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Niagara, Ontario Volunteers To Hold Fundraising Dinner For People Of Bangladesh
(A Brief Foreword from Niagara At Large – Many people in the western world first learned about the suffering and death of millions of people living in Bangladesh in the early 1970s when former Beatle George Harrison held a celebrated fundraising concert to aid the poorest people of that populace South Asian nation.
Unfortunately, the suffering continues in that country and a group here called Niagara Volunteers for Bangladesh is holding its 9th annual fundraising dinner this coming October 13 to aid people in that country and they hope you will consider showing your support and attend. Below is a media release from the Niagara Volunteers for Bangladesh and information on the reasons for the fundraiser and who you can contact to buy a ticket.)
A Submission from Sue Corcoran, a founding member of the Niagara Volunteers for Bangladesh
The Village Elder said ‘One Fly is Deadlier Than 100 Tigers’.
A slice of life in poverty stricken Bangladesh. Photo submitted by Niagara Volunteers for Bangladesh.
Sanitation is not a popular subject for ‘polite’ conversation but it is a matter of life and death. The World Bank reports that every second a child dies as a result of poor sanitation and that one billion children are without access to basic sanitation. The World Health Organization estimates that 1.8 million people (90% are children under the age of 5 years) die annually from diarrhoeal disease.
While 2.5 billion people worldwide are still without basic sanitation3 and many developing countries are unlikely to meet the UN Millennium Development Goal for sanitation, Bangladesh is the exception. It is on track and Niagara played a small part in this achievement.
Because of the generosity and unflagging support of people in Niagara in 2011, Niagara Volunteers for Bangladesh (NVfB) was able to build a village latrine in the ‘untouchable’ community living in Mollapara Village, Dinajpur District, Northern Bangladesh and advert a catastrophe. The latrine serves a community of almost 200 ‘untouchables’ who were in imminent danger of eviction by the villagers if the sanitation issue was not resolved. Had they been made homeless, undoubtedly many would have perished.
Responding to this community’s fear and desperation, NVfB’s Nasim Banu-Ahmed and her brother, Motiur Rahman, who volunteered his expertise as an engineer, took on the logistical challenge of building the latrine project. They tackled the grueling job of hauling heavy equipment and supplies up rudimentary mountain roads, designed the latrine to fit the limited space available and hired the five labourers who excavated and built the structure. The project was completed at a total cost of $3,200 and the labour of seven people. The local residents were speechless with emotion when the latrine was completed. They have never been given anything before!
This coming year, NVfB will focus resources on society’s most vulnerable – the children – with the ‘lion’s share’ of funds raised going for education projects. Children are the future and education is the key. The building currently rented by Scholars Special School, which works with children with special needs in Dhaka, is cramped and in a state of disrepair. Niagara’s help is needed once again.
Please join us for NVfB’s ninth annual fundraising dinner on Saturday, October 13 at Westminster United Church, 180 Queenston St., St. Catharines. Tickets are $15.00 ($5 for children under five years). For information visit www.niagarabangladesh.com . For tickets/information phone Mahbuba 905 680 4669, Nasim 905 682 6569, Louise 905 938 2345, or Marie 905 704 0189.
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