Foundation remained committed to creating safety, visibility, and empowerment for LGBTQIA+ people everywhere.
Asia & Pacific
In Fiji, funding helped local activists bring people together to discuss community needs, track everyday challenges, and inspire volunteers to step into advocacy roles.
In Indonesia, support reached trans women in both rural West Java and Yogyakarta allowing them to run empowerment workshops and creating safer community hubs to provide shelter, legal help, health services, and psychological care for those facing crisis situations.
And in Sri Lanka, grants powered a mix of joyful community events, practical awareness sessions on health and rights, queer film screenings, and the expansion of a vital safe house for trans people, helping more individuals access peer support, transition guidance, and a secure place to stay.
East Africa
In Kenya, funding strengthened vital shelters, safe houses, and support hubs that offered LGBTQ+ refugees, youth, and rural communities everything from emergency housing and food security to mental-health care, rights education, arts programs, sports events, and boldly queer cultural gatherings. It also backed grassroots efforts to reduce gender-based violence through sensitisation of service providers, legal-rights training, community walks, creative performances, and research that captures the real needs of LBQ communities.
In Rwanda, support helped secure housing and essentials for lesbian and gay individuals pushed out by family and landlords.
In Tanzania, grants energised youth recovery programs using sports and arts, connected LBQ women through empowering athletic spaces, and strengthened feminist networks working under extremely restrictive conditions.
In Zambia, funding expanded legal and democracy literacy so LGBTQ+ people in urban settlements can better understand and claim their rights.
Europe
In Armenia, funding made it possible to run an intensive youth program at a moment when rising homophobia and post-war tensions have made safe community spaces harder to find. Young people were able to meet, learn, develop their own project ideas with guidance from mentors.
Meanwhile in North Macedonia, support helped local youth create a much-needed community hub that is part social space, part organising base. This new hub gives LGBTQ+ youth a place where they could host everything from movie nights to drag shows, while also researching and documenting three decades of the country’s queer history. The project culminates in a public exhibition celebrating queer love, resistance, and legacy, strengthening the bridge between older activists and emerging leaders.
Latin America
In Mexico, funding strengthened a growing hub where young queer people facing social or economic hardship could find sports, art, and cultural activities that boost both personal wellbeing and community pride.
And in Nicaragua, support fuelled a bold mix of workshops, cabaret theatre, public performances, and digital campaigns that invited people to rethink harmful beliefs and confront the violence LGBTQ+ people face.
South America
In Bolivia, support helped young people in rural areas express themselves through theatre and dance, using performance to challenge rigid gender norms and spotlight queer experiences often pushed to the margins. The Foundation also funded a project that launched a much-needed temporary shelter for trans and non-binary people.
In Brazil, backing a community-focused violence research center in the favelas made it possible to gather real, local data on discrimination, safety, and access to rights as a way to exert greater influence on government policy and strengthen advocacy for those most affected by violence.
And in Venezuela, support enabled on-the-ground teams to bring psychosocial care, legal guidance, mutual-aid networks, HIV prevention, and community advocacy directly into vulnerable rural and inner city areas, ensuring queer and trans people aren’t left isolated.
Southern Africa
In Malawi funding helped create a space where LGBTQIA+ people could focus on their mental health while simply playing games, connecting, and breathing a little easier. Using sports as a gentle entry point, the project opened doors for honest conversations about stigma, discrimination, and wellbeing.
And in Zimbabwe, support enabled the expansion of a safe shelter offering housing, mental-health and legal support, and space for community organising.
West Africa
In Benin, funding supported confidence building, mental health care, and anti-discrimination workshops for LGBTQI+ people living with disabilities or albinism.
In Cameroon, support helped young trans people access skill building spaces, get involved in self-expression activities, and activism events that boosted safety, pride, and mental wellbeing for LGBTQI+ youth.
In the DRC, funds provided urgent, lifesaving shelter for trans women fleeing brutal violence in their communities.
In Ivory Coast, the Foundation backed a vibrant cultural festival that celebrated LGBTQI+ traditions, community talent, and visibility.
And in Nigeria, several initiatives strengthened humanitarian aid, expanded temporary shelters, supported HIV treatment adherence, offered vocational and life-skills training, and created inclusive sports and cultural programs for LGBTQI+ youth.
Uganda Emergency Funding
Uganda’s harsh new anti-LGBTQ+ laws escalated the risks facing queer communities, emergency funding helped a wide range of grassroots projects step in with practical, lifesaving support. Across the country, groups used this rapid-response funding from the Foundation to protect LBTQ sex workers from violence, document the economic fallout of the new law on queer women, and train rural community members to quietly share accurate, empowering information in regions where stigma runs deep. Creative activism flourished too, from a vibrant festival celebrating trans and queer women’s stories to sports events that doubled as safe spaces for health services and dialogue.
Funding also strengthened crisis support systems by expanding shelters, offering legal and medical aid, creating mental-wellness programs, and setting up community “cell” networks so isolated elders could stay connected and safe. Other initiatives used music, posters in local languages, and community dialogues to challenge discrimination, while several projects focused on responding to Gender-Based Violence, trauma recovery, and dignity kits for those most at risk.
2023 reminded us how fragile progress can be, and how vital grassroots initiatives are in times of crisis. From emergency shelters in Uganda to community-building projects across Europe, Asia, and Latin America, each of the 60 funded projects reflected resilience, courage, and the determination to protect and uplift LGBTQIA+ lives.
Together, these efforts showed that even in the face of harsh setbacks, change is possible and solidarity makes a difference. The PlanetRomeo Foundation will continue to support local initiatives worldwide, responding to urgent needs while building stronger, safer communities.
Every donation helps us extend this mission of creating visibility, empowerment, and protection where it is needed most.