42-year-old Rudrani Chhetri is a transgender artist, activist, actress and model, who spearheaded Mitr Trust, and the country’s first transgender modeling agency. She’s spent nearly two decades working towards improving the lives of the transgender and LGBTQ+ community through her organistions.

In April 2021, Mitr Trust kickstarted its pilot project to build a shelter home, ‘Garima Greh’, for transgender people who are homeless and abandoned, with the support of The Ministry of Social Justice And Empowerment.


The shelter is aimed at not only providing infrastructural support to transgender people, but also building a robust support system that they can fall back on in their times of need. It is equipped to give them access to skill training programs to pursue a range of professions and earn a livelihood.

“There are so many transgender people out there who have no place to go. They’ve been disowned by their families, ostracised by the society, kicked out of educational institutions and face constant rejections in job interviews, despite being well-qualified. These are people with aspirations and hopes for the future, just like everyone else. But, in a situation like this, they are absolutely helpless.” - Rudrani


However, with the limited resources in hand, it wasn’t long before the project came to a halt mid-way. The Trust ran out of all the funds that had been allocated for the shelter and poured in its own funds to keep the project going. But, even those were exhausted in no time.

“Since August, last year, we have been surviving on rationed food kits. Our rent is overdue and we have had to beg the landlord for concessions, for the sake of the 25 residents that we are housing here. The staff has been working without pay for months - for people that work for human rights, this is a violation of their human rights.” - Rudrani


Despite the major obstacles and setbacks, Rudrani is striving to stay true to herself and her dream of creating a dignified and respectable life for the people of her community.
 
“I want to build a shelter for my sisters, who have a place to call home when they have nowhere to go. They can live here for as long as they need. I want to provide them with a roof over their head, where they can feel safe and secure. For this we require funding, but most of all, we need you and your unrelenting support.” - Rudrani


In 2005, Rudrani established Mitr Trust, an NGO that aims to spread awareness about HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, and also organises self-help sexual and reproductive health programmes. The Trust has helped over 2,500 community members in Delhi, alone. Rudrani was also instrumental in setting up ‘Bold’ India’s first transgender modelling agency, in 2015.

“I don’t like to call myself an activist. I just think it is my responsibility to do this for my community. Society lacks understanding, and no one knows our community and the struggles that we face better than us. I believe that as a community, we have every right to be anything we want to be. That is why, I’ve dedicated myself to working for this community and empowering my brothers and sisters here…” - Rudrani 


“I appeal to all of you to help me build this shelter for my sisters and my community, so they can live with dignity, respect and equality.”