Ten transgender people have been rendering help to the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), in Thiruvanmiyur division to conduct a door-to-door survey for COVID-19 and acute respiratory infection symptoms.
The transgender people have been roped in by the Tamil Nadu Corporation for Development of Women, under the Tamil Nadu National Urban Livelihood Mission (TNULM) scheme, to assist the GCC.
“A few of them approached me as they did not have employment opportunities. I approached the GCC and took them in. They have been collecting data from households for the past two weeks,” said S. Radha, community organiser, division 181 and 182, zone 13, Tamil Nadu Corporation for Development of Women
M. Nila, 34, of Perumbakkam, is one of the 10 transgender people conducting the survey. After completing B. Pharm, she has been running an NGO called PHARM Foundation, working towards the education and empowerment of transgender people.
“We cover 120 houses per day and have been doing it for the past two weeks. We check for symptoms. To date the residents have been responded properly to our questions and have expressed concern about our safety during the pandemic,” said Ms. Nila
She added that all 10 have been provided with masks, gloves and a coat. “We also have identity cards. Some of the others are Rashika, Subashree and Afreen. We have to work for three months and will be paid on a monthly basis,” she added.
Ms. Radha added that the transgender people have been working very hard as they know that they have been given an important responsibility. “The stigma in the minds of people against transgender people should go. This is a first step towards it. While the government should provide more employment opportunities to the community, companies should sponsor their education. This will help them come up in life,” she said.
