Churchwomen help the vulnerable find belonging at SA’s new queer shelter

  • 📰 TimesLIVE
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 44 sec. here
  • 2 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 21%
  • Publisher: 59%

South Africa Headlines News

A mother and daughter behind the newly opened haven for LGBTQIA+ people in Ekurhuleni have created a sanctuary for those seeking a sense of home.

Later, Msezane explains that after her daughter, Nandi, approached her to use the house as a shelter, it took two years of planning to open. The house, which Msezane bought in the early 1990s, has had many iterations, first as a children’s home, then as a safe house for survivors of human trafficking.

The house is indeed the worse for wear. Curtains hang from broken rails, the kitchen taps don’t work, electricity supply is patchy and the stove stands unused — food is made on a gas cooker on the kitchen floor. After the women’s group complete their prayers, Unathi*, 24, a young trans woman, and one of the shelter’s residents, turns to the women and the founders of the shelter. “Siyabulela on behalf of everyone,” she says. “I hope everyone who’s gathered here — like the prayer we just had — is going to work. At times, of course, we are not going to agree on everything.

But it was difficult coming to a shelter, she says, “because I’ve been through homelessness before and I never imagined myself being back in that situation, you know? So it [feels] like I’m becoming a charity case to people. A burden.”Queer migrants find their spiritual sanctuary

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.

There is no greater joy than having financial stability and a life free of debts, that’s why I keep tweeting about GregsonLillian has been a pleasure collaborating with you...there is no other way I can show my appreciation other than tweeting the good deed you have done.

We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 28. in ZA

South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.