ABOUT US
WHO WE ARE
Rainbow Family Support Alliance (RFSA) is a gay founded and LGBT led independent, non government, nonprofit, nondiscrimination human rights organization which was founded on 7th May 2015 to create acceptance of LGBT persons in families by enhancing their image through nurturing, improving and supporting their talents, abilities, capacities, health and wellbeing. The organization grew from lived experiences of LGBT people who were victims of family harassment and banishment for their sexual orientation and gender identity.
Through lived experiences, RFSA has realized that many gifted, talented and intelligent LGBT people who go through torture by their families lose confidence in themselves, fail to achieve a future and many succumb to drugs if not supported early; their talents and giftedness are lost because of the misery they go through as a result of family rejection. However, many families that abandon their LGBT members later accept and welcome them back if they have an important role they play in society, are educated, skilled, have successful businesses and can support the family. Therefore, as an answer to the persistent biting problem of battering and rejection of LGBT persons in their families, RFSA chose to implement strategies of skills and economic empowerment, talent development, counseling and guidance, psychosocial support, behavior change, health and wellbeing, safety, legal support and single parent care that add value to an LGBT person, build their skills to make them resourceful to the family and society.
We believe the family is a basic unit of support to the realization of the full potential of the individual. Persons abilities shoot high as long as they receive love, approval and acceptance from their families, but we identified that discrimination curtails the ability of families to see the giftedness and abilities embedded in their LGBT members and so our target is to capacitate an LGBT, bring out the good and giftedness in them to be realized by families that will later love the LGBT and also include the LGBT in the general community.
From personal experiences and from lives of other LGBT colleagues, we realized that, most families that had abandoned their LGBT members, find it easy and necessary to relate with them again when they graduate, establish a successful business or see them as having opportunities and so it became clear to us that the best way to create acceptance for LGBT in families and general community is by capacitating them. Since LGBT belong to the general society, after empowering them, we put them in the general community as a key service providers and their successful work and competence speaks to the homophobic community to accept them. That is why RFSA Motto is Empower, Include, Liberate.
RAINBOW FAMILY SUPPORT ALLIANCE
VISION & MISSION
VISION of RFSA;
An empowered and fully capacitated LGBT who is accepted and supported by the family, well integrated in the community and able to claim space.
MISSION of RFSA;
To enrich LGBT people through building alliances that develop, enhance and promote their talents, skills, abilities, interests, health and wellbeing so that they are accepted by their families as we include them in the general community
OBJECTIVES of RFSA;
- To equip LGBT people with knowledge and skills that make them self reliant, resourceful and accepted in their families and community
- To identify and improve talents of LGBT people while creating spaces in mainstream society where they can be utilized
- To create LGBT friendly families that will foster support, self esteem and confidence among their LGBT members and general family
- To build alliances that have opportunities of discovering, nurturing, exhibiting and promoting LGBT talents, skills, abilities, reconciliation with families and inclusion in mainstream society
- To develop collaborations and practices that favor the health and wellbeing of LGBT and LGBT families
- To implement strategies that guarantee safety and security for LGBT and LGBT families
CORE ACTIVITIES of RFSA
- Skills Empowerment
- Talent Development
- Family Reconciliation Services
- Counseling and Psychosocial Support
- Health and Vitality
- Emergency and Safety
- Behavior Change
- Single Parent Support
- Research and Documentation
- Legal Referrals
- Capacity building for Allies