The residents at a home for girl children and the elderly now have a reason to celebrate Christmas and welcome New Year with more joy, thanks to Magizhvan Foundation’s MaFY Art Project, short for Magizhvan For You. The newly painted walls and refurbished buildings at the home in Sholinganallur, Chennai that houses 20 children and seven senior citizens, perfectly reflects the festive cheer of this season. 

Magizhvan Foundation, a Chennai-based LGBTQIA+ community welfare organisation, founded by Yesu Raja, plans on spreading festive cheer in many such places across the city. “This 25-year-old facility at Sholinganallur was the first on our list. We plan on doing this at other residential homes for children and the elderly in the city,” Yesu says.

With donations from donors, Yesu gathered a small group of volunteers from the LGBTQIA+ community and worked out a plan to fix the facility. “Their building was badly damaged during Cyclone Vardah in 2016, and repair work was delayed due to COVID-19 pandemic. The walls were damaged; floors had many small potholes and the bathroom doors were also broken,” Yesu shares. Volunteers repaired walls and floors and gave the space a fresh coat of paint in 10 days starting December 8 this year. “We wanted to give them hope, especially now during the festive season,” he adds.

“I was able to see just how much it meant to the children there from their reaction to the newly painted walls. I saw a little girl talking to one of the painted cartoon characters on the wall. It was very moving to watch,” Yesu shares. “The initial plan was to just paint their walls and give them a new look. But seeing its condition, we decided to give it a facelift. Those managing the facility as well as the residents living there were both elated. Some even cried,” he adds. The entire project took them 20 days of planning and execution. 

Magizhvan’s idea is to not just engage in welfare activities but to create a society where LGBTQIA+ individuals are treated with equality and respect. “When people see a gay man or a trans woman or a person from the queer community engaging in such welfare activities, I’m sure it will break many perceptions. People trust them more, and we will be able to create a society with better standards of equality,” Yesu points out.

Magizhvan Foundation also has an ongoing MaFY Project through which they have reached out to close to 200 families living in Chennai, helping them with food, groceries and house rent over the lockdown period. 

In addition to volunteers, Magizhvan Foundation also engages paid and skilled workers during such activities, thereby supporting their livelihoods. Their regular activities include providing job assistance for LGBTQIA+ individuals, counselling for students and assisting with psychological counselling sessions for LGBTQIA+ individuals. 

Those wishing to help Magizhvan Foundation in their activities can do so here.