God lies in detail. The famous quote by Architect Ludwig Mies came alive at the 3rd year anniversary celebration of the Keshav Suri Foundation at The Lalit New Delhi on 13th October 2021, where the foundation had planned an open job fair for the marginalized intersections of the society.
Present at the event were the enthusiastic Foundation team, the sensitized team members of Lalit, and empathetic HR professionals all with one vision – to bring inclusion. There were three sign language interpreters, fully accessible banquets, eager smiles, and warm snacks that made the entire show appear seamless, but such a feat can only be accomplished after months of training and genuine passion for the goal.
The Keshav Suri Foundation has been working towards livelihood building and creating opportunities for marginalized communities by providing them education and jobs. The walk-in Diversity Job Fair for the LGBTQIA+ groups, persons with disabilities, and acid attack survivors seeking internships and apprenticeships in a safe environment saw a participation of over 100 people, out of which a stupendous 60 have been selected for training to take on roles across functions and positions at The Lalit.
For me, a personal highlight was when People with Disabilities wished the Foundation its birthday. Genuine warmth, gratitude, and exuberance within the community members can be seen for the foundation here https://www.instagram.com/reel/CU-XmrkAQA1/?utm_medium=copy_link
This job fair was held across 11 cities of the country at The Lalit, of which Suri is the Executive Director. Suri was also the writ petitioner in the Supreme Court of India to challenge the colloquial law. Post the Supreme Court judgment on September 6 that read down Section 377, he launched his eponymous foundation with a motto to “embrace, empower and mainstream” the LGBTQIA+ community.
“It has been 3 years since I started my foundation. The road to equality is still a far-fetched dream .and we are doing our best to build an egalitarian nation. Sensitizing workplaces, providing education, and creating job opportunities are the three important pillars of our work at KSF. We are also providing free mental health counseling for the community members. I am sure our consistent efforts will bring about a positive change to the queer and marginalized lives and enable them to lead a life of dignity,” said Suri, who believes in spreading the message of love
During the pandemic, The foundation worked with a variety of supply chains, assisting over 100 CBOs and NGOs around the country, assisting over 50 corporations in their D&I journeys, and providing food and essential supplies to over five million people. In the previous three years, the foundation has trained over 2000 queer people via various programs at KSF, provided over 200 queer people with various possibilities at The Lalit, and given over 500 queer artists opportunities at Kitty Su and The Lalit.
Though this event has been a success, the foundation has also organized a Gender Queering Workshop at The Lalit New Delhi on October 23 and urges media personnel to participate and understand the important issues faced by the community, the correct verbiage, and why queer stories need to come into the fore.
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