This Bengaluru installation is raising awareness for Pride month

In honour of Pride Month 2022, Reach Lives is launching the ‘LGBTQube Project’ in Bengaluru. Volunteers from across Bengaluru fundraised and built an 8’-tall Rubik’s cube-inspired art installation - the so-called ‘LGBTQube’, on account of the choice of colours which correspond to the colours on the Pride flag. The cube will be presented to the public in partnership with Phoenix Marketcity outside the mall’s food court from June 24-26.

Reach Lives volunteers inaugurate the LGBTQube installation

The team is using this installation as a way to engage people in conversation about Pride and the LGBTQ+ community, especially about the overlooked needs of Bengaluru’s impoverished trans-persons, and raise funds to address a key need of many trans-persons - healthcare.

Reflecting on their efforts during Pride month 2021, Dr. Senneil Gomes, director of communications at Reach Lives, said, “We were able to help over 1,000 trans-persons, who had been acutely impoverished during the lockdown measures, with emergency rations and health supplies, but our work last year also highlighted many lapses in our collective understanding of the challenges faced by trans-people in Bengaluru. This year we needed to do something that would reach more Bengalureans and help raise awareness about pride month and the LGBTQ+ movement. The Rubik’s cube with its visual concordance with the Pride flag and its inherent complexity, which mirrors the intricacies of human identity and expression, served as the ideal muse for our art installation.”

As part of their Pride month outreach, Reach Lives also partnered with BookMyShow to host a private screening of 777 Charlie at PVR Orion Mall for 50 members of the LGBTQ+ community including trans-persons who had previously never been able to visit malls and watch movies in multiplexes. Additionally, they will also be adopting the health and nutrition needs of the residents of India’s first trans-owned orphanage - Nammane Summane.

Trans-women with Reach Lives at PVR Orion Mall

Speaking on the intended cause of the fundraising, Dr. Victor Mohan, director of the Reach Health program, said, “Our work with trans-persons has revealed that they are routinely mistreated when accessing healthcare. There are also significant lapses in knowledge among healthcare workers regarding trans-specific health issues. They need healthcare that’s free from discrimination and our plan is to bring mobile medical camps closer to their settlements and foster an accessible environment.”

The Reach Lives team has launched a website, www.reachlives.com/lgbtqube, where people can learn more about the project, contribute funds to cover healthcare costs of trans-persons and share messages of support, hope and love with the LGBTQ+ community.

Read the full article here.

Business Standard

This is excerpt from an original article on Business Standard.

New Delhi [India], December 16: Christmas is recognized worldwide as the season of joy, celebration, homemade Christmas goodies, and more. But above all, Christmas is also the season of giving.

And this year, 'Reach Lives', a Bangalore-based NGO has committed themselves to spread the Christmas cheer among communities of children-in-need with their seasonal distribution program 'Operation Christmas Cheer'.

Reach Lives volunteers at Christmas Cheer 2021

'Operations Christmas Cheer' was a day-long event that took place on the 15th of December 2021. The event was flagged off by Meenakshi Krishna Byregowda, and featured the distribution of gift-hampers among underprivileged children accompanied by lots of music, dance, and other activities.

Children at one of the orphanages during Christmas Cheer 2021

With two auto-rickshaws prepped and decorated in holiday garb, Reach Lives kicked off the event at Kempapura, and covered neighbourhoods across Yelahanka, Sahakar Nagar, RT Nagar, Nagawara, Hegde Nagar, Chamrajpet, Majestic, and Richmond Town. The program successfully concluded by the end of the day having reached out to over 2000 children residing in foster homes, orphanages, and slums.

Speaking on the outreach program, Dr Victor Mohan, Co-Founder & CEO of Reach Lives, said - "The Christmas season is that time of the year we all look forward to the most; especially children. While we all love to celebrate the season with our friends and families, we tend to overlook the ones that might not have the privilege of doing the same. This is why our team at Reach Lives put together this initiative where we could all come together, and celebrate the season by spreading the goodness of Christmas among those who need it the most. The success of the event was overwhelming as we were able to see the smiles of thousands of children across Bangalore. It is the smiles of these children that give us the drive to do what we do - reach lives, and make a difference."

Mini Mohan, Co-Founder & CFO at Reach Lives, stated - "While all of us had our fair share of struggle during the pandemic, nothing compares to the effect it had on foster homes, and orphanages. With many of these homes seeing a drastic decrease in charitable funds coming their way, it's no secret as to how hard it must have been for them to get by. Through this initiative, it is our sole purpose to prove to these children that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel, and there is always more to look forward to. With our gifts, music, and interactions, we aim to bring some cheer into the lives of these children, and foster good mental health during the holiday season."

As part of the 'Operation Christmas Cheer' initiative, the volunteers from Reach Lives were also hard at work mobilizing Bengalureans to donate toys, stationery, consumables, and other essentials. Some even went the extra mile to make this initiative even more special. Students from Stonehill International School participated by hand-making gifts by themselves to be donated. Overall, the team was able to amass a collection of several thousand small gifts that were individually packed for distribution.

A subsidiary of the Anora Charitable Foundation, Reach Lives is the result of a group of like-minded doctors, businesspersons, and philanthropists resolving to work together to reduce socio-economic disparities among Indians, primarily in the domain of healthcare. They aim to target urban poor communities such as children in foster/care homes, elderly in old-age homes, slum dwellers, trans-persons, and migrants living in temporary settlements. Through their initiatives, the team at Reach Lives aims to further expand to additional communities in need across South India and beyond.

Read the full article on Business Standard.

The Hans India

This is excerpt from an original article on the The Hans India.

Reporters from the Hans India joined Reach Lives volunteers as they organized Operation Christmas Cheer 2021 in December 2021. This event brought over 10,000 gifts to children in orphanages and old age homes across Bengaluru.

Article on The Hans India

Join us at the next outreach program that Reach Lives organizes.