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Rotary honors heroes, aids Bangladesh

Contributed by: Patricia Burnett on 5/2/2008

A small village in Bangladesh has clean water because members of the Rotary Club of Englewood chose to help. Over the last three years the club also has provided funding for a sanitary latrine and modest homes for orphan children, as well as sending refurbished laptops to school girls there. The projects are in collaboration with the Jahanara Majid Memorial Foundation of Bangladesh.

On Saturday, May 17, Englewood Rotary will host Banquet for Bangladesh at Englewood Civic Center, open to the public, to raise more funds for its work in Kandopasha, district of Barisal, Bangladesh. The dinner also will recognize the first honorees in the Englewood Rotary Circle of Heroes. An Englewood firefighter, police officer and teacher will be honored.

Mohammad Matin is Englewood Rotary's international service director. He is a native of Bangladesh and a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Denver. He brought the needs of Kandopasha to the club's attention. Kandopasha is a small village in the southern part of Bangladesh, which is bordered on all sides by India, except for a small border with Myanmar (the former Burma).

Here is a brief Q&A with Matin.

Q. The Rotary Club of Englewood has been helping the people of Kandopasha for several years now. How did the club choose this project in this faraway place?

A. One of the four avenues of Service of Rotary is international service. Clubs all over the world work together on projects as critical as assuring that people have access to clean water. My family foundation already was working in Kandopasha, so this was an excellent collaboration opportunity for our club. For the sustainability of any project, a local Rotary club or local organization need to work together. We are calling our efforts there the Rotary Village.

Q. Who are the people of Kandopasha that you are helping?

A: Kandopasha is a village in the District of Barisal and has a population of 6,000 -- Muslim (90 percent), Hindu (8 percent) and Christian (2 percent). Almost all the people are very poor.

Q. Have Englewood Rotarians visited the town and worked with the people?

A. I have visited, and we have a club visit scheduled for December of this year. The present president of the Englewood Rotary Club, Don Loyd, his wife Lori, incoming president Paula Shafer and I will go to witness our projects there and to launch the next phase of our involvement.

Q. What would you estimate the value of Rotary support to this community?

A. More than $9,000 in funding, plus the refurbished laptops for the girls high school.

Q. What is next for Rotary and Kandopasha?

A. We are now working in collaboration with JM Memorial Foundation to build a 10-bed hospital. The foundation has purchased the land, and construction is scheduled to start in December. There also will be a pond in front of the hospital for fish farming, giving the village its first industry.

Q. How have the people of Kandopasha responded to Rotarians? Do they write or e-mail to keep you appraised of the progress?

A. The people of Kandopasha, as well as the local government, are appreciative. A road was recently constructed to the hospital site. Almost every week they communicate by cell phone.

Q. The Rotary Club of Englewood is known for service projects locally, as well as international. What are some of those?

A. For more than 15 years, our members have been reading mentors with children from Bishop Elementary School in Englewood. We're there almost every Thursday morning, reading with the children. We also are strong supporters of Inter-Faith Community Services. And we have participated in another clean water project, in Africa.

Q. There is an upcoming benefit to raise money for Rotary's Bangladesh project. Are you cooking?

A. Yes! I will be cooking Bangladeshi cuisine including rice pilau, roasted chicken, meatballs, vegetables and Bangladeshi sweets.

Q. Rotary International is a worldwide organization of more than 1.2 million men and women in more than 160 countries. What does being a Rotarian mean to you?

A. I first joined Rotary in Bangladesh in 1987. I have seen first-hand how Rotary has responded to several disasters in Bangladesh. Rotary is a big help for the needy. I am proud to be a Rotarian, contributing to the local community as well as the world community, including my village in Bangladesh.

How to support Rotary's work in Bangladesh,
Honor Englewood's Circle of Heroes

Banquet for Bangladesh
Also Honoring Englewood Rotary's Circle of Heroes
Sponsored by the Rotary Club of Englewood

Dinner and Silent Auction
6 p.m., Saturday, May 17
Community Room, 2nd Floor
Englewood Civic Center
1000 Englewood Parkway
Cost: $20
Reservations: David Simon, 720-489-7400
Membership inquiries: Don Loyd, don@loydfinancial.com, 303-779-0987




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CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Patricia Burnett

Greenwood Village , CO

Patricia Burnett has posted 1 story and 0 comments since joining on 5/2/2008. Patricia Burnett 's average story rating is 0.
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