Adeel Malik
A 100-year-old man has raised more than £130,000 to date for coronavirus victims by setting out to walk 100 laps of his garden while fasting for Ramadan.
Dabirul Islam Choudhury, from St Albans, was inspired to raise £1,000 for vulnerable people in the UK and Bangladesh after seeing war veteran Colonel Tom Moore bring in £32 million for the NHS as reported by The Metro.
The centenarian hit his target just a few hours after launching his campaign on March 26th and will continue raising money until Ramadan ends on May 23.
He was born on January 1, 1920, in British Assam, now modern-day Bangladesh, but came to London to study English literature in 1957.
The accomplished poet, who has been isolating for two months, has since become ‘one of the highest respected individuals’ in the St Albans community.
He has taken the reigns of many fundraising projects over the years and his son, Atique Choudhury, told BBC London that his father shows no sign of slowing down.
He said: ‘When we started, we started at a small pace but he’s been increasing his number of laps he’s doing.
‘The problem we have is that we have to try and stop him because he wants to carry on.’
Atique added that his dad’s fundraising is crucial for vulnerable people in places like Bangladesh, who can starve if they don’t work for a week or two.
All of the money raised by Dabirul’s efforts will go to the Ramadan Family Commitment (RFC) Covid-19 crisis initiative, run by British-Bangladeshi television broadcaster Channel S.
Farhan Musad Khan, project lead for RFC has described Dabirul as ‘very bright and very bubbly, full of life’.
He added: ‘We like to invite people who have got a legacy, who have contributed a lot, who are inspiring and Mr Dabirul Choudhury is one of the highest respected individuals in our community.
‘He has a huge following within his family, friends and religious community.’
You can donate to Dabirul’s appeal on JustGiving.
