ORAM

ORAM stands in solidarity with Berlin’s LGBTIQ community following the devastating attack at Berlin Pride on Saturday.

As an organization that has called Berlin home for the past eight years and has served LGBTIQ refugees in Berlin since 2022, we are heartbroken by this act of violence against our community.

Pride should be a space of visibility, belonging, and safety. This attack is a painful reminder that LGBTIQ people continue to face violence simply for living authentically.

We mourn the life lost, hold the injured and recovering close to our hearts, and stand with everyone in Berlin grieving and healing from this tragedy.

ORAM remains committed to advocating for the rights and safety of LGBTIQ people, especially those in displacement, so they can live with dignity, security, and opportunity.

Ahead of , ORAM’s Kenya Team hosted a two-day Training of Trainers (ToT) workshop for 12 LGBTIQ refugee community leaders in Nairobi.

The workshop strengthened participants’ leadership, conflict resolution, and facilitation skills while creating a safe space for them to reflect on their journeys, discuss their impact in the community, and celebrate well-earned milestones and successes.

“This year, there were mixed emotions around World Refugee Day — happiness for how far the LGBTIQ refugee community has come in Nairobi, and sadness for the immense challenges the community still faces, especially new arrivals,” shared ORAM’s Program Officer, Kennedy Mwangi.

At ORAM, we believe refugee leadership is essential to building stronger, safer, and more connected communities. Thank you to ORAM’s Kenya Team for facilitating this valuable training, and congratulations to all participants as they continue strengthening their leadership skills and supporting their communities.

Seven years ago today, Steve Roth became ORAM’s Executive Director and helped guide the organization into a new chapter of growth, impact, and community-centered action.

Steve’s journey at ORAM began with a listening tour — hearing directly from LGBTIQ refugees around the world about their needs, hopes, and priorities. That commitment to listening has continued to shape ORAM’s work: protecting and empowering LGBTIQ refugees and asylum seekers, creating sustainability and systemic change.

To recognize Steve’s anniversary, we are sharing reflections on his leadership from across the ORAM community — including staff members, partners, donors, supporters, and LGBTIQ refugees impacted by ORAM’s work.

Thank you, Steve, for your continued dedication, vision, and determination to expand ORAM’s mission and help build a world where LGBTIQ refugees can live safely, with dignity, and with opportunity.

For Alina*, a bisexual refugee from Kyiv, the life she had built changed after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

She fled with her mother and two cats, eventually arriving in Germany. During those first uncertain weeks, a gay couple opened their home to Alina and her family — offering safety, care, and a place to begin again.

“For me, it was interesting how people from the gay community stepped up first,” Alina reflected.

That support helped shape Alina’s path forward.

Through ORAM’s economic empowerment initiative for LBTIQ women refugees from Ukraine, Alina joined a professional development seminar, enrolled in a UX/UI design course, and connected with a mentor as she worked to rebuild her professional life in Germany.

This is Adaptability in Action: q***r community support, practical tools, and pathways helping LGBTIQ refugees move toward safety, stability, and self-sufficiency.

Read Alina’s full story here: https://www.oramrefugee.org/post/democracy-must-be-fought-for-how-q***r-support-helped-alina-rebuild-in-germany



*Name changed to protect Alina’s safety.

For 2026, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency reminds us that everyone has the right to seek safety — including LGBTIQ refugees and asylum seekers.

But for many LGBTIQ people forced to flee, safety remains difficult to access. Discrimination, lack of shelter, limited information, barriers to work, family rejection, and exclusion from support systems can stand in the way.

ORAM asked six LGBTIQ refugees impacted by our programs what they needed on their journeys to safety.

Their answers point to tangible, achievable solutions: shelter, economic opportunity, family recognition, community support, access to information, and dignity.

Swipe through to hear their voices — and to see what it takes to make the right to seek safety real for LGBTIQ refugees.

This Week and , ORAM is proud to spotlight My Mental Health Hub, a new LGBTIQ refugee-led initiative focused on mental wellness, community care, and holistic healing for displaced LGBTIQ people.

My Mental Health Hub is a trauma-informed initiative built on the belief that mental health is a right. Its approach centers the body, mind, soul, environment, movement, creativity, and community-based healing.

For many LGBTIQ refugees and asylum seekers, displacement brings deep stress, isolation, and trauma. My Mental Health Hub is creating space for people to reconnect with themselves, access community support, and explore practical tools for healing.

The goal is to help people “take back that power” — through movement, creativity, and care that meets people where they are.

This week, you can support My Mental Health Hub by:

- Attending their World Refugee Day event, “Reconnect with Your Inner Child”, in person in Nairobi

- Following on Instagram and sharing their work

- Supporting their efforts to expand mental wellness support for LGBTIQ refugees in transit

https://www.mchanga.africa/fundraiser/139832?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio

From all of us at ORAM, happy .

We stand in solidarity with all members of the LGBTIQ community — especially those living in displacement.

At ORAM, Pride Month is also Refugee Pride — a time to honor LGBTIQ refugees and asylum seekers, especially as we approach World Refugee Day on June 20.

This year, LGBTIQ organizations, particularly those serving refugees and asylum seekers, are facing severe funding constraints and political backlash while community needs continue to grow.

To meet this moment, ORAM is working with clarity, strategy, and creativity to protect and empower as many LGBTIQ refugees as possible.

During Pride Month, we are honoring Adaptability in Action. Adaptability is one of ORAM’s five core values, and we are putting it into practice by strengthening partnerships, coordinating services, and using limited resources as efficiently as possible to make the greatest impact.

Throughout the month, we’ll share moments that show ORAM practicing Adaptability in Action.

Follow along this to learn how ORAM is adapting to meet this moment.

Earlier this month, the Q***r Forced Displacement Network (QFDN) officially launched in Bangkok through Rainbow Railroad’s Q***r Forced Displacement Initiative.

The launch followed nearly two years of global consultations. ORAM co-organized the Kenya consultation in October 2025 and participated in the Mexico City consultation, bringing regional perspectives into the network’s development.

At the QFDN launch, ORAM’s East Africa Program Manager, Winfred Wangari, spoke on a panel and shared insights from Kenya on the need for community-led, coordinated action led by displaced LGBTIQ people themselves.

“The findings showed Kenya as a place of both safety and contradiction: a place where people fleeing SOGIESC-related persecution seek protection, only to encounter new forms of persecution, invisibility, and exclusion,” Winfred shared.

These insights show why networks like QFDN are critical: LGBTIQ refugees face violence and exclusion across systems that too often fail to recognize or respond to their realities.

Read Winfred and Steve Roth’s reflections on QFDN, further insights from the Kenya consultation, and how ORAM can support the network here: https://www.oramrefugee.org/post/q-a-oram-s-insights-on-the-q***r-forced-displacement-network

***rForcedDisplacement

IDAHOBIT’s 2026 theme — At the Heart of Democracy — reminds us that during conflict, political instability, and shifting regimes, LGBTIQ refugees face heightened risks and are often excluded from traditional humanitarian response.

Join ORAM for an Instagram Live discussion on Protecting LGBTIQ Refugees in Times of Crisis.

ORAM’s Director of Programs, Anja Limon, will be in conversation with Communications & Development Coordinator Kyle Kvamme about how global crises impact LGBTIQ refugees — and what grassroots and refugee-led organizations have identified as critical support through ORAM’s Inclusion Program.

📅 May 20
⏰ 9:00 AM EDT / 3:00 PM CEST
📍 Instagram Live on

Follow ORAM and tune in to learn more about strengthening protection and support for LGBTIQ refugees.