Project FOCUS on Chicago Public Radio's Worldview 2011

Last year, Project FOCUS was featured on Chicago Public Radio's Worldview with Jerome McDonnell. PF Member Grant Buhr spoke about about the history of Project FOCUS, our philosophies, and the early stages of our first development project, the Lyantonde Internet Center.

Now the Internet Center is up and running, and Grant was invited back on Worldview's Global Activism Series to speak about both the successes and the struggles encountered while developing the Center in southwestern Uganda.

If you missed it live, you can still listen to it here via WBEZ online.

Remembering David Kato

On January 26, 2011, Ugandan Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex (LGBTI) activist David Kato was brutally murdered in his home. Just a few months ago, a Ugandan newspaper published Mr. Kato’s and other gay Ugandans’ names and pictures, alongside the message “Hang them”.

As local and global allies to the Ugandan LGBTI movement, Project FOCUS and our Ugandan partnering organization ICOD Action Network are standing with Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), and other international organizations to publicly condemn this tragedy, and to call upon the Ugandan Government to protect sexual minorities in Uganda.

We call upon the government of Uganda to carry out a full and fair investigation into David’s murder, prosecute the perpetrators to the full extent of the law, and ensure that members of Uganda’s LGBTI community have adequate protection from violence, starting by eliminating consideration of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

Please join us in taking action:

1. Donate to SMUG here or contact florencia@projectfocus.org for a pledge form
2. Inform SMUG of your action around David Kato’s murder: justicefordavidkato@gmail.com
3. Urge the Ugandan Government to take the following steps:
1. Publicly condemn David’s murder
2. Carry out a full investigation into David’s murder
3. Communicate with LGBTI leaders throughout the investigation
4. Ensure that members of Uganda’s LGBTI community have adequate protection from violence
5. Eliminate any possibility of consideration or passage of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill
4. Contact your own government authorities and urge them to communicate these concerns to the Ugandan authorities in direct and private advocacy.
5. Sign petitions to tell American Evangelicals to Condemn David Kato’s murder and the Ugandan Government to back off anti-gay legislation.

Ugandan Government Contact:
President of The Republic of Uganda H.E. Yoweri Museveni
Parliament Building
PO Box 7168 Kampala, Uganda
info@govexecutive.net
Salutation: Your Excellency

Resources:
Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG)
Frank Mugisha on NPR’s Worldview
Ice Breakers Uganda (LGBTI Support Organization)
BBC: Uganda Fear Over Gay Death-Penalty Plans
NYTimes: Remembering David Kato
Reuters: Scuffles at funeral of Uganda gay activist