Life for those in the Sylheti village of Nowder, Biswanath has recently been given a significant boost from the opening of a primary health care centre. The centre is a joint initiative of Gonoshasthaya Kendra, The HRA Foundation and its UK partner charity Friends of Nowder. GK founder, Dr Zafrulla Chowdhury

, has been personally involved in the establishment of the centre, working closely with the founder of The HRA Foundation Mr Arosh Ali, to make it a reality.

Gonoshasthaya Kendra (GK) is an established NGO modeled on the UK Primary healthcare trust that brings much needed benefit to Bangladesh’s poorest people.

A quote from Mr Arosh Ali a British Bangladeshi who co-ordinates both Friends of Nowder and The HRA Foundation on an entirely voluntary basis:

    We are very excited about our partnership with GK and the opening of the health centre in Nowder. This means that for the first time ever safe medical care that anybody can afford is available in Nowder village. We have huge respect for Dr Zafrulla and his way of working and are very thankful to him for bringing GK to our village. Our relation has with GK began in 2010 when they agreed to train three young women from the village as paramedics. These women have returned from Dhaka to staff the new centre and will make a huge difference to the lives of their fellow villagers.

The opening of the healthcare centre is just the start for the HRA Foundation. The NGO is already running an informal education programme for children and young people in the village, it employs 25 young women as tutors and brings benefit to over 200 children. In addition to healthcare and education, the HRA Foundation is seeking to establish partnerships with further NGO providers to create support for the elderly and disabled, to establish a women’s cooperative and to begin vocational training for young men. This whole village approach is winning support and admiration amongst the UK charity sector as well as from respected UK politicians including Secretary of State for International Development, Andrew  Mitchell.

To find out more please visit www.friendsofnowder.org or contact Mr Arosh Ali: arosh@friendsofnowder.org