umuntu is a bulletin in black and white for friends and funders of the Other Foundation

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July 2023

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umuntu is a bulletin in black and white for friends and funders of the Other Foundation.

Everyone should be free to live a safe and dignified life, have a family and make their contribution to society. The Other Foundation works to change the views, practices and institutions that prevent people - because of who they are or who they love - from being able to do that in southern Africa. We gather support for those who are working to advance equality and social inclusion of homosexual and bisexual women and men, as well as transgender and intersex people - and we give support in a smart way that helps groups to work better for lasting change.

Protecting Our Pride

Photo by Greta Hoffman on Pexels

Namibia's court ruling recognizing some same-sex marriages greatly helped the region's advancement of equality and freedom. However, despite the efforts in countries like Mauritius and eSwatini to push for legal reform through litigation and engagement with lawmakers, LGBTI people face growing hostility in our region.

The safety and security of LGBTI people in Malawi and Zambia remains a huge concern for the region. Recent arrests of activists in Zambia are a clear sign of the growing dangers to LGBTI activists. The Ugandan bill represents a significant threat to the progress being made throughout the continent. It is critical that we continue to build strong alliances with allies and maintain a compelling counter narrative. By doing this, we can ensure that the progress being made in the region is not undone in the future.

Safety and security has dominated conversations in the region. To address the ongoing threats to LGBTI people and activists, the Other Foundation is working to develop a regional emergency response protocol. An initial scoping report for such a movement-owned protocol will be made available in July. It explores options for a framework and structure of a security protocol for the region.

In honour of Eusebius McKaizer

The Other Foundation celebrates the life of an extraordinary social justice activist, writer, broadcaster, commentator, and friend. Eusebius McKaizer was not only a thought leader in our community but a passionate advocate for the rights of those who have been marginalized.

He gained prominence as a broadcaster on Power FM and Radio 702 and authored three books about South African politics and society. As a journalist he wrote thought provoking columns for the Mail & Guardian, the Sunday Times, The Guardian, and Business Day. His work continues to spark debate in politics, academia and social justice circles around the country. He contributed greatly to the identity of the Other Foundation by adding his immense skill to crafting its public narrative, he facilitated the opening of the Foundations first Kopano gathering in 2015, and served as a judge for the Gerald Kraak Prize.

Linking and learning

The Other Foundation in January partnered with LEGABIBO in Botswana, PLUS (the South African LGBTI+ business network), and The Round Table of business-focused LGBTI groups in South Africa, to host a regional 'Linking and Learning' exchange in Botswana that explored ways to better support LGBTI activists and businesses to take up initiatives that promote the full economic participation and advancement of LGBTI people.

Twenty-three participants from 6 southern African countries participated in the exchange, which looked at the business case for LGBTI inclusion and provided resources to help civil society organizations interact with large businesses. The exchange encouraged more businesses to take action towards LGBTI inclusion and included a visit to the Botswana Development Corporation (BDC), the country's main agency for financing industrial growth.

Lorraine Setuke, a small business owner who identifies as a member of the LGBTI community commented that, as a result of participating in the exchange, “I was able to sit at a table that I never thought I would engage at”.

The Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) brought 42 of its rising stars to the Other Foundation in March, to explore the work of the Foundation from the perspective of civic leadership. YALI works towards more investment in the next generation of African leaders.

The Other Foundation convened a national meeting in eSwatini in March to support parents and families of LGBTI people to become advocacy champions. Senior representatives from three LGBTI organizations in eSwatini attended the meeting. The organizations have formed support groups to reach out to LGBTI parents and families. Church leaders, community activists, and parents were also brought together in Namibia in May for a conference organized by Tulinam on the role of the church and the current situation of LGBTI people in Namibia. Church leaders from several denominations attended the conference.

Click here to read 'Roots', a paper by the Other Foundation about the role that families and parents can play in the advocacy for LGBTI equality and freedom in Southern Africa.

Where the Money Goes

Photo by fauxels on Pexels

The Other Foundation has partnered with McKinsey & Company to measure and analyze the size and value of the LGBTI market in South Africa from a commercial perspective so as to make a powerful case for business to get serious LGBTI economic inclusion and empowerment. The research intends to prompt similar studies in other southern African countries. McKinsey & Company has undertaken this exciting project pro bono. Click here to find out more about McKinsey & Company, its GLAM network of LGBTI people, and its commitment to attracting, supporting, respecting, and retaining talented LGBTI people. Look out for the results of this initiative in the coming months.

The Other Foundation published The Pink Rand in 2019, which estimated the size of the LGBTI market in South Africa. Click here to read the paper. It also published Get Real, a discussion paper on whether a compliance-based approach to LGBTI economic empowerment can work in South Africa. Click here to read it.

A Million Ones

Siya Khumalo hosted an "A Million Ones'' dinner in March to help raise funds for groups supported by the Other Foundation, with the LGBTI+ Speakers' Agency. "A Million Ones" is a community support campaign in which friends and supporters of the Other Foundation host intimate dinners in their homes with our support and get their friends to sign-up to give regular donations that go directly to grant partners. There are three steps to hosting an "A Million Ones" dinner. Click here to find out how you can host one or contact Thandeka Mukuku at tmukuku@theotherfoundation.org if you are interested.

Meet Our Team

Tumelo Masihleho

Trustee

Tumelo is the e-commerce channel leader in the L'Oreal Group's consumer products division in South Africa. He was previously the national key accounts director at Proctor & Gamble and an active member of PG's LGBTI workplace affinity group called GABLE. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree in marketing management from Varsity College in South Africa.

Nolene Morris

Trustee

Nolene is a legal activist for rural women's rights. She was the chairperson of the Lesbian and Gay Equality Project whose advocacy work secured constitutional recognition and protection for LGBTI people in post-apartheid South Africa, was a special advisor to the South African government minister for human settlements, and a researcher at South Africa's constitutional court. Nolene has practised commercial law with a focus on corporate governance and compliance.

Caio de Araújo

Research officer

Caio is a digital curatorial fellow at the centre for humanities research, of the university of the Western Cape. He was the lead investigator for the GALA Queer Archive's oral histories research projects in both Mozambique and Angola between 2019 and 2023, run in partnership with LAMBDA and the Angolan Indentity Archive. Caio holds a PhD in international history from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, and a Masters degree in sociology and social anthropology from the Central European University in Budapest.

Ricki Kgositau

Regional Manager, Global Equality Caucus

Ricki was an executive coordinator of the African Queer Youth Initiative. She was previously the executive director of Accountability International and of Gender Dynamix. Ricki worked at the Botswana Society of the Arts and at the Rainbow Identity Association. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in international relations from Monash University and is reading for a Bachelor of Theology degree through the Theological Education by Extension College (TEEC). She is widely recognized for a landmark constitutional case in the Botswana High Court that won legal gender recognition of trans diverse people in Botswana.

The work of the Other Foundation would not be possible without the generous support and solidarity of our donors. We are grateful to them all.

AARON SCHWINDT - ABRI PEROLD - ADRIAN COMAN - AGNES NYGREN - ALAN ROBERTS - ALBERT LOUW - ALEX ZIMPER - AMANDA GEYER - ANATHI SHOSHA - ANDILE MZINYATI - ANDREA MAHARAJ - ANDREW HOWARD - ANN-MARIE GOLIATH - ANTOINE PAPAYYA - ARCUS FOUNDATION - ASHLEY GREEN-THOMPSON - AYANDA BALLENSIEFEN - BARBARA BOHLE - BARBARA WRIGHT - BLANCHE TING - BOKANG MAROBA - BONGANI KHUMALO - BONGILE LECOGE - BONGINKOSI MAHALA - BRADLEY FORTUIN - BRENDA YENI - BRETON ALBERTI - BRETT PYPER - BRIAN HLONGWA - BRIAN OLSON - BRIAN SIBEKO - BRUCE COURIE - CARINA CAPITINE - CARL WOCKE - CARLA SUTHERLAND - CAROLINA SHIELDS - CATHERINE HENDRICKS - CHESLIN TWIGG - CHRIS NESSLING - CHRIS TAUTE - CHRISTOPH MINKE - COBUS BENADE - CONSTANCE MASEHLA - CONSTANCE MATSHENE - CRAIG ABRAHAMS - CRAIN SOUDIEN - DANA GAMPEL - DANIEL VAN WYK - DARREN KELLY-LOULIE - DARRYL HOWARD - DAVID DAVIDS - DAVID PRESSMAN - DAVID RYAN - DEAN EBDEN - DEBORAH BAILEY - DEON GROENEWALD - DIMITRI MARTINS - DNA BRAND SOLUTIONS - DONALD NXUMALO - DONALD STPIERE - EBEN LASSEN - ELIDJA SITOE - EMMA KAYE - EUSEBIUS MCKAISER - FANNEY TSHIMONG - FEISAL ISRAEL - GARTH FRENCH - GAYLENE PETERS - GEORGE MURUMBA - GERALD KRAAK - GINA TAGLIERI - GLENDA NOEMDOE - GRAHAM PATRICK - GUILLIAN CIRHUZA-KOKO - HAFEEZA RASHED - HARRIET TOLPUTT - HAZEL DE WET - HEETEN KALAN - HEINE VAN WYK - HERBIE AUCAMP - INGRID TUFVESSON - INKA VON STERNEFELS - ISABEL GOODMAN - ISE BOSCH - ISRAEL MQINGWANA - ITAI MUNYARADZI - ITUMELENG MAMABOLO - JACKIE HLONGWANE - JACQUELINE HART - JAY BADZA - JEAN PAUL WARMOES - JEFF ARNSTEIN - JODY COLE - JODY JACOBS - JOE MABILO - JOELINE HLONGWA - JOHAN FOURIE - JOHAN MINY - JOHN FRENCH - JOHN HARVEY - JON STRYKER - JONATHAN COHEN - JORG HASSENBACH - JOSEPH ROCK - JOSEPHE ROCK - JP POTGIETER - JULIANE HIESGEN - JULIE MOOSA FLETCHER - JUNIOR SIDZUMO - JUSTIN GOODMAN - KAITLIN DAVID - KARABO LEDIGA - KARABO NOINYANE - KEITH MUKAMI - KEVIN CHANG - KGOMOTSO KGASI - KHOLEKILE NDAMASE - KOBUS BOOYSEN - KRISTINE STALLONE - LALI MOLEYA - LAURIE ADAMS - LEBO MOTHIBE - LEE-ANN CHAIN - LERATO MOLEFE - LESEGO NGOBENI - LINDA JACOBS - LIOPELO MAPHATHE - LORING MCALPIN - LOUIS FOURIE - LUCKYBOY MKHONDWANE - LUIZ DE BARROS - MAKGANO MAMABOLO - MALUSI MAKHATHINI - MAMOHALE DIMEMA - MARC ABRAHAMS - MARC FLETCHER - MARC VAN BERGEN - MARINUS TERBLANCHE - MARION GREEN-THOMPSON - MARIUS VOS - MARK CANAVERA - MARY SIMONS - MCLEAN KWABE - MELODY MEMELA - MICHAEL ADEE - MICHAEL EDDY - MICHAEL FIELD - MICHELLE ADAMS - MIGUEL DE BRITO - MIRRIAM EDDING - MOLEBATSI TUKA - MPHO THULARE - MUZI MALINDISA - NDABA FUNDI - NDUDUZO NYANDA - NDUMISO MNGOMEZULU - NEDBANK PRIVATE WEALTH - NEIL MAYER - NEO MODISAKENG - NEVILLE GABRIEL - NEVILLE JEFTHA - NEVILLE MOUNTJOY - NHLANHLA NDABA - NKULULEKO NZMANDE - NOAH BERNSTEIN - NOLAN VAN ROOY - NOMA MOTSHOTSHI - NOMZAMO ZONDI - NONTOKOZO MADONSELA - NORMAN MEKGOE - NOXOLO HLONGWANE - NTOMBI KUNENE - ODETTE RAMSINGH - OLWETHU MLAWU - OUMA TEMA - OWEN MOKOENA - PATRICIA WATSON - PATRICK DE BREE - PEDRO RAMOS - PETER GEYER - PETROS ABRAHAM - PHUMI MASHIGO - PIERRE BUCKLEY - PIETER BASSON - REID WILLIAMS - RHINO AFRICA TOURS - RINALDO BOTHA - ROZ LEE - RUAN GOURTEY - RYAN VOLKYN - SAKKIE PRETORIUS - SAMUEL SHAPIRO - SANDRA SIANE - SANDY MOUNTJOY - SEBENZILE NKAMBULE - SELLO NZAMA - SHAKA SISULU - SHARI TURITZ - SHAUN BOOTH - SHAUN VILJOEN - SHEKESHE MOKGOSI - SHELDON PENTZ - SHEREEN JAMES - SIBUSISO MALUNGA - SIMO MVINJEWA - SINENHLANHLA LUTHULI - SIPHO MTHATHI - SIPHOKAZI NOMBANDE - SISANDA MSEKELE - SIVU YISIWE - SIYA NTSALUBA - SLOBODAN RANDJELOVIC - SOLOME LEMMA - SPENCER ECKSTEIN - STEFAN RIEKERT - STIAN LUDIK - STUART SCHEAR - SUE SOAL - SUPRIYA KALIDAS - SYLVESTER CHAUKE - TAKALANI MADZHADZHI - TEBOHO KLAAS - TERRENCE MECK - TERRENCE THONDHLANA - THABISO RATALANE - THAMI KOTLOLO - THAMI O'BRIAN - THAPELO SEKOMA - THATO LETLAPE - THEMBA KALI - THULILE MAHONGA - TOM MKHWANAZI - TRACY GARY - TUMELO KADIKA - TUMI MOHALE - TYRON POULTER - UKHAMBA GIVING PLATFORM - VIRGINIA MAGWAZA - VISTA KALIPA - VIVA LILES-WILKIN - VUYANE MHLOMI - WAYNE MEE - WELISWA RADEBE - WESLEY ADAMS - WINSTON BECKFORD - WYNAND ENGELBRECHT - XHANTI PAYI - YOLISWA MAKHASI - ZACK BOTHA - ZAI LOURENSE - ZAMO ZONDI - ZANDILE NZALO - ZANELE MABENA - ZETHU NKAMBULE - ZINGAPHI NGEWU - ZINI GODDEN - ZINTLE NWABISE - ZIYANDA MAJOZI