News
Published 11/11/2022
“We feel that this grant has been the gateway to Initiative Tilé's growth, as it has made our work a little more visible and professional so that we started to receive invitations to workshops, seminars, and conferences, and enter spaces where we hadn't been included in our first year of work.”
This testimonial, like so many others, represents the blossoms emerging from ISDAO’s contribution to the LGBTQI movement in West Africa as well as LGBTQI, Sex Workers, and People Who Use Drugs movements in Burkina Faso and Nigeria (as part of the Love Alliance), over the course of 2022.
We supported movements by awarding over 2 million USD in grants, a major increase from 2021. We are proud to have awarded 131 grants to West African activists, groups, organizations, and networks across our six different grant portfolios, as detailed in this 2022 annual report.
Blooming is also illustrated within our governing body, where the IGB is at the end of its mandate, making way for a new body that will bring new buds. Rita Nketiah from Ghana and Nataka Gmakagni from Togo, two of the outgoing members, share in the introductory letter to this report their journey within ISDAO and current prospects.
We are deeply inspired by the diverse ways that our partners are working to meet the needs of their communities, and we highlight some of them in this report. From providing subsidized medical care to underserved communities to organizing a film festival that celebrates LGBTQI African media - the range of their creativity, innovation, and resilience is inspiring.
As our movements experience unprecedented violent expressions from anti-rights and anti-gender actors, we remain determined to increase the resources available to the movements, and in our vision of an equitable, inclusive and just West Africa, free from all forms of violence and discrimination.
Enjoy!
