Community Renovation & Organisation Advancement Trust
Improving the social and economic
living conditions of transgender people.
COROAT was founded in 2009 by women from Tamil Nadu. The organization is dedicated to empowering marginalized groups who live in extreme poverty and are excluded from mainstream society through discrimination and lack of resources. Target groups include traditional artisans, day laborers, women, children, people with disabilities and transgender people.
With programs in the areas of education, livelihoods and social inclusion, COROAT creates new perspectives - and thus contributes to a society in which equality and participation become a reality.
Transgender people in India historically had a socially respected role, for example in spiritual and cultural life. This changed with colonization: Under British rule, laws were introduced that criminalized their existence. Centuries of exclusion and discrimination were the result.
Although legal progress has been made - including the recognition of a third gender by the Supreme Court (2014) and the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act (2019) - the stigma is deeply rooted. Many of those affected suffer from social isolation, limited access to education and discrimination in the workplace. A lack of economic opportunities often forces them into precarious activities such as begging or sex work. Despite activism and political reforms, much remains to be done to achieve genuine inclusion and dignity.
COROAT (Community Renovation & Organisation Advancement Trust) is committed to the rights of women and marginalized communities in Tamil Nadu. The goal is a gender-equitable, democratic and non-discriminatory society. The "She in He" project specifically empowers transgender people by improving their socio-economic living conditions and paving the way to financial independence.
The core of the project is vocational training in areas such as agriculture, fashion, interior design and driving. In addition, COROAT offers training courses in cooperation with state programs and financial institutions to promote self-employment and create jobs. Through this offer, transgender people receive concrete opportunities for income, professional recognition and social participation.
The Lemonaid & ChariTea Foundation contributes to the implementation by financing training courses, salaries for specialists as well as costs for employer contacts and administration.
M Padmavathi
Project Website: https://sheinhe.in/
Organisation Website: https://coroat.org/ )
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