Quincy Reporter

Luther Memorial Lutheran Church issued the following announcement on Sept. 23.

Gareth Henry was born in a small town on Jamaica’s northern coast called St. Mary’s on October 20, 1977. Gareth Henry is a prominent Badminton Player, helping to bring home the bronze medal with his team members in the 2018 Pan American Games, and then won his first gold medal in 2018 during the Caribbean and Central American games with player partner Samuel O’Brien Rickets. But there is much more under the surface to Gareth Henry than one could ever imagine.

Mr. Gareth Henry currently resides in Toronto, having fled there after facing persecution in his home country of Jamaica for his sexual orientation. He had been beaten and threatened, and 13 of his friends were murdered for being gay in Jamaica. This has led Gareth Henry to be a strong advocate and defender of gay rights. He has devoted much of his time and empathies to the LGBTQ community in Jamaica, where persecution and death still occur. Jamaica is one of 76 countries in the world where being in a same-sex relationship is punishable and treated as a crime.

The constant struggle to continue the fight in Jamaica for equality no matter what a person’s sexual orientation may be has not deterred Gareth from continuing to fight alongside his fellow brothers and sisters. He has even used his sports talent in another light to encourage others not only in Jamaica, but all around the world. The belief of Mr. Henry has always been that individuals should be treated equally no matter what their sexual orientation may be.

Today, Mr. Henry works with the Aids Foundation in Canada, and is the interim director. In his spare time, he volunteers for Rainbow Railroad, a Canadian nonprofit organization that helps people undergoing persecution around the world to relocate who are considered LGBTQ.

Mr. Henry commits much of his time and efforts to a worthy cause. It is unfortunate that in his short life time he has had to endure much suffering and see it happen to so many others. But it is people like him that show us that humans still care and persevere, and just when someone really needs a lifeline, that one will be thrown.

Original source can be found here.