Peace Is the Home We Build Together, Peace is Inclusion

Every morning, before the city wakes, I light a single candle in our shared shelter ,a home built by and for displaced transgender women and LGBTQIA+ refugees. That quiet moment is my daily peace: the sound of breath, the smell of wax, the promise that we have survived another night.

Yet outside our walls, peace is fragile. I have seen police raids scatter friends into the darkness, heard mothers cry as their daughters are denied housing for being trans, watched neighbors whisper when we walk by. Displacement steals not only safety but the dignity of belonging.

My turning point came the night our first shelter was attacked arrested for Six months, denied Bail, tortured in prison, Forced Anal examinations ! for being who we are . Violence stripped away any illusion that peace is only the absence of war. Peace, I realized, is the presence of justice: legal recognition, secure housing, and the freedom to live as ourselves. Freedom to Love Without Fear ! Freedom to relocate and have a right to stay !

Women and girls in our community carry the heaviest weight, trans women targeted for who we are, queer mothers protecting their children while fleeing homophobic laws. Still, we resist. We create drop-in centers, share meals, and teach each other how to stay safe. We lead.

To global leaders I say: peace cannot be negotiated without us. Protect the rights of LGBTQIA+ people, fund safe housing for displaced women, and recognize gender diversity in every peace agreement.

Peace is not a distant treaty. It is the candlelight in our shelter, the laughter of a chosen family, the courage to dream of a country where every identity is welcomed home.

Through the Prism Empowerment and Development Initiative (PRISM Uganda), which I lead, we keep building that vision offering shelter, mental-health support, and a community of safety for displaced transgender women and LGBTQIA+ refugees.