big party lgbt community

By Prince MacDonald

November 2004: The LGBT community gather for some fun, some education and some inspiration - and Centre for Popular Education and Human Rights Ghana made it happen.

"I am glad to be part of this programme," was a comment made by a young gay man invited to the party all the way from South East of the United Kingdom (UK).

"We need more of such educative and informative programmes to help us know our rights and issues of HIV/AIDS STIs" Musa said.
"Such programmes will help people to know their rights as an individual whiles others will get the facts on HIV/AIDS STI in the process," he continued.

Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals and Transsexuals (LGBT) communities in Ghana, and Accra in particular, are so far not been reached with the issues such as HIV/AIDS and STI/STD and educational programmes on TV and radio focuses on only the heterosexual population. This makes the young gay guys to feel that anal sex is safe. In the process, many LGBTs are believed to be dying from time to time with sexually transmitted diseases (STD) and even HIV/AIDS.

This situation is the back ground for the formation of the Centre for Popular Education and Human Rights Ghana (CEPEHRG) to provide care and support, peer education, advocacy, condom/lubricant distribution, capacity building and other activities. CEPEHRG with the help of the Gay and Lesbians Association of Ghana (GALAG) and other organizations working on HIV/AIDS and STIs organize this get-together on the birthday of the National Director, to bring together the LGBT community together to discuss issues that affect the community.

There were people present early in the night and are ready to help organize the venue. The rainbow flags were used to design the tables and the background. The song for the day is "Something Inside So Strong", a song adopted by lesbian and gay pride by Labi Siffre.

In attendance was the Director for Theatre for a Change, UK, an organization working with other Non Governmental Organization in Ghana on using Interactive Theatre as a tool for behaviour Change with young people, thereby reducing the number of young people dying of HIV and AIDS.

Also in attendance was the Chief of party for the Academy for Educational Development(AED). AED is in Ghana to work with marginalised groups like people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), Commercial Sex Workers (CSW) and Men who have Sex with Men(MSM) who are at high risk of contracting and spreading HIV. "We are in to raise the issue that need to be talk about," he says. "Gay men cannot continue to die in silence."
There were people from the USA volunteering services schooling in the university on Ghana present with their local friends and love ones. There were also visitors from the United States of America working with the USAID there to support.

The Young Peoples Experience for Change (YPEC), and representatives of local organizations working on HIV/AIDS were there. The West Africa Project to Combat AIDS and STI (WAPCAS) who donated condoms and lubricants towards the programmes were also present, to share experiences with the gathering. WAPCAS provide STI/STD services for young people in all the regions in Ghana and will also be working with the MSM population.

The Popular Theatre Group (PTG) who uses Interactive Theatre in creating behavioural change and other human rights awareness, performed a drama piece on a young gay man who was been forced by friends and family to get married and have children. This made this gay man to live a hypocritical lifestyle by also going out with girls just to cover up his gay life style. He later realised that he is HIV positive but did not know where and whom he got it. He bowed and cried when people began to stigmatize him. This ends the drama piece.

Audience were asked to help the main character to re-enact ways they thought he could have change his behaviour to avoid HIV on stage. A young man walks on stage and responded to the mother "mom mom" he said calming her. "I have sisters; they can give you grand children. That is my life; I chose to go with a boy, that's all."
For many people, this was the first time they have seen and heard an issue that affect the same-sex relationship been addressed in public.

Journalists for Human Rights Ghana was represented by the Country Director and other volunteers with her.

The National Director for the Centre for Popular and Human Rights Ghana (CEPEHRG) the organizers of the party took time to talk about the importance of the use of condoms with lubricants and also asked for a minute of silence to be observed in remembrance of Fannyann Eddy, a lesbian activist murdered in Sierra Leone last month, in her office, at night.

Organizations such as Behind the Mask - South Africa, livelihood International - Uganda, Amnesty International, The Human Rights Watch, International Lesbian Gay Human Rights Commission (ILGHRC), Gay and Lesbian of Zimbabwe (GALZ) The Rainbow Project - Namibia , Alliance Rights - Nigeria and the Sierra Leone Lesbian Gay Association (SLLAGA) were commended for supporting the LGBT communities all over the world, and particularly in Africa. He also reminded people that being gay is a matter of love, not a matter of sex.

The special guest of the programme is Mr. John Dickens from the South East of UK. John has the passion for people living with HIV and also the LGBT community in Ghana and has been helping as an individual to prepare the grounds for "greater works" within the LGBT community in the near future. John loves human rights in Africa for Africans because of his love for the role Paul Robeson played in the struggle for racial equality and social justice.

There was the display of educational materials from the UK and others from the USA, condoms and lubricants. Later, the condoms were distributed and some lubricants were taken as sample around the hall for people to see and feel it. People after examining the lubricants bought seventeen (17) pieces of it whiles care was taken that everyone gets condoms home; Distributed four hundred and fifty (450) male condoms and hundred and fifty (150) female condoms.

Donation for the get together came from individuals and the organizations presented financial gifts to support the party.

Email: lgbtghana@yahoo.com, gaytourghana@yahoo.com