With Refugees

Simma Africa's mission is to encourage creativity and production throughout the value chain of the creative industries, thereby helping to ensure access to decent jobs and to sustain-ably improve living conditions of Lesbian, Gay, Transgender and Intersex Refugee Designers and Digital artists and their immediate environment.  

Helping those in need

There are employment obstacles faced by LGBTI Refugees due to difference in education curriculum and language barrier, They also contend with policies surrounding their legal eligibility to work (NGO Act 2016 and the Penal Code Cap 120 on Naturalization). LGBTI youths are officially excluded from participating in Uganda's formal economy. Additionally, the unemployment rate of youth is high and discrimination is a significant problem that LGBTI Refugees youth due to ageism. Most organizations require specific education qualifications, marital status, job experience, age and connections which makes it almost impossible for LGBTI Refugees to secure jobs.

For all of these reasons, the members of Simma Africa Creative Arts Foundation (SACAF) help empower LGBTI refugee youth with employable skills like: Sewing, Shoe making, Fashion & Design, Modelling and English Literacy.

"We hope to see a 60% increase in employment of LGBTI youth in Wakiso District. We also hope to see a 50% decrease in reports on cyber bullying among LGBTI youth after the project. The formation of the book club and literacy class will improve the language and communication among the LGBTI youth and help close the unemployment gap of LGBTI youth in the Central and Eastern Uganda. "

In 2018 Simma Africa in Collaboration with UNHCR organised a Fashion show for World Refugee Day. This celebration brought together over 300 refugees from 6 different countries living in uganda.