Planning & Preparing for the Event
Some events are etched into our lives, and this was one of them—the visit of the Aspire n Inspire team to the Transgender Shelter Home. It took quite some time for me to comprehend my feelings and pen down my thoughts. Some of the other articles had been waiting for their destiny due to my sheer laziness.
I met Rohan a few months ago at a common social cause event. He struck me as a down-to-earth human being with his heart in the right place, dedicated to serving the lower sections of society. Our interactions continued over the following months, and I expressed my desire to him to organize a joint event, bringing his NGO and Aspire n Inspire together. The following week, Rohan called and asked if we would be interested in joining them for a blanket distribution event. With winter approaching, he suggested distributing blankets to roadside homeless residents in one of the suburbs of Mumbai. We agreed.
As we discussed the execution of the plan, we realized that finding 100 homeless individuals at once on the streets would be difficult. Furthermore, coordinating a group of volunteers and roaming in multiple cars at night would be challenging. So, after consultation, we agreed to visit the Transgender Shelter Home and distribute blankets and sarees to the residents. Rohan had a medical doctor within his network who agreed to hold a voluntary medical check-up camp as well. We were all set for the event, but my mind was still restless. I had never interacted with the transgender community before, and my mind was filled with wavering thoughts.
One of the biggest apprehensions bothering me was whether we would unknowingly overstep any sensitive boundaries. Another concern was how to address them and what if we wanted to extend our hands to greet each other. Funny as they may sound, these were genuine concerns. My friends within the Aspire n Inspire network were all excited and helping me to clear my apprehensions.
Rohan was tasked with sourcing blankets and sarees, which he did very effectively. Their shelter home was in another corner of the town and required us to juggle a train ride followed by a taxi.
Transgender Shelter Home
As soon as we reached, Simran, the chief coordinator of the transgender community of the local area, welcomed us warmly. I will take the liberty of addressing Simran as “her”/”she”, primarily because of her feminine name. The lady doctor was given a small room, where she set up her instruments for basic medical check-ups.
While all the residents queued up for the medical check-up, Simran addressed us about their social background, life stories, etc., followed by a question and answer session. What she said in her address was very shocking to hear. She started by describing how they evolve physically and mentally like any child.
As they grow gradually, hormonal changes start impacting their perceived normal behaviour. Due to societal stigma, most parents often abandon these kids on the streets at a very tender age of 13 – 16 years to fend for themselves.
I could hardly imagine a child being abandoned at such a tender age, not able to comprehend why their once-loving family had cut off all ties. As you all will agree, the world at large is not so kind on the streets. Most of the time, these kids land up in the wrong hands and/or get exposed to wrong things in life. One would have to be a destiny’s child to escape all the evil and still find comfort with parents, family, and home. As Simran kept talking with all the confidence and exuberance, my mind was filled with admiration for the community, but my heart was shattered to hear all their life struggles.
Simran described in detail how their community is administratively managed. Each small geographical area has a local coordinator who takes care of all the needs and issues faced by the community. Simran was one of them for the area we were visiting. Surprisingly, she practically knew everyone in her community by their names.
Simran spoke about the government directives regarding their community. She was very upset with the recent government directives prohibiting transgender individuals from begging on the streets. She emphasized that the government should have provided alternative means of income before implementing such a ban. Simran was a person of grit, and despite enduring hardships from an early age, such constraints hardly deterred her. She formed a cooperative with the help of her community members to produce agarbattis (incense sticks), handmade scented soaps, etc. They rented a small shed where the members would work in shifts. The beginning was small, but what impressed me was their determination to survive and embrace life’s challenges as they came along.
Someone wanted to know the meaning of the term LGBTQIA+, and she patiently explained each of these letters in the acronym – lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and + which stood for many more. For her, these were just labels, while the challenge remained the same for all – to find equality and a respectful place in society as one amongst us all. The more Simran spoke to us and answered our curiosity-filled questions, the more we all were moved.
Simran also spoke about how they are exposed to eve-teasing, finding a place to stay, etc. She described how some of them secretly get money from their family members from time to time. She said that financial stability is only one aspect of life; the young members (and even older ones) need emotional support just like any normal human being. Therefore, it’s very important that they stay together in groups. Such shelter homes help them to come together and share their life journey and challenges.
As we spoke to other members, we realized how, like all of us, each of them had a child in them. They nourished dreams, had hobbies. Some of them expressed if we could organize a small library for them so that they could take up reading. Some wanted us to paint their shelter home walls with designs and motifs to make it look beautiful. Some sang and danced for all of us. They all knew each other’s passions and weaknesses. Some started crying while expressing themselves. It was a truly heartwarming session.
Suddenly, one member among the community stood and said, instead of you all asking about us, can we ask about you all? How’s life on the other side? I was stunned but very happy to see the spirit of liveliness in them. One after another, they had questions for all of us. We did a small introduction session of ourselves.
Soon it was time for lunch. We had organized lunch too. We quickly wrapped up the distribution of blankets and sarees. We all had lunch together and left with good memories and a lot of introspection to construct a better society.
My humble request to you all is, whenever you come across transgender individuals in society, try to have some compassion for them and try to extend a helping hand to them in whatever way you can.
They are part of our society and, more importantly, they too are humans!!!
If you feel like contributing to such noble causes, you can reach out to Aspire n Inspire. You can contribute by way of money, time or effort.
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Sukumar Jain, a Mumbai-based finance professional with global experience, is also a passionate traveler, wildlife enthusiast, and an aficionado of Indian culture. Alongside his career, which includes diverse roles in international banking and finance, he's working on a wildlife coffee table book and enjoys sculpture and pottery. His interests span reading non-fiction to engaging in social and global networking.
1 Comment
Binod
Eunuch are lower strata of the society and need to be given support by all especially the equality preachers who never bothered to give them attention. Maybe because of negligible vote power.
At the same time considering transgender LGBTQ+ to be at par with Eunuch for giving support and funds is a dangerous assumption.