COMMUNITY WORK

Flood 2007

In July 2007, Bangladesh encountered an unprecedented flood. UNICEF

were quoted saying “the situation is being described as the worst flooding in living memory”.

Bajloor Rashid, BCA President at the time; promptly held an ‘Emergency Meeting’ in direct response. The reaction from members was tremendous with donations being collected. He also travelled, with his colleague, restaurant to restaurant, door to door across the UK to collect more. Bajloor Rashid flew to Bangladesh with his colleague, to hand over a cheque for 1 million BD taka, on behalf of BCA, to Dr Fakhrudin Ahmed, the Chief Adviser to the Caretaker Government

Cyclone SIDR, 2007

In November 2007, a devastating cyclone, named SIDR, hit the south west of Bangladesh leaving thousands of people dead, millions injured and homeless. Entire infrastructures of the affected areas were damaged. The damage was catastrophic and communities were in need of urgent help to begin to recover.

Once again, Bajloor Rashid, BCA President at the time, arranged an immediate response for help. Members were so moved by the appeal from their President, that they quickly held Charity Nights in their restaurants as well as collecting donations to raise funds for the SIDR victims.

Bajloor swiftly organized delegations of relief workers to travel to Bangladesh and help. This proved to be one of the biggest fundraising ventures undertaken by Bajloor Rashid leadership, during the history of BCA.

Donations were transformed into water pumps, rotavators, tractors, fishing nets etc, providing families with the tools needed to work the land enabling them to rebuild their lives and provide for themselves again.

Project Maja, 2011

Project Maja is the Conservative Party’s commitment to social responsibility; ‘Maja’ is the Bengali word for ‘caring’. Fronted by Baroness Warsi and Ann Main MP, Bajloor joined a delegation of MP’s; Tobias Ellwood, Nicky Morgan & Andrew Stephenson to name just a few, plus volunteers to travel to Sylhet, Bangladesh, to ‘lend a hand’ and be involved in sport, community and health projects. His generosity didn’t stop at just giving his time, he was also a donor. Furthermore, by volunteering, Bajloor was able to see, first hand, how his donation made a difference to people’s lives; the aim is to further enthuse others to do likewise.

Project Shapla, 2012

Following on from the success of ‘ Project Maja’ in 2011, Bajloor was keen to support another delegation visit to Bangladesh. The delegation was led my Ann Main MP. Run by The Conservative Friends of Bangladesh, ‘ Project Shapla’ was about raising awareness of the potential Bangladesh has to offer and encourage relations between Bangladesh and the UK. Bajloor holds these values and initiatives very close to his heart and as ‘Shapla’ is entirely funded by private donations, Bajloor once again gave generously. The aim of Project Shapla was to build on relationships forged last year during Project Maja, and form new ones.

Jalalabad Rehabilitation Centre, Sylhet

Always willing to give his time, energy and support to charitable projects, it comes as no surprise that, on top of his involvement with other humanitarian projects; Bajloor has helped fund ‘ The Jalalabad Rehabilitation Centre’ in Sylhet. So significant was his contribution that he was honoured by many people. The Rehabilitation Centre continues to improve the lives of disabled people.

The National Heart Foundation, Sylhet

Sylhet in Bangladesh was without its own specialist care in cardiology, in fact patients would have to travel to Dhaka if they needed help. Bajloor, the Senior Vice Chairman for the UK Committee of the National Heart Foundation in Sylhet, was tasked with campaigning and fundraising to set up Sylhet’s own National Heart Foundation! Not just a gold donor, he was also extremely influential in many others giving generously too. Both during his BCA Presidency and since, Bajloor worked tirelessly, fundraising all over the UK influencing and persuading friends and colleagues to support the cause. The UK Committee continues to be involved in funding and the continued success of Sylhet’s National Heart Foundation.

Immigration Advisory Service UK (IAS), 2000

Bajloor, a founder member of the advisory board, along with fellow Bangladeshi Businessmen and friends, saw there was significant need for an IAS service in Bangladesh. So, they took the serious initiative of consulting, taking advice and fundraising, until finally they were able to establish an IAS Office in Sylhet; the first of its kind outside the UK. Since its foundation, it has guided many through the immigration systems and to this day still continues to benefit many, providing genuine applicants with immigration related legal advice.