ORAM - ORGANIZATION FOR REFUGE ASYLUM & MIGRATION

Founded in 2008, ORAM is a pioneer in advocating for the protection and well-being of extremely vulnerable LGBTIQ asylum seekers and refugees globally.

• Our mission is to protect and empower LGBTIQ asylum seekers and refugees globally, creating sustainability and systematic change.

• Increase acceptance and tolerance for LGBTIQ persons applying for asylum based on their SOGI, thus creating a fairer and more inclusive asylum system for sexual and gender minorities.

• Supporting LGBTIQ asylum seekers on their journey to safety. Providing displaced queer people with temporary and longer-term housing in transit countries and regions while they await resettlement.

• Supporting economic empowerment and sustainable solutions: Providing LGBTIQ asylum seekers and refugees with the tools to create a sustainable livelihood is key to success, security and freedom for many LGBTIQ asylums seekers and refugees.

• Use innovative methods to fight the ever-changing challenges LGBTIQ asylum seekers and refugees face.

• Collaborative co-designed approach: Place LGBTIQ asylum seekers and refugees at the center of what we do.

ORAM knows no borders as it carries out its mission on multiple fronts from direct client assistance to global advocacy. ORAM’s uniquely effective approach for protecting LGBTIQ asylum seekers and refugees globally uses a three-pronged approach:

DIRECT REFUGEE ASSISTANCE: ORAM’s direct assistance to LGBTIQ asylum seekers and refugees worldwide is achieved in part by partnering with local organizations. Capacity building of grass root organizations helps ensure that civil society organizations on the ground provide services tailored to the specific needs of the LGBTIQ community. ORAM works to promote economic empowerment programs.

OUTREACH + ADVOCACY: We believe that advocacy and education are cornerstones in refugee protection strategy. We conduct a combination of activities such as training, information dissemination, coalition building, and spreading public awareness. These efforts help to transform policies and services on a regional, national, and global level to help protect LGBTIQ asylum seekers and refugees.

RESEARCH: We have conducted and published original and groundbreaking research on the plight of exceptionally vulnerable refugees and the organizations that serve them, helping to lay the groundwork for system-wide changes. Based on the results of research and feedback from LGBTIQ refugees, develop and implement programs to best address the greatest needs of the community.

ORAM has provided services to LGBTIQ asylum seekers and refugees for over a decade. ORAM is recognized as the first international non-profit to assist people fleeing persecution based on their sexual orientation or gender identity and has since become a thought leader in LGBTQ migration. Our international staff are experts in our field and our organization continues to be a trailblazer in innovative solutions to providing legal and direct support to LGBTIQ asylum seekers and refugees.

Above all, we are a service-based organization whose capabilities are evidenced by our team members. ORAM’s Executive Director Steve Roth, has over two decades of experience working in both business and non-profit sectors, where he has long focused on advocating for marginalized communities both in the USA and worldwide. ORAM also has a European office based in Berlin, Germany and is served by a number of exceptional board members.

ORAM joined the Alight family (formally the American Refugee Committee) in September 2017 and is a subsidiary partner. Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Alight has a nearly 40-year history of serving displaced communities from Myanmar to Rwanda and Somalia to Pakistan. Working in unison with Alight, ORAM is able to deliver even more critical services to those who are struggling to survive and make their way to safety. Alight enables ORAM to amplify what we do and leverage the larger organizations to pursue solutions for the challenges LGBTIQ asylum seekers and refugees face today.

ORAM has developed a strong reputation for our work in the communities in which we work, which has led to strong relationships with significant funders. This has allowed ORAM to greatly increase capacity in two of our largest programs in Kenya and Germany as a part of our Ukraine Response Program.

Over the last 10 years our work has increased tremendously and the need for it has multiplied along-side the ever increasing number of people fleeing persecution based on their sexual orientation and gender identity.

Since 2008, ORAM has trained hundreds of refugee and asylum professionals on LGBTIQ sensitization. Through the training of refugee professional, ORAM has safeguarded sexual and gender minorities (SGM) in the asylum process, making sure they are given equal access to their rights. ORAM has helped shape migration policies around sexual orientation and gender identity claims.

ORAM partners with local organizations to meet the protection needs of LGBTIQ asylum seekers and refugees within that country; supports livelihood projects in transit countries and first countries of asylum, and strives to empower internationally displaced SGMs to take control of their lives. Through collaborative relationships with Governments, international organizations, non-profits and the general public, ORAM has and continues to successfully increase system-wide awareness and protection of SGM asylum seekers and refugees.

ORAM has continued to expand its global reach, when it recently established operations in two new geographical locations -Kenya and Mexico - focusing on protecting, empowering and safeguarding LGBTIQ asylum seekers and refugees both on the move and where they are.
ORAM assists LGBTIQ asylum seekers with legal support. ORAM now supports LGBTIQ asylum seekers on an individual case-basis, helping them fill out necessary paperwork and prepare affidavits, as well as providing general group sessions on the general asylum process. ORAM has a record of nearly 100% success on refugee status determination claims and with most of its clients being successfully been resettled.

ORAM has opened a Digital Learning Center for LGBTIQ refugees in Nairobi, Kenya, to help queer displaced people learn vital digital skills and get connected with the digital economy. Since the Center opened in 2022, nearly 84 percent of the trainees sourced online job opportunities. The Center is committed to supporting the sustainability of livelihood projects by training LGBTIQ refugee entrepreneurs in social media marketing. An LGBTIQ refugee-led community-based organization manages the Center.