Every day, Guyana Trans United’s (GTU) community kitchen serves hot meals to trans and non-binary people who might otherwise go hungry. But GTU’s work goes far beyond meeting immediate needs; they’re building the foundations for their community to thrive.
GTU protects and empowers Guyana’s trans community through advocacy, building respect and acceptance whilst providing essential support and services. This work is vital in a context where trans and non-binary people face significant barriers to basic services, jobs, and legal protections whilst navigating daily discrimination and exclusion from society.
With support from GiveOut, GTU was able to strengthen their work and expand their impact. The funding enabled GTU to finally complete their land payments, securing ownership and giving them a permanent base for their work. This freed them to invest directly in supporting people rather than servicing outstanding payments.
Workshops and Training
GTU trained 15 trans people across four regions through legal literacy workshops. Participants learnt about Section 149 of Guyana’s Constitution on equality, criminalisation laws affecting LGBTQI people, and HIV notification laws – information that was new to most attendees. Those who completed the training are now more confident to stand up for their rights independently.
Thirty trans and non-binary people completed skills training courses of their choice, including business management, cake decoration, interior decoration, nail art, cosmetology, pastry making, and graphic design. Each person received a seed grant to start their own small business, creating business plans and registering their enterprises. All 30 became business owners for the first time, running ventures they planned and developed themselves, from small shops to service-based businesses.
Throughout this work, GTU continued running their community kitchen, providing hot meals every day, and helped with transport costs so people could access their training and other opportunities.
Fifty-five trans and non-binary people directly benefited from the programme. As Candacy McEwan, executive director of GTU explained: ‘With the knowledge gained, our members can stand up for their rights. Others are now small business owners; for the first time they have ownership. Even though it is small, it was developed by them through a business plan created by them.’
By meeting people’s immediate needs whilst building their confidence and skills, GTU has strengthened and enriched the lives of trans and non-binary people across Guyana’s communities.