The nexus of LGBT+empowerment, faith, and development: exploring local realities in Kenya

This article examines how LGBTQ+ empowerment, faith, and development intersect in Kenya through the work of Break Margins Africa (BMA), a grassroots organisation supporting marginalised gay and bisexual young men. Using qualitative interviews and the concept of “queer spillage”, the article demonstrates how storytelling fosters healing, agency, and narrative reclamation amid colonial legacies, religious conservatism, and communal trauma. Findings indicate that BMA’s holistic approach – psychosocial support, economic empowerment, and spiritual exploration – transforms lives by facilitating futures consciousness, relational reconnection, and self-worth. The study’s significance arises by challenging Western individualistic models by exploring the communal ethos of African societies and emphasising collective healing that advances African-grounded scholarship and faith practice. Ultimately, it argues for trauma-informed, locally rooted approaches to queer empowerment that centre dignity, love, and belonging as cornerstones of inclusive development.