by Eugene Ntambi and Hans Senfuma
This video was produced in October 2023. On January 3, 2024, Steven Kabuye, who appears in the video, nearly escaped death in an attempted murder and is now in Toronto, Canada with the assistance of Rainbow Railroad. Steven's colleagues with Coloured Voices composed this update for "Tailoring Our Way to Freedom."
In the heart of Uganda, where the sun painted the sky with hues of homophobia and terror, Coloured Voices Media Foundation, with the support of Rainbow Advocacy, embarked on a daring quest of defiance.
Our mission was: to weave threads of freedom, one stitch at a time thus defiantly changing lives of ordinary LGBTQIA+ Ugandans through skilling and economic/social empowerment.
Envisioning us tailoring our way to freedom was audacious: a tapestry of resilience, empowerment and defiance.
We called it "Tailoring Our Way to Freedom.”
Skeptics scoffed, dismissing it as merely an unattainable fancy dream. But our Foundation knew better.
We understood that every seam held a secret, every hem whispered a promise and every stitch made us warriors. No wonder we succeeded in establishing a full fashion line in the middle of a battlefield.
The energy within Our ranks crackled like lightning. The very thought of implementing our grand vision sent ripples through the Ugandan community. The naysayers trembled, fearing the power that lay dormant in those needles and spools we used. For tailoring, my friend, this is not just about fashion; it’s about transformation.
And oh, how we resisted! The powers that be; the ones who thrived on poverty and stagnation clung to our old ways. They wanted Coloured Voices to remain silent, our hands idle. But our foundation persisted. We stitched hope into existence, threading resilience through adversity.
As the project unfolded, the doubters watched in disbelief. With meager funds and boundless determination, Our Liberation Designs army wove magic. We tailored dreams into reality, defying the odds. The laughter that once echoed turned into hushed admiration. The skeptics, silenced by progress, marveled at the speed with which change unfurled.
But this was more than a project; it was a legacy. Our Foundation knew that our stitches would outlive them. We envisioned a world where queer siblings would find acceptance, where love would be stitched into the very fabric of society. And so, We worked tirelessly, Our needles dancing to a rhythm of hope.
In the quiet of our makeshift studio, We whispered secrets to the cloth. Each garment held a story, a testament to courage, resilience, and love. The rainbow hues blended seamlessly, transcending mere fashion. We were symbols of defiance, of claiming space in a world that tried to snip our wings and choke us to death.
So, Our dear friends, allies and partners, let us honor and support Liberation Designs to continue on the battlefield in terms of Fashion Activism.
We dare to mend broken hearts and stitch together fractured souls. For in Our tapestry of liberation, We wove a future where love would be the finest fabric of all and we refused to be mere threads in someone else's narrative.
And as the sun deeps below the horizon, casting a golden glow upon Our work, We know we can stitch more than garments. We can weave a revolution; one that would endure, even when the last needle lay still.
We, our signature berets, a symbol of defiance and resistance against homophobia and anti homosexuality laws on the African continent, we can ignite a revolution.
This is Our story of the Coloured Voices Media Foundation Uganda, towards the effects of “Tailoring Our Way to Freedom,“ whose legacy lives on in every stitch, every seam, and every heartbeat.
Viva LGBTQIA+ rights Viva, We hope to see freedom in our lifetime, Amanjaaaa.
Long live the revolutionary spirits of Sir David Kisule Kato and Edwin Chiloba.
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