A sexagenarian Ashya Begum is struggling with three daughters and two sons to keep body and soul together after sudden death of her husband.
With immense sufferings, she brought up her children and secured marriage of her three daughters and sons. The daughters are also spending days with poverty as constant companions.
Ashya Begum failed to get shelter in her sons’ houses. She lives in a tiny room erected on a land of another person. She has to survive by begging due to beggary. She spends night without warm clothes despite pinching cold. She went door to door seeking a blanket but failed.
The coldness finally gave farewell to her getting a blanket of Bashundhara Group. A blanket given to her produced joy and happiness. “I earn my livelihood through begging but have no good place to sleep. I did not get any blanket from anyone. But Bashundhara Group has stood beside. I am very pleased.”
The intensity of cold was severe in January. At the initiative of Shuvo Sangha, a social organisation of Bashundhara Group’s vernacular daily Kaler Kantho, some 18,000 helpless and cold-hit people were given blankets across the country this winter. Like Ashya Begum, all others got the blankets.
The warm clothes produced joy and smiles in children and elderly people.
The task of blanket distribution across the country was accomplished by Shuvo Sangha headed by its director Zakaria Zaman.
Father of a three-year small child named Md Shahin married again following the death of her mother. Having a dream to make Shahin a Hafez of Quran, Shahin was sent to a madrasa and orphanage. The authorities of madrasa were facing hardship to bear the costs of food, lodging and education. A number of students in the madrasa were passing tough time for lack of warm clothes.
Being informed, the team of Shuvo Sangha rushed to the spot and distributed blankets among the students.
Ayesha Begum, an 80 year-old woman and war heroine (Birangana), lost everything during the liberation war. She was struggling to spend days without blankets in this winter. Like Ayesha, 14 more war heroines in Chapainawabganj were suffering due to cold. The Bashundhara Group stood beside them.
Zakaria Zaman said, “Being instructed by Hon’ble Bashundhara Group Chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan and under the leadership of Editor-in-Chief of the Kaler Kantho, the Shuvo Sangho works for humanity throughout across the country. We have distributed some 18,000 blankets in several districts including northern region this winter.”
“We have been able to send the gifts of the Bashundhra Group to the orphans, elderly people, physically challenged persons and war heroines. Receiving gifts, all prayed to the Almighty for welfare the Chairman of Bashundhra Group. We will continue this noble deed in the future with the help of Bashundhara,” he added.
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
