Group of young working professionals spread joy among the transgender community

BENGALURU: In the city of Bangalore a group of young, working professionals, are gearing up to don the hat of Santa Claus for the next few days. They will be dropping by at the transgender settlements along with highways in the city to surprise the people with gifts and Xmas carols.

The group will be covering more than 100 homes over several transgender settlements located within the city and distribute cakes, chocolates, travel bags and tiffin boxes as surprise presents.

“Members of the transgender community tell us that people who visit them have a hidden agenda — they are either looking for information or they exploit them. Only a few sit down to talk to them or engage in some fun activities — which is what we aim to do. We plan to hold pictionary and antakshari to keep them engaged. The uniqueness of Christmas is that it opens doors to all — makes people less suspicious and hostile and more welcoming,” said Vinod Kumar, the co-founder of the 25-member group and an assistant professor of accounting at the Jain University.

“In collaboration with Dear India Trust — a local NGO that works for upliftment of the transgender community through education and employment, we’ve identified highways and truck stops along these stretches as major hubs of transgender settlements. We will visit the Kengeri-Channapatna stretch, Tumkur Road, Kolar as well as areas bordering Hosur and Krishnagiri in Tamil Nadu ahead of Christmas to distribute presents,” said Santhosh Kumar, co-founder of the group and is also a trainer of soft skills.