None on Record is a digital media organisation working to document stories from LGBT communities in Africa.
Founded in 2006 by Selly Thiam – herself a Senegalese lesbian living in the U.S. – the project began as a way of collecting oral histories of LGBT Africans.
In the collection of intimate clips below, participants ranging from an executive chef and a Legal Officer at Kenya’s National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission to the Executive Coordinator of the Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya, and Ugandan transgender activist and scientist Cleopatra Kambugu, share their stories of coming out and messages for African LGBT youth.
The organisation previously produced a series focused on LGBT Africans seeking asylum in the UK, and in October 2015 they have plans to host a three-day cultural arts festival in Nairobi.
There is still much violence perpetrated against LGBT people. People deal with extortion by police, lack of access to health care and employment. LGBT people face illegal evictions from their homes and being ostracized by families and communities. Some religious leaders add fuel to the fire by actively preaching against LGBT people, calling it a lifestyle, unAfrican and perverse. Still, there is a vibrant LGBT community in Kenya that is becoming more visible everyday. There are active organisations working towards equality.”
Selly Thiam
Kendi Magiri, Kenya
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewuZDtH7CEo
Njeri Gateru, Kenya
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiNo3r-USYw
Lorna Dias, Kenya
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uggOF9U0A8
Cleopatra Kambugu, Uganda
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyxK7U3-Iek