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Readers\u2019 donations will make a crucial difference in 8 LGBTQ prisoners\u2019 lives.
\nWord cloud shows the pseudonyms of the 56 prisoners for whom Project Not Alone has won early release.\u00a0Five gay men and three lesbians\u00a0 deserve to be set free in Cameroon and Nigeria, where they are locked up for whom they love. Your donation\u00a0can help open the prison doors and let them out.Those eight imprisoned victims of anti-LGBTQ hostility and homophobia are the focus of this year\u2019s Project Not Alone, which expands on the project\u2019s previous work that won early release for 56 gay, lesbian and trans prisoners in Cameroon and Nigeria during the years 2019 through 2025.Logo of Project Not Alone (Otavio Zuni illustration courtesy of the artist)This year\u2019s financial goal is $10,117, which will accomplish several important goals:
\nIt will pay prisoners\u2019 fines, allowing them to be released early as soon as legal requirements are met.It will also pay for hygiene supplies and supplementary food for the prisoners during the months while they await release from their dirty prison cells, typically surviving on one filthy, poorly cooked meal per day.It will cover the cost of arranging secure cells for three gay prisoners who are awaiting the end of their detention at Kondengui Central Prison in Yaound\u00e9 and are at risk from homophobic prisoners who currently share cells with them.It will pay for a mandatory technological modernization of the free Qtalk app, which has offered private counseling to LGBTQ+ Nigerians since it was launched in 2020. Qtalk now has a community of over 25,000 users, both for counseling and for chatting. Currently there are about 18 counselors on the app.
\n\u00a0Lesbian former prisoner Sally contemplates her future after Project Not Alone arranged for her release in 2024 from Bafoussam Prison in Cameroon. (Photo by Jean Jacques Dissoke)As in the past, whether those goals are accomplished will depend on the generosity of readers and other donors.The prisoners in Project Not Alone 2026 are all in Yaound\u00e9, the capital of Cameroon, and in Port Harcourt, southeastern Nigeria. Their stories will be told here in the days and weeks ahead. For their safety, a pseudonym will be used for every detainee.Food that Project Not Alone delivered in 2024 to prisoners in Ebolowa Prison in Cameroon.\u00a0We learned about all but one of the eight prisoners when LGBTQ rights activist\/journalist Jean Jacques Dissoke traveled to prisons in Yaound\u00e9 and Douala prisons to deliver food and hygiene supplies and to interview LGBTQ detainees there.In addition, activist\/journalist Mike Daemon interviewed a gay prisoner at Port Harcourt Maximum Security Correctional Centre.A generous grant from the Vivienne Foundation paid for the preliminary scouting trips to the prisons in Port Harcourt, Yaound\u00e9 and Douala.The eight prisoners listed below met the requirements of Project Not Alone, which helps only those who are incarcerated for nothing other than their sexual orientation.In Yaound\u00e9:
\nThree lesbians who were arrested last November in a police sting operation targeting online dating sites. They will be set free soon \u2014 if their fines are paid. If the fines aren\u2019t paid, all three women will remain in prison for several months to work them off.One gay man serving a two-year sentence for homosexuality after his partner\u2019s parents reported him to police in December 2025.Three gay men who are awaiting trial on homosexuality charges. They were arrested in January after homophobic neighbors reported them to police.
\nIn Port Harcourt:
\nOne gay man who was imprisoned last November after being blackmailed by a sexual partner.
\nIn Douala:See Also
\nFive gay men are currently serving time in Douala on homosexuality-related charges. Each of them is supported by family or friends. All are scheduled to be released soon without intervention by Project Not Alone.This illustration shows two gay men waiting for donations that will pay their fines and set them free. (Illustration courtesy of EAVA Artists \/ East Africa Visual Artists)This year\u2019s initiative follows previous successful efforts on behalf of LGBTQ prisoners \u2014 initially only in Cameroon: in the capital city of Yaound\u00e9 (food deliveries to three prisoners) in 2018. Then:
\nIn the northern Garoua area and in Bertoua in the east (food for six prisoners and early release after their fines were paid in 2019 and 2020);Back in Yaound\u00e9 in 2021 and 2022 (food for 18 prisoners and early release after their fines were paid);In Bafoussam in western Cameroon and in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, in 2023 (food and early release for 12 prisoners);In Ebolowa in southern Cameroon and Port Harcourt in 2024 (food and early release for 10 prisoners); andIn Bertoua, Port Harcourt, and Maroua, northern Cameroon, (food and early release for 10 prisoners) in 2025.
\nPlease help us continue this work.
\n\u00a0Project Not Alone is a program of the non-profit St. Paul\u2019s Foundation for International Reconciliation and its Erasing 76 Crimes news site.\u00a0 U.S. tax-deductible donations to Project Not Alone 2026 may be made via:
\nPayPal (for U.S. dollar contributions). For other currencies, send PayPal donations to stpaulsfdr@gmail.comDonorBoxGoFundMeAlternatively, you could send a check to St. Paul\u2019s Foundation, c\/o Colin Stewart, 5517 Paseo del Lago East Unit 1B, Laguna Woods CA 92637 USA. Please write \u201cProject Not Alone\u201d on the memo line and send an email to info@76crimes.com to let us know it\u2019s coming.
\n\u00a0Prisoners in a truck on its way to deliver them to Kondengui Central Prison in Yaound\u00e9, Cameroon. (Photo courtesy of The Guardian \/ Maidun Collection \/ Alamy)<\/p>\n
\tRelated Readers\u2019 donations will make a crucial difference in 8 LGBTQ prisoners\u2019 lives. Word cloud shows the pseudonyms of the 56 prisoners for whom Project Not Alone has won early release.\u00a0Five gay men and three lesbians\u00a0 deserve to be set free in Cameroon and Nigeria, where they are locked up for whom they love. Your donation\u00a0can …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1021,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_3659155457675267_172535249438148":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-news"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779208948_We-have-freed-56-LGBTQ-prisoners-We-need-help-to.png",1476,923,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779208948_We-have-freed-56-LGBTQ-prisoners-We-need-help-to-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779208948_We-have-freed-56-LGBTQ-prisoners-We-need-help-to-300x188.png",300,188,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779208948_We-have-freed-56-LGBTQ-prisoners-We-need-help-to-768x480.png",618,386,true],"large":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779208948_We-have-freed-56-LGBTQ-prisoners-We-need-help-to-1024x640.png",618,386,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779208948_We-have-freed-56-LGBTQ-prisoners-We-need-help-to.png",1476,923,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779208948_We-have-freed-56-LGBTQ-prisoners-We-need-help-to.png",1476,923,false],"tie-small":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779208948_We-have-freed-56-LGBTQ-prisoners-We-need-help-to-110x75.png",110,75,true],"tie-medium":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779208948_We-have-freed-56-LGBTQ-prisoners-We-need-help-to-310x165.png",310,165,true],"tie-large":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779208948_We-have-freed-56-LGBTQ-prisoners-We-need-help-to-310x205.png",310,205,true],"slider":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779208948_We-have-freed-56-LGBTQ-prisoners-We-need-help-to-660x330.png",660,330,true],"big-slider":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779208948_We-have-freed-56-LGBTQ-prisoners-We-need-help-to-1050x525.png",1050,525,true]},"author_info":{"info":["Editor"]},"category_info":"News<\/a>","tag_info":"News","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1020"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1020\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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