Global LGBTIQ+ advocacy group OutRight Action International have launched a campaign to support Lebanon’s LGBTIQ+ community in the wake of the horrific blast that took hundreds of lives earlier this month.

The explosion which levelled entire neighbourhoods in Beirut last week has seen communities in the capital shattered, with hundreds of thousands left homeless and without basic amenities after the disaster.

OutRight Action International have launched a fundraising initiative to aid Helem, Lebanon’s oldest LGBTIQ+ organisation. The funds will go towards helping Helem rebuild Beirut’s LGBTIQ+ community centre and assist LGBTIQ+ folks affected by the blast.

Helem’s Executive Director, Tarek Zeidan, sheds some light on the organisation’s mission.

“Helem’s staff and volunteers have joined the relief effort in Beirut and are working to remove debris, help set up community kitchens, and dispense emergency aid to members of the community who have been affected by the explosion,” Zeidan said.

“The blast has left more than 300,000 individuals homeless. These funds will go towards helping secure shelter as well as to support our food distribution program which has benefited more than 800 individuals to date.”

Executive Director of OutRight Action International, Jessica Stern, says 100% of funds raised by the campaign will go towards assisting the LGBTIQ+ community and Helem’s relief efforts.

“OutRight’s mission is to work with local LGBTIQ organizations around the world to promote LGBTIQ equality,” Stern said in a statement.

When crisis strikes, it is our duty and honor to do what we can to support local activists. This fund will support Helem to recover and rebuild so they can resume their work toward achieving a more equitable future for all LGBTIQ people in Lebanon.”

Find out more about the campaign here.

OIP Staff

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