Save Transgender Hijrah Lives and Livelihoods

Program Report 2021-22

See our program report video above

UPDATE:

03 Jan 2023

San Francisco - ParivarBayArea announced today its intent to establish the world’s largest transgender entrepreneurship nonprofit by spinning off its India-based program #SITAL (Save Indian Trans All India Lives) into an independent organization named SITALParivar. Launched in 2021 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, #SITAL initially focused on mobilizing emergency aid to over 90,000 impacted transgender, hijrah, and kinnar communities across India, Guyana and Bangladesh. “We’re excited to see how quickly this program expanded in just a short time,” says Zainab Patel, #SITAL Chair. “By establishing SITALParivar as an independent organization, we’ll be able to maintain that rapid growth while building a robust pipeline of local trans leadership. By centralizing decision-making in the Global South and away from North America, we can ensure SITALParivar remains rooted in and deeply familiar with ground realities. The final transition, including leadership, operational structure, and the SITALParivar.org website will be completed by the end of March 2023. As an independent organization, SITALParivar will be led by the thought leadership of an India-based Transgender Advisory Committee (TAC), responsible for overseeing staff and strategic decision-making. It will also devise and implement its global fundraising strategies, build and scale operational partnerships, and fully focus on transgender communities in the greater South Asian region; beginning with Pakistan in 2023.

OUR STORY:

SITAL began as a grassroots effort led by frontline Transgender leaders to save the lives of their own community. 44 Transgender leaders across India banded together they saved the lives in their own communities.

Transgender people SITAL (Save Indian Trans All INDIA Lives) is focused on Indian trans, hijra, intersex, non-binary, and other gender minority communities that have been subjected to unprecedented historical neglect, isolation, discrimination, and violence resulting in their social, political, and economical marginalization., and which have been further pushed into a huge crisis of survival because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It is a pan-India effort working vigorously to support over 50+ communities/birdaris across 23 states, to begin with. and then the effort was to move towards rehabilitation work through various livelihood projects. SITAL is a strategic initiative that really calls attention to the socio-political-economic inclusion of Trans Hijra Kinnar lives in India and facilitates community building of our LGBTQ+ people centering Trans Hijra Kinnar folks.

Phase#1: Relief and Recovery

April 2021-Jan 2022

Our grassroots relief efforts were focused on distributing food and health kits and mobilizing emergency medicine distribution, setting up makeshift hospitals, and quarantine spaces, helping with hospitalizations, and holding vaccine equity drives for Trans Hijra people. We distributed over 55000 food/medical kits across the country among community members. With the help and support of 14,000 individual donors16 plus organizations, we raised and distributed across various Trans, Hijra, Kinnar communities in India, saving over 90,000 Trans lives.

Phase#2: Rehabilitation and Rebuilding

Oct 2021- Present

As we led rebuilding efforts, we accepted 64 small business enterprise proposals from the community and reviewed to shortlist 42 of them. 26 of these projects could be funded. As of Jan 1, 2023, 133 Transgender Hijrah Kinnar folks are successfully running 19 livelihood small businesses that are transgender-owned and employing with 2 new livelihoods readying to open doors. 3 projects were unsuccessful and closed doors, with 4 batches of training completed in total.

 Transgender Livelihood Entrepreneurship Projects

RECAP: RECAP SITAL in INDIA

All donations made are tax-exempt and receipts can be provided. Please email us at [email redacted] to request a copy of the receipt. Our fiscal sponsor is LGBT Asylum Project, a registered 501(c)3 www.lgbtasylumproject.com

Ways to support us 

https://www.instagram.com/sitalparivar

For many decades now, the Trans Hijra communities within the South Asian Diaspora have been isolated, neglected, and pushed into further poverty and desperation gave the social stigma, false myths, and ignorance. The pandemic has furthered our marginalization. Our community has been left behind in all the large-scale relief efforts happening internationally and right here at home. We need your valuable help. Please support and save our lives.