The name House of Guramayle is of enormous cultural and political value to us. Home is somewhere anyone can seek refuge and shelter in. The idea of a home that always has its doors open for those who need a safe space is something we hold very dearly to our hearts. House of Guramayle as a platform itself has always had the vision of a safe space for the Ethiopian LGBT+ community.
As Ethiopian LGBTIQ+ identifying individuals born and raised in Ethiopia, our lives were filled with feelings of constant inadequacy. We never experienced a sense of belonging to our society because we were brought up to believe that as an Ethiopian, you can never claim any other identity. We created House of Guramayle for people who feel as marginalised as we did growing up, envisaging it as a home that anyone can seek refuge and shelter in.
As for Guramayle, it is the art of merging superficial divides and is of enormous cultural and political value to us. It means reclaiming our Ethiopian identities from those who would exclude us, through embracing our personal choice to live our lives freely. Guramayle means finding yourself again; to us, it represents survival.