“For the first time, I feel part of the society when running a cafeteria at a college. It has brought normalcy to my life. I look forward to coming here every day. I go to bed early so I can wake up early and be here. Students at the college are like my children and when they have exams or assignment deadlines, I keep the cafeteria open till two in the morning, to make sure the students have food and tea when they are up studying here. We are also planning to open a food service business for the NCA hostel.

Everyone in my community has been faced with rejection, from their families and from society and this has made us very resilient. Given a chance, we will prove to be reliable and hardworking people. I also run an NGO that works for the rights of transgenders. Other colleges and universities should also give us their cafeterias to run. We are a loving and dedicated people and will feed everyone delicious food with love”

Published in Dawn, January 16th, 2016