A charity Christmas event took place at Royston Wardieburn Community Centre on 16th December to support the Sreepur Village in Bangladesh. The date is an important one as it is also Victory Day of Bangladesh, the national day celebrated by Bengali nations worldwide.
The event kicked off with the Bangladeshi national anthem performed by children from the Edinburgh Bangla School. The event was opened by Edinburgh North and Leith MP Deidre Brock, who talked of significance of the UK charity which was founded by a British women, Pat Kerr MBE 30 years ago.
Will Thorpe, Scottish rep of the Sreepur village, who presented recent activities of the Sreepur Village charity highlighting his long time involvement with the charity and other guest speakers included Dr Sumit Konar of Edinburgh University and community worker Fulmaya Lama.
A multicultural performance was hosted by artists from the Nepal Scotland Association. Ayusma, Himansi, Saisaran and Sharmili Lama has performed traditional Nepalese dance. Sudipta Saha and Sharmin Jahan performed Bengali music. Attractive baul music (traditional Bengali folk song) by Robin Hossain was applauded by the audience.
A children’s arts competition was facilitated by Sharmin Borsha and Shahed Mostofa, where local kids were encouraged to find connections with their roots by drawing national objects of Bangladesh.
North Edinburgh residents from the BME community, local community activists and community groups all took part to support the charity.
The event was hosted jointly by a friends group of the Sreepur Charity in Scotland and Bangla Scot Trust. It was supported by local groups Granton Community Gardeners and Royston Wardieburn Community Centre Management Committee and many others.
A charity stall sold fair-trade items, such as scarves, cards etc, handmade by the Womens of Sreepur Village and local volunteers cooked traditional Bangladeshi foods to raise fund for the charity.
The turnout was very good, around hundreds people from all different communities come together to celebrate culture and support a charity.
The organisers Mizan Rahman, Ishrat Jahan, Fahmida Sultana and Shahed Mostofa thank all volunteers for supporting the event.
The event also celebrates the successful charity venture of a women which can be inspirational for many. With the support from everyone, by selling items and foods, total amount was raised £400.
Mizan Rahman (above, left) said: “By organising his event we are showing our support, respect and gratitude to the charity who have been working for our motherland for last 30 years. We are also celebrating success venture of a British women which can be source of inspiration to many.’’
If you would like to support the charity, more information can be found at: www.sreepurvillage.org
Brief story of the Sreepur Village
In 1977, a support group was set up in the UK called ‘Families for Children (UK)’, and in 1981 a British Airways stewardess Patricia Kerr get involved with this. She subsequently took unpaid leave to work there as a volunteer. Over the years, with the support from British Airways and others a plan was drawn up to build a purpose-built village outside the Dhaka city where most vulnerable children and women find a safe shelter. The Village formally opened in 1989. In the past 30 years, the project has grown, developed and adapted in line with the many changes within Bangladesh.
Patricia Kerr MBE, Overseas Director, still lives at Sreepur managing over 100 staff ensuring they are giving the best possible care and opportunities to the people.
The funding of the charity comes from their Income generation project such as producing handmade arts and crafts and selling them, these products made by the users.
More can be found on: https://www.sreepurvillage.org/pages/our-history-1
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