During a tough pan-India coronavirus lockdown, Gujarat’s transgender community is leading by example. Some individuals from the community have been going door to door distributing food packets so that people don’t have to come out of their houses.
One of these Good Samaritans told The Quint:
“We cook here and go door to door to distribute the food so that people don’t assemble in one place and are protected from the novel coronavirus.”
Around 150 members of the transgender community in Surat have been distributing kits consisting of rice, flour, tea leaves, sugar, and other essential items.
A transperson from Bhuj said they have already distributed hundreds of packets and are planning to distribute more in the coming days.
“People of Bhuj have fed us. Now, amid the coronavirus scare, we are here for them. We have always been dependent on them and now it's our turn, we will do our best. We will try to feed them as much as possible. We hope this pandemic ends soon,” she added.
A transperson from Godhra said, “We have been cooking food at home and manually giving two kits to each family. We have been trying our level best to do as much as we can.”
They take a cart full of daily essentials through the village and hand out packages to the locals. They have also saved money from their Navaratri fund and distribute Rs 100-200 along with the packages.
In an appeal to the people, one of them said:
“We request everybody to stay at home for as long as PM Modi says and to stay safe from the coronavirus. It is for our own good.”
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