What are we doing

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Phasellus quis dolor id ipsum auctor porta. Cras et risus in ipsum volutpat consequat. Nam suscipit a felis a ornare. Curabitur eu suscipit sem. Praesent vitae posuere turpis. Vivamus sem quam, lacinia a venenatis eu, laoreet sit amet dolor. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia curae; Suspendisse volutpat augue nulla, eget varius risus maximus sit amet. Integer dignissim, sapien sed sodales vulputate, lacus nulla ullamcorper elit, sit amet dapibus massa lectus at massa. Praesent velit velit, lobortis vel nunc in, cursus maximus purus.

Morbi pharetra rhoncus tortor. Curabitur nec scelerisque dolor. Aenean vel urna congue, hendrerit est ac, mollis dolor. Cras sagittis ante quis aliquam placerat. Ut est nisi, sodales ut aliquam quis, suscipit vitae felis. Integer ultrices lectus ut arcu vehicula ultrices. Cras nec mattis justo. Donec in pulvinar arcu. Suspendisse posuere velit ac eros auctor, quis egestas nulla blandit. Morbi sollicitudin, tellus ac consequat fringilla, orci augue placerat mauris, quis bibendum magna nulla ac orci. Duis cursus tortor vestibulum lobortis ultricies.

In non blandit tortor, porta dapibus nulla. Praesent in nisi ex. Maecenas euismod enim non lacus scelerisque maximus. Donec ultrices venenatis leo, at ultricies ligula rutrum dapibus. Sed vulputate mauris at quam interdum vehicula. In vehicula orci eu mi tincidunt, ac tincidunt magna suscipit. Nullam odio magna, cursus eu congue id, malesuada at magna. Mauris eleifend ac arcu consectetur rutrum. Quisque enim tellus, pharetra quis orci ut, tristique accumsan justo. Quisque imperdiet erat rhoncus ante maximus, vel luctus orci mollis.

For whom are we doing

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Phasellus quis dolor id ipsum auctor porta. Cras et risus in ipsum volutpat consequat. Nam suscipit a felis a ornare. Curabitur eu suscipit sem. Praesent vitae posuere turpis. Vivamus sem quam, lacinia a venenatis eu, laoreet sit amet dolor. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia curae; Suspendisse volutpat augue nulla, eget varius risus maximus sit amet. Integer dignissim, sapien sed sodales vulputate, lacus nulla ullamcorper elit, sit amet dapibus massa lectus at massa. Praesent velit velit, lobortis vel nunc in, cursus maximus purus.

Morbi pharetra rhoncus tortor. Curabitur nec scelerisque dolor. Aenean vel urna congue, hendrerit est ac, mollis dolor. Cras sagittis ante quis aliquam placerat. Ut est nisi, sodales ut aliquam quis, suscipit vitae felis. Integer ultrices lectus ut arcu vehicula ultrices. Cras nec mattis justo. Donec in pulvinar arcu. Suspendisse posuere velit ac eros auctor, quis egestas nulla blandit. Morbi sollicitudin, tellus ac consequat fringilla, orci augue placerat mauris, quis bibendum magna nulla ac orci. Duis cursus tortor vestibulum lobortis ultricies.

In non blandit tortor, porta dapibus nulla. Praesent in nisi ex. Maecenas euismod enim non lacus scelerisque maximus. Donec ultrices venenatis leo, at ultricies ligula rutrum dapibus. Sed vulputate mauris at quam interdum vehicula. In vehicula orci eu mi tincidunt, ac tincidunt magna suscipit. Nullam odio magna, cursus eu congue id, malesuada at magna. Mauris eleifend ac arcu consectetur rutrum. Quisque enim tellus, pharetra quis orci ut, tristique accumsan justo. Quisque imperdiet erat rhoncus ante maximus, vel luctus orci mollis.

Achievements so far

Short and Sweet

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Phasellus quis dolor id ipsum auctor porta.

Short and Sweet

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Phasellus quis dolor id ipsum auctor porta.

Short and Sweet

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Phasellus quis dolor id ipsum auctor porta.

Short and Sweet

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Phasellus quis dolor id ipsum auctor porta.

Short and Sweet

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Phasellus quis dolor id ipsum auctor porta.

Short and Sweet

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Phasellus quis dolor id ipsum auctor porta.

Campaigns

Subheadline space

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.

Background

The Reason

Nearly 2.1 million people in India live with HIV, making it the world’s third largest population affected by this epidemic (UNAIDS, 2018). Sadly, HIV is concentrated among certain parts of the population which include mainly transgender persons, sex workers and migrant workers. Living and working in the same surroundings, these intersecting communities have been impacted both by the virus and poor social and economic conditions, making them doubly vulnerable.

The Action

Being a transgender person herself, she had an innate understanding of the suffering and trauma that these populations have to go through just to live normal lives, leave alone deal with a life-threatening illness.

Image

Extending Help and Growth

In March 2020, when Covid-19 struck the country and Thane district in Maharashtra in particular, it was the very same marginalized communities that Dr Yoga had been working for which became the most affected. While she was already working for the transgender community and sex workers, a third community would soon be added to the efforts—migrant workers. Without rations and transportation, migrant workers were left to fend for themselves. For Dr Yoga, it was a natural reaction to provide them with food and rations while helping them reach their homes.

Global Rights Foundation, which was thus far only on paper, began taking a more concrete shape. It began growing into a systematic intervention that would start from the grassroots and reach all the way to the top. I Am Trans is a product of this structure. It is an umbrella initiative under the Global Rights Foundation, where the blueprint for larger impact has been created.

Image

Vision

To be a source of strength and support to the trans community as they navigate their journey from birth to economic freedom and stability.

Mission

  • To create a platform for the parents or guardians of trans children. To help them understand the unique needs of their children without any stigma or fears.
    Impact: In the next 5 years, support 200 trans children by equipping their parents or guardians appropriately
  • To support trans persons when a crisis strikes; a situation when navigating the journey is tough and when choices shrink leading to a vicious cycle.
    Impact: In the next 3 years, support 100 trans people to live a life of their choice
  • To create a collective livelihood opportunity through a community kitchen, which will be predictable, scalable and will overlap with the other communities.
    Impact: In the next 2 years, support 50 trans persons through the community kitchen initiative and feed 200 people belonging to any community on a daily basis

Doosra Ghar

Crisis Intervention Centre
Image

The district of Thane has a population of approximately 7500 transgender persons.

Most of them are in occupations or social setups that push them into areas of distress. This could include identity crisis related distress as experienced in adolescence to sexual and physical violence experienced in certain employment conditions. 

Society at large is still ill-informed about the biological, psychological and sociological aspects of a transgender person’s life. Ignorance about facts and figures often leads to bias and ostracization of trans persons. This leads to distress as well. Therefore, there is a strong need to create an ecosystem that addresses these various levels of distress and mitigates them as much as possible. 

The Global Rights Foundation (GRF) has been at the forefront of serving this distressed population for the last decade. Having worked with many transgender people, the organization has got a better understanding of their compulsions and vulnerabilities. In this period, they have gained the trust and confidence of the trans community as well as authorities including the police, railway staff, traffic police. As well as academia and artists, lawyers and political representatives. 

After 10 years of working in this area, the GRF sees the need for an awareness and sensitization drive with touchpoints such as schools and colleges, corporates and ordinary citizens. Such a drive can only be coordinated if there is a centre from where it is deployed. While such effective centers exist abroad and in other places in India, none exist in Maharashtra. The GRF would like to be the first to set up such a centre in Maharashtra and specifically in Thane.  

The idea behind Doosra Ghar or “second home” is to give the physical, psychological and social support to the distressed in the transgender community which they would otherwise have received at home from loved ones. 

The Need

For many members of the transgender community, the struggle for understanding, acceptance and support starts early. Still in their teens, many trans persons have an identity crisis but do not have the support of peers or family who can help them through this time. As they grow older, close family and relatives often throw them out of their homes. Some are ostracized or bullied even if they make it to college. Without the proper support and guidance of parents, peers and teachers, trans persons are left with no choice but to adopt to other means of supporting themselves including begging and sex work. There is always a sense of insecurity about food and shelter throughout their adult life. As they become elderly, this insecurity becomes even more acute. Desperation can cause them to take steps that could be life threatening and irreversible.
There is a need for a place that gives respite to such individuals. Here, they can be provided with food, shelter, counselling, and medical assistance. The intervention of Doosra Ghar could mean the difference between life and death for them.

The data collected by the Global Rights Foundation shown in the pie chart above indicates the nature of occupation among the transgender community in Thane district.

The transgender community in India still largely follows the Guru-chela system, reminiscent of the Mogul era. Since the Gurus dictate their movement (depending on livelihood), most of the transgender population find themselves in the floating category.

While Doosra Ghar is not an alternative to this nomadic way of life, it wishes to create a safe space for short durations for members in the community. From an infrastructure point of view too it makes sense to have a physical location which will serve as a hub for deploying services needed during a crisis.

The GRF has worked with the police officials to resolve numerous issues that sex workers faced during lockdown. They have also facilitated the freeing of those members of the community who no longer wish to work in the flesh trade. They have distributed HIV medicines; offered temporary shelter and counselling to community members who have been in severe distress; and provided a comprehensive understanding on SRS so that they can make an informed decision. However, there needs to be a centralized ecosystem under which all of these activities are monitored and conducted.

Image
Image

The pressure to be gainfully employed comes up around the early teens. With few options, teenage trans persons are forced into begging and sex work, both of which can end up in altercations with the law and antisocial elements leading to violence and bloodshed. The National Human Rights Commission shows some staggering numbers about the transgender community. As of today, 92% of India’s trans people are unable to participate in any economic activity. Less than half of them have access to education, and 62% of those that do, face abuse and discrimination. The 2011 census revealed that among the transgender community, only 46% were literate in comparison to 74% literacy in the overall population. Further, 58% transgender students drop out before 10th grade. When they do find work, 89% are mistreated at the workplace and 52% face violence from police. While many corporations today do have inclusive policies for recruitments, the actual implementation is slow and sometimes unsuccessful. Among the transgender community in Thane district for example, 85% are uneducated and therefore unemployable.Under such conditions, it is important that transgender youth are given a means to have gainful employment that keeps them physically and mentally safe. During the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, many migrant workers, sex workers, members of the trans community as well as other marginalised groups were left to fend for themselves. Without food, shelter or the means to reach their homes, they were stranded under life-threatening conditions. At such a time, the Global Rights Foundation had the idea of starting the Lalita Bhawan community kitchen which would provide meals and staples to these groups. Lalita Bhawan aims to be a place which provides a clean eating space, washing space, affordable daily meals and an opportunity to be informed about government social security facilities and other philanthropic activities. More importantly, this model will give employment to people from the trans community who will look after the kitchen, administration and day-to-day operations.

The Intervention

Image

In the last few years the transgender community has been relatively successful in policy advocacy and therefore many states have enacted inclusive provisions. Many organizations have initiated supportive activities, however, with Doosra Ghar the vision is to include a range of diverse support activities under one roof.  Some of these activities at Doosra Ghar will include a helpline, a short term shelter home, medical counselling, parental counselling, legal counselling, awareness building activities for educational institutes as well as medical and nutritional support. With Doosra Ghar the transgender community will surely benefit. But going beyond it will also have an impact on their families, friends and relatives, school and college authorities, leaders of the kinnar community, the police, brothel owners, as well as their customers. The the medical fraternity, social workers, law enforcement agencies, policy makers and implementers, and political representatives and media houses will also feel the widespread impact of this intervention. In addition to food and shelter, Doosra Ghar will also look at building alternate skills, education,  counselling, medical services for SRS and HIV awareness and treatments. It will serve as a community living environment which also becomes a community centre for larger awareness sessions and doling out entitlement related services.
Donate to Us

The Impact

A residential facility has been planned to accommodate 100 trans people at any given time on a rolling 6 months to  1 year basis. There are also plans for a dedicated facility for at least 20 elderly trans persons.

Impact will be measured on a quantitative basis along criteria including number of home visits, referrals, case studies, medical aid given, counselling cases, number of awareness programmes in educational institutions, parental support groups as well as qualitative criteria including a shelter of the aged or severely distressed and mediation with authorities.

Image
Image

In the first two years, 200 people will be fed at a subsidised rate per outlet while 50 trans people will be employed per outlet. Thane district alone there are close to 7500 transgender persons. Only a fraction of them will be touched if the operation is restricted to one outlet. Therefore, we will create a replicable model which will eventually reach all of them. The impact of this intervention will be judged along qualitative and quantitative indicators. Qualitative indicators will include skills learnt by transgender persons, creation of a self sustainable setup, improved health due to structured working, replication of the Lalita Bhawan model to other locations in Thane and an improved social standing for the community members. Quantitative indicators will include the number of new customers, repeat customers and customer satisfaction, number of transgender persons employed, profitability and economic gains for the employees.

Lalitha Bhawan

The Community Kitchen
Image

The transgender community in India once had an important position as part of the Moghul diaspora. However, with the coming of the British, they were penalised for their biological and sexual orientation. Having lost their means of income, they were driven to begging and sex trade, which were also criminalised by the British. Unfortunately, the transgender community continues to be marginalized and for most of them there is no escape from begging and sex work.Parents, educational institutions, regulatory authorities and society at large are often at a loss when it comes to dealing with the needs of transgender people. Even those parents and authorities that do want to help buckle under the pressure from society. This combination of fear and apathy towards the community means that trans people have very few options for their future.With changing times, there is more awareness and sensitivity towards the transgender community. Along with it comes a strong need to create alternative entrepreneurial opportunities and employment opportunities so that the community can be mainstreamed.In addition to financial security, the Global Rights Foundation also recognises food security as being one of the main reasons for distress among marginalised groups. The idea of the Lalitha Bhawan Community Kitchen was born out of the mission to give gainful employment to the transgender community while serving migrant workers, sex workers and other marginalised groups during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in India. During this time, the community kitchen served 70-80 migrant workers on a daily basis.Beyond food and financial security, Lalitha Bhavan seeks to provide a sense of belonging, safety and teamwork for the transgender community.

The Need

The pressure to be gainfully employed comes up around the early teens. With few options, teenage trans persons are forced into begging and sex work, both of which can end up in altercations with the law and antisocial elements leading to violence and bloodshed. The National Human Rights Commission shows some staggering numbers about the transgender community. As of today, 92% of India’s trans people are unable to participate in any economic activity. Less than half of them have access to education, and 62% of those that do, face abuse and discrimination.The 2011 census revealed that among the transgender community, only 46% were literate in comparison to 74% literacy in the overall population. Further, 58% transgender students drop out before 10th grade. When they do find work, 89% are mistreated at the workplace and 52% face violence from police.While many corporations today do have inclusive policies for recruitments, the actual implementation is slow and sometimes unsuccessful. Among the transgender community in Thane district for example, 85% are uneducated and therefore unemployable.Under such conditions, it is important that transgender youth are given a means to have gainful employment that keeps them physically and mentally safe.During the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, many migrant workers, sex workers, members of the trans community as well as other marginalised groups were left to fend for themselves. Without food, shelter or the means to reach their homes, they were stranded under life-threatening conditions. At such a time, the Global Rights Foundation had the idea of starting the Lalitha Bhawan community kitchen which would provide meals and staples to these groups. Lalitha Bhawan aims to be a place which provides a clean eating space, washing space, affordable daily meals and an opportunity to be informed about government social security facilities and other philanthropic activities. More importantly, this model will give employment to people from the trans community who will look after the kitchen, administration and day-to-day operations.
Image
Image

The pressure to be gainfully employed comes up around the early teens. With few options, teenage trans persons are forced into begging and sex work, both of which can end up in altercations with the law and antisocial elements leading to violence and bloodshed. The National Human Rights Commission shows some staggering numbers about the transgender community. As of today, 92% of India’s trans people are unable to participate in any economic activity. Less than half of them have access to education, and 62% of those that do, face abuse and discrimination. The 2011 census revealed that among the transgender community, only 46% were literate in comparison to 74% literacy in the overall population. Further, 58% transgender students drop out before 10th grade. When they do find work, 89% are mistreated at the workplace and 52% face violence from police. While many corporations today do have inclusive policies for recruitments, the actual implementation is slow and sometimes unsuccessful. Among the transgender community in Thane district for example, 85% are uneducated and therefore unemployable.Under such conditions, it is important that transgender youth are given a means to have gainful employment that keeps them physically and mentally safe. During the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, many migrant workers, sex workers, members of the trans community as well as other marginalised groups were left to fend for themselves. Without food, shelter or the means to reach their homes, they were stranded under life-threatening conditions. At such a time, the Global Rights Foundation had the idea of starting the Lalita Bhawan community kitchen which would provide meals and staples to these groups. Lalita Bhawan aims to be a place which provides a clean eating space, washing space, affordable daily meals and an opportunity to be informed about government social security facilities and other philanthropic activities. More importantly, this model will give employment to people from the trans community who will look after the kitchen, administration and day-to-day operations.

The Intervention

Image

Under the Global Rights Foundation’s Lalitha Bhawan, the following blocks in Thane district in Maharashtra will be covered: Ulhasnagar, Ambarnath, Kalyan, Bhiwandi, Dombivli, Shahad, Shelu, Vangani, Badlapur, Navi Mumbai, Meera Bhayandar and Titwala. The foremost beneficiaries in the value chain are members of the community who will gain from employment opportunities. This will enable them to interact with the mainstream on equal footing. To increase the reach and satisfy the community needs, tiffin services are also being planned. The second category of beneficiaries will be the people to whom we will serve meals, such as migrant workers, sex workers and other in the transgender community. We will launch ourselves as an eating outlet that provides nutritious, hygienic and economically affordable food. The ultimate goal is to set up Lalitha Bhawan as a replicable model from an offering and need fulfillment stand point, i.e. giving employment to the transgender community and providing food security to marginalised groups.
Donate to Us

The Impact

In the first two years, 200 people will be fed at a subsidised rate per outlet while 50 trans people will be employed per outlet. Thane district alone there are close to 7500 transgender persons. Only a fraction of them will be touched if the operation is restricted to one outlet. Therefore, we will create a replicable model which will eventually reach all of them.The impact of this intervention will be judged along qualitative and quantitative indicators.
Qualitative indicators will include skills learnt by transgender persons, creation of a self sustainable setup, improved health due to structured working, replication of the Lalitha Bhawan model to other locations in Thane and an improved social standing for the community members. Quantitative indicators will include the number of new customers, repeat customers and customer satisfaction, number of transgender persons employed, profitability and economic gains for the employees.
Image
Image

In the first two years, 200 people will be fed at a subsidised rate per outlet while 50 trans people will be employed per outlet. Thane district alone there are close to 7500 transgender persons. Only a fraction of them will be touched if the operation is restricted to one outlet. Therefore, we will create a replicable model which will eventually reach all of them. The impact of this intervention will be judged along qualitative and quantitative indicators. Qualitative indicators will include skills learnt by transgender persons, creation of a self sustainable setup, improved health due to structured working, replication of the Lalita Bhawan model to other locations in Thane and an improved social standing for the community members. Quantitative indicators will include the number of new customers, repeat customers and customer satisfaction, number of transgender persons employed, profitability and economic gains for the employees.

Programs

Image

Parivaar

Parent Support Group

  • Forum for Parents
  • Practice Sharing
  • Counseling
  • Gender Affirming Care
  • Health Services

Learn More
Image

Doosra Ghar

Crisis Intervention Centre

  • Shelter and Food
  • Livelihood Options
  • Employability
  • Helpline
  • Health Services

Doosra Ghar
Image

Lalitha Bhavan

Community Kitchen

  • Food for all, livelihood for some
  • Community TouchPoint
  • Community Hall

Lalitha Bhavan