Finding purpose
But sex work is just that — work. Like an accountant who has spent twenty years of her life trapped in a rat race, June grew tired of her humdrum routine. “I was 38, going through an existential crisis, splurging on artworks and sculptures as a way of covering up parts of my life that were ugly. I had so much love to give, but I had no outlet. I desperately needed a purpose in life.” Chance came, when the organisers of a workshop that June and her late sister Irene — who too was assigned the male gender at birth but identified as a woman — were attending saw their potential and offered them the positions of volunteer coordinator in a healthcare centre for migrant sex workers. “The moment I was offered the job, I stepped out of the sex industry, and never looked back.”
For the next five years, she and Irene worked tirelessly to help others, eventually expanding the programmes to benefit transgender people as well. On weekends and off days, she conducted talks to spread transgender awareness. Kismet it was that one day, a chief executive officer of a non-profit organisation was in the audience, and she recognised the need for a shelter for homeless transgender individuals. “She gave us a space in Little India, and there the first The T Project shelter was set up.”