A centenarian from St Albans embarked on his own amazing challenge to raise money for COVID-19 victims in the UK and overseas and has already raised nearly £150,000 in the process.
From April 26, Dabirul Islam Choudhury started walking 100 laps from one part of his communal garden to another in East London where he now lives and carried on during Ramadan which finished in late May. He had an initial target of just £1,000.
Dabirul Islam Choudhury was born on January 1, 1920 in British Assam, which later became Bangladesh.
In 1957, Dabirul moved to England to study English Literature in London.
Due to his education and command of English, he ended up as a community leader and settled in St Albans.
In the city, he was responsible for many community projects and raised money for the independence struggle of Bangladesh.
He is also an accomplished poet and has had thousands of his own poems published
Dabirul is raising money for British-Bangladeshi broadcaster Channel S Television’s RFC COVID19 Crisis Initiative which supports vulnerable people around the world.
He told ITV News: “I proposed to my son. He said ‘Can you walk 50’? I said ‘500 I can walk’. I aim for 20, 30 50 laps a day whatever. It’s better for me when the weather is cold. Then I go faster.”
RFC project leader Farhan Musad Khan paid tribute to Dabirul.
He said: “He’s a very active individual and incredibly popular in St Albans and London. Everybody respects him and he is a versatile individual. I wasn’t thinking he would take on a challenge as big as this – the whole nation is very proud of him and we are glad and honoured he is supporting our cause.”
To donate, go to bit.ly/2WuB2xh.
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