Since 2019, Confidence Group has been supporting a school in Mirpur that currently hires 15 third gender employees.

The school, Shopnojoyee, is adjacent to a small garments factory with the same name, where the 15 employees started their work. The Non-Profit school provides primary education and was built to slowly integrate them into the community.

The school also provides free healthy lunches to students along with classes.

As part of the administration, the third gender employees keep attendance, maintain payroll and accounts, prepare meals and distribute the lunch to students.

The change in the community was reportedly gradual. Children and parents are no longer scared or visibly uncomfortable, addressing the employees as “Apa”.

Confidence Group funds the daily meals and education support per month. The company also orders from the Shopnojoyee garments factory for all their event branded clothes over the year and helps promote their business to support the program.

Additional Findings from Research
5 parents, 3 employees, the administration from Shopnojoyee and the team from
Confidence Group participated in the research.

• Students and parents of the school communicate with the third gender
  employees regularly
• 100% of the parents would support any business any member of the third gender
  community opens in their community
• Employees want to keep working in the garments and school jobs, and plan to
  be supervisors or teachers in the near future