16/11/2025
This is Transgender Awareness Week. As an organisation we want to make people aware of the needs of transgender people in rural areas. The Trans Wellness Project (TWP) aims to work holistically on issues face by q***r people in the rural areas of South Africa. It is difficult for us to stay true to our vision, our mission, and our strategic plan. Reason is because we do not have funding. We experience that for the past five or more years, our funding proposals keep on being declined by funders without a solid explanation why. Small funding we got, gave such big expectations from funders that do not aligned with the realities of the rural q***r community. For example, q***r people in rural areas are the highest in unemployment. They go for weeks and months on not having something to eat and struggle here and there just for a slice of bread. Funders expect us to fill in a whole human rights violation or emergency case document before we can assist with food. What case? Where is the human right violation if nothing happened to the person? The person is unemployed, stays alone, have no family or theres no family support. Community members get tired of the person who keeps on begging for food by them.
Funders, can we change our strategies and our expectations in our funding criteria? Can we sit around the table and discuss this? Organisations that have other organisations as sub-recipients, can we all write the proposal together before you submit it to the big funder and before you come and force us to do things that YOU promised the funder without consulting us first. Also, why is there so much expectations around the little bit of money you gave us. You hardly gave us half a million but you expect work relevant to a million rands. Can we PLEASE stop beaucracy and capitalism in NGO work.
Older trans specific, trans-led and broader LGBTIQA organisations, can we form partnerships that benefits both and not partnerships where you act is our bosses. And oooooooooohhhhhhh yes, trans specific organisations, how do you employ cisgender gay men and cisgender le***an women to make decisions on transgender people. Those are the most transphobic people. Can we discuss this as well please.
While it is Transgender Awareness Week, can we make people aware of the realities on the ground please. Yes; let’s concentrate on the highlights of our work but let’s explain what and who brought us there.
TWP is fine to not get support if support brings us more emotional and psychological breakdowns. We are fine not getting support if it means you want to boss us around and not partner with us. We are fine if you badmouth us by funders cause we did not bend over for you.
Let’s start having open and honest conversations.
