Noori Saleem has been helping children with HIV and AIDS through her foundation. She is also popularly known as ‘Noori Amma’. We happily celebrate the Transgender Day declared by the government on April 15 every year.
Since 1986, HIV / AIDS has been prevalent in India. Science has made progress in understanding the disease, but its stigma remains, making life difficult for people who have it. In addition to this, children living with HIV/AIDS are often abandoned and left on their own at an early age.
Transgender woman Noori Mohammed from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, has become a messiah for 400 of these children by taking them under her wings over the past two decades. They are trained in basic skills, educated and provided with medical expenses until they can find a job or a source of income for themselves. The local community has called her Noori Amma for her compassion and support for these children.
Noori Saleem was the third person diagnosed with HIV by the Indian government in 1987. Until then, she had worked as a prostitute. She made it her life’s mission after being diagnosed with HIV/AIDS to raise public awareness about the disease and ensure that children affected by HIV receive primary education and adequate healthcare. She worked in a hospital in Chennai as a nursing assistant to learn how to care for HIV/AIDS patients.
Noori Saleem began to adopt these infants after finding out about the practice of parents anonymously leaving their new-borns in the hospital with the disease.
Childhood
Originally from Ramnad, Noori was born Noor Mohammed in Chennai, India, as the second boy in a family of three. She had a younger sister. Growing up was difficult for her. The gender identity crisis that Noori was experiencing caused her to run away from home when she was 13 years old. Like most other transwomen at that time, she felt trapped in a male body. Moreover, since both of her parents were dead, she didn’t have anyone to turn to for support.
Before taking up sex work, she worked odd jobs. As a sex worker, Noori continued to work until she was diagnosed with HIV. As a result of being diagnosed with the disease, Noori says she stopped working in sex as she did not want to spread it to others. Even though the news initially disheartened her, she began working for social causes and campaigns to inform people about HIV/AIDS.
As predicted, people initially resisted taking HIV lessons from trans people. But eventually, they started to accept and understand her.
Noori formalized her work by creating the SIP Memorial Trust in 2005 – in memory of Selva, Indira, and Palani, her friends who died from AIDS. Under the Trust, Noori also conducts support and awareness programs for adults impacted by HIV/AIDS. Noori is funded by friends, acquaintances, corporate donations and politicians working for the cause.
Although she has made significant contributions to society, she views her most outstanding achievement as the good health of the kids she works with, who range from five to 17 years old. Besides taking care of these children, Noori also cares for over 100 children outside the home. She has received numerous awards from the Tamil Nadu government and has been recognized for her work by Raj TV.
She has explored many countries, including Canada, Australia and Japan, and shared her passion for the HIV/AIDS-related issue.
