Trans women in India’s north-west have stepped in to help victims of the region’s devastating floods.

Heavy monsoon rains devastated 11 districts in West Bengal killing 152 people and displacing thousands of others.

A group of trans women came together in the affected Malda and North Dinajpur districts to lend a helping hand.

They have been collecting items for relief packages and then helping to distribute those care packages.

‘Collection from Malda district alone will be inadequate. Therefore, I contacted my associates in Kolkata and the transgender rights group, Samabhabana. They helped by collecting material from Kolkata and transporting them to Malda and North Dinajpur,’ trans activist Debi Acharya told the Hindustan Times.

‘We are distributing relief materials among the flood affected people in Malda and North Dinajpur districts where the situation is very bad,’ she told PTI.

‘Some have also helped with money. We have also got relief materials from Kolkata collected by transgender activists.’

The women have been collecting clothes, rice, biscuits, dry food, water purifying tablets and sanitary napkins for the relief packages. They visited almost every house in Malda to collect the goods.

Acharya said everyone welcomed the women’s efforts ‘with open arms’.

Helping even though they’re shunned

India’s first trans judge of a Lok Adalat – a kind of people’s court – Joyita Mondal Mahi was keeping an eye on relief efforts.

‘It’s a time when all must come together for helping others,’ she said.

‘We face discrimination every day. Society is not bothered about us. But in this moment of crisis, we could not ignore the call of humanity,’ Mondal told HT.

Another LGBT rights activist, Avinaba Dutta, has been coordinating relief work from the city.

‘When I got the call from Debi and Joyita, I sincerely felt that something needs to be done to support them. I contacted Samabhabana and its founder Raina Roy,’ she said.

‘The founder of the first LGBTQ café (Amra Odbhuth Café) in Kolkata, also came forward to assist us.’

‘We are communicating to our members through various social networking sites. We are making appeal there and we have called up people seeking their help,’ Dutta said.