The gift of sight from Tameside Rotary to Bangladesh

A party of Tameside Rotarians travelled to Bangladesh this month to celebrate the opening ceremony of a special hospital in Sylhet.

The group included Tameside Rotary founder, President Andy Williams, John Moon and Arthur Boswell plus Andy’s grandson (Alex).

They were joined by Rotarian Mizan Rahman, (owner of Adnan’s Restaurant in Hyde and Chairman of the Just Help Foundation) plus other members from Just Help. Also joining the group was Andrew Richardson, local Hyde community activist, founder of the Hyde Past and Present Facebook page, media reporter and a good friend of Mizan.

The eye hospital has been many years in creation, to deliver the extended services it now offers today.

The opening ceremony for the Just Help Sylhet Pride Rotary Eye Hospital - as it is now called - was carried out by local MP Mr Imran Ahmad, the event being organised by Sylhet Pride Rotary Club with more than 200 people attending.

A plaque recognising the support from Rotary clubs across the UK, and in particular Tameside Rotary, was presented by Andy Williams.

A Rotary International Global Grant for $150,000 had been successfully secured which enabled the existing building to be upgraded and the purchase of medical equipment required to carry out eye operations.

As we reported recently, Mizan founded the Just Help Foundation as a registered charity 17 years ago, to help raise funds for projects across Tameside and further afield.    

Mizan was originally from the region of Sylhet in Bangladesh, where he was a famous international hockey player for his country.

Since making his home in Tameside, he has been a key member of the large local Asian community here and also the wider community.

He has had several successful restaurants, most recently Adnan’s in Hyde.

He says his passion has always been to help vulnerable people. Many people in his homeland Bangladesh are extremely poor and don’t have access to the medical services we take for granted.

After years of fundraising and support of organisations such as Tameside Rotary, enough money was raised to establish the eye hospital in Sylhet, to treat those who would otherwise lose their sight.

The hospital now has modern laser equipment to treat cataracts and other sight defects, as well as providing GP services for other ailments.

Mizan said: “To me the eyes are the most important part of the body.  Without eyes I couldn’t see the beautiful world, my family or my children. So I wanted to give something back to my country and my society.

“The hospital has now been running very well for the last six years and more than 6,000 patients have been seen, not only for eye treatments but there is a GP service too and all treatments are free.”

Thanks to Rotary and international help, the treatments and state-of-the-art equipment have all been funded to keep the hospital operating.

The location of the hospital is very rural, 20 miles from Sylhet, where there is a lack of basic healthcare with many people going prematurely blind because they are unable to receive simple treatments, including cataract operations and laser surgery.

A simple cataract operation costing around £30 provides permanent life-changing treatment for an individual enabling them to resume daily life and support their families.

Eye operations have now been carried out for the last six months, already helping hundreds of people get treatment to prevent sight loss.

Whilst in Bangladesh, the group visited the Bangladesh Education Trust, a project supported by Rotary Club of Sylhet Sunshine, which provides an opportunity for young women to earn a living and presented 10 sewing machines purchased by Tameside Rotary. These will be used for training and the setting up of individual tailoring businesses by otherwise destitute women.

A trip had been organised to a very remote village, Dawkolosh, where a Just Help Eye Camp was taking place. The group received a very warm welcome with more than 150 people present.

Before leaving the UK, Tameside Rotarians had collected donations of clothes, school materials, toys etc and these were given to the adults and children of the village.

Andy said: “Wherever we went during our five day trip, we were treated as honoured guests and were met with nothing but kindness, enthusiasm and consideration. The welcome from local Rotarians was overwhelming.

“We had an amazing boat trip which took us to the border with India and met many of the ordinary people of Bangladesh having a day out with their families, enjoying paddling in the river, riding horses and just relaxing.

“Overall, our trip from Tameside to Bangladesh was filled with awe, wonder and admiration for the local people who have so little (by comparison to many others) but care so much for each other. Such a strong sense of community bonds and ties. It was wonderful and humbling to see the difference Rotary has made to so many lives.”

Tameside Rotary and Just Help Foundation would like to take this opportunity to thank all those that have supported this life changing project - giving the gift of sight.

More information about Tameside Rotary and the background to this story can be found at www.TamesideRotaryClub.com 

You can also find out more about the hospital in Sylhet at https://justhelpfoundation.org.uk/