The State Department and the Inter-American Foundation (IAF) funded programs to help LGBTQ refugee entrepreneurs, teach LGBTQ refugees how to use computers, and support Costa Rica’s status as a country granting asylum to LGBTQ individuals.
The grant for teaching computer skills was given to the Instituto Sobre Migracion y Refugio LGBTIQ Para Centroamerica, or the Institute on Migration and LGBTIQ Refugees for Central America, and totaled $24,950.
Another grant costing $24,950, to conclude on March 31, 2024, was given to a project seeking to promote “social integration and economic inclusion of the LGBTIQ+ migrants, refugees, and host populations, with emphasis to individuals with disabilities, and micro and small entrepreneurs.
The Inter-American Foundation also gave $228,300 to the Instituto Sobre Migracion y Refugio LGBTIQ Para Centroamerica, the same group teaching computer skills, to support the asylum of LGBTQ individuals.
Cost Rica is the “only Central American country that grants asylum due to persecution of a person’s sexual orientation and gender identity,” a description reads. “It has increasingly become a host country for LGBTIQ+ refugees from the Nothern Triangle, Panama, Venezuela, and other countries.”
The IAF “supports community-led approaches to promoting economic integration and creating inclusive societies in Latin America and the Caribbean,” the description adds.
American Faith previously reported that the State Department is funding a dancing program to “uplift transgender and gender diverse” people in Peru.
“Ballroom Saves Lives: Resiliency and Wellness in Peru Ballroom” is a winner of the Citizen Diplomacy Action Fund (CDAF), a competition that focuses on “strengthening democratic institutions and fighting disinformation,” “protecting the environment,” “human rights, refugees, and migrants,” “building community through arts, sports, language, and technology,” and “fostering alumni network development.”
The ballroom program connects LGBTQ individuals with medical resources and builds relationships with health providers.
“Ballroom is a performance art style and culture consisting of dance, modeling, and community engagement that began in the Black and Latinx LGBTQIA+ community,” a description reads.
