Being Positive Through Tough Times
Noori Saleem is a trans-woman, is the third person to be officially declared HIV-positive by the Indian government in 1987. Today, she runs a shelter for abandoned HIV-positive children known as South Indian Positive Network.
Noori was 13 years old, when she left her home as she was unable to deal with the gender identity crisis. At a very young age, she lost her parents and didn’t have anyone to help her, in order to understand what she was going through. After doing a series of odd jobs, Noori became a sex worker. She continued to be a sex worker until she found out that she had contracted HIV. Once diagnosed with the infection, she quit sex work with the responsibility of not want to spread the disease to others. Though disheartened initially with the news, Noori didn’t lose hope. She set out to work with NGOs for social causes and participated in campaigns and other programmes to create awareness about HIV and AIDS.
One late night, she received a call reporting about a child left alone in a dumpster with blood stains on it. Noori recalls the incident saying that the abandoned child was just two days old & had an anonymous note in Telugu stating that it was someone’ s fifth child and responsible for giving HIV to the mother. The rescued child had to undergo multiple surgeries.
This incident led Noori to start the South Indian Positive Memorial Trust, to take care of abandoned and homeless children affected by HIV. This organisation now accommodates 50 children between the age of 5-17, ensuring all of them attend school. She ensures that these children are looked after well and are in good health. Apart from these kids, she also takes care of more than 100 children from outside the home.
Noori has received a number of awards from the Tamil Nadu government. She has also been recognised as the best woman social worker by Raj TV. Noori has travelled to many countries like Canada, Japan, Australia and Thailand as a public speaker on AIDS-related issues.
She is halfway through with her project to build a home for these children, as the current home functions from a rented place. Her only passion is to be able to accommodate more children who are in need of help.
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