Our Mission

Money for Migrants seeks to ensure that no LGBTQ+ refugee, wherever they are in the world, goes without basic amenities.

We recognise that there is an ongoing struggle within legal and policy arenas to establish, defend, and enshrine the rights of LGBTQ+ people around the world so that no one is persecuted, violated, or forced to flee from their home on account of their sexuality and/or gender identity. Our aim is slightly different. By connecting donors to refugees, we hope to mitigate the daily, material suffering of those who indefinitely await resettlement.

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Whilst some LGBTQ+ refugees are resettled to countries where they are able to live and love freely, the vast majority continue to live in very unstable social and financial circumstances - unsure if they're ever going to be resettled. During his recent research trip to Nairobi to meet LGBTQ+ refugees, MfM Director - Brian Oosthuizen - was struck by the daily material challenges facing refugees: they rarely leave their safe houses for fear of violence, they struggle to get and maintain employment, to eat one good meal a day, and to access healthcare. 

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Our charity operates differently to most others. We provide a platform for funds to be transferred directly to the refugees themselves. To begin with, we aim to reach the estimated seven hundred LGBTQ+ refugees based in Nairobi thanks to a partnership with the Refugee Coalition of East Africa. To ensure a degree of equality, we will cap each monthly transaction to £12.oo per (c. 1500ksh) per refugee until we've reached all seven hundred people. Of course, we hope to increase this amount in time. Though the refugees have total agency in how they spend this money, we anticipate that the money will be used toward the costs of living: food, medication, transport etc. It is not going to cover every cost, but it's a start. We will also be working with our partners on the ground both to ensure that those who are most in need receive money first, and that those refugees who are promised money are indeed receiving it. 

If you want to become a sponsor and are able to give more - great! - please sponsor multiple refugees!  However many refugees you can sponsor, trust that your money will make a difference. 

The Team