Bashundhara winter camp for nation children

A daylong winter camp for children with disabilities was held near Bashundhara Eye Hospital in the capital’s Bashundhara Residential Area on Thursday. Bashundhara Group, country’s leading business conglomerate, organised the event styled ‘Bashundhara Winter Camp 2015 for Nation Child’ with the help of Bashundhara Paper Mills Ltd and SWID Bangladesh. Bashundhara Group Chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan inaugurated the event by releasing balloons around 11:30am in Block-I of the posh, tranquil neighbourhood. Bangladesh Development Group Chairman Mustafa Kamal Mohiuddin, Vice-chairman Dilara Mostafa and Managing Director Mustafa Azad Mohiuddin and Director Rabeya Meher Mahmud and high officials of Bashundhara Group were present at the event. Some 155 children with disability from 11 branches of SWID schools from Dhaka, Narayanganj and Manikganj participated in the event which included race, drawing, ball throwing and cultural events. Besides, a Facebook page of Bashundhara Nation Child, an organisation working for the welfare of the differently able children, was also launched by the charity’s founder Yeasha Sobhan. Earlier, Yeasha Sobhan, also director of Bashundhara Group, gave her welcome speech and supervised the programme. She called upon the people of all social strata to stand by the physically challenged children to integrate them into the mainstream society. “I would like to introduce the children with disability as nation children and highlight them globally. You [nation children] will show your ability as heroes to serve the nation and its people.”The winter camp ended with a prize-giving ceremony where Bashundhara Group’s founding director Afroza Begum, BDG’s Dilara Mostafa and SWID (Society for the Welfare of the Intellectually Disabled) Bangladesh General Secretary Zaherul Islam Mamun handed over prizes to the winners. Addressing the event, Afroza Begum asked the disabled children to continue their academic as well as extra-curricular activities. She said Bashundhara Group is always with them. Dilara Mostafa said, “The well-off section of society should come forward with help to stand beside the disabled children. A good situation should be created for them so that their parents can rest assured that their children will be taken care of by somebody else in their absence.” Parents of the children with disability also attended the event. They demanded an increase in the allowance given by the government. Currently, every listed disabled child gets Tk 500 as allowance per month. The guardians thanked Bashundhara Group for standing by the physically and mentally challenged children and hoped that the group will organise such an event every year.