£4,000 raised for Bangladesh project

Paul Rowen presents the £4,000 cheque to members of the Bangladesh Association and Community Project

Rochdale MP Paul Rowen presented a cheque for over £4,000 to BRAG (Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee) at a meeting of the Bangladesh Association and Community Project (BACP).

The cheque was from money raised at a spectacular fundraiser at Rochdale Town Hall held in April at Rochdale Town Hall. The 'Gala Evening', was in aid of victims of Cyclone Sidr.

The fundraiser was inspired by Paul Rowen MP's visit to Bangaldesh where he met with families whose lives were being blighted because their fishing boats had been destroyed.

A replacement boat costs £700 and Mr Rowen teamed up with the BACP to organise the event and they will now work with the British High Commission in Bangladesh to replace as many boats as possible.

Mr Rowen said,: "This huge amount of money raised will make a significant difference to people's lives. Each boat will help at least 50 people get their lives back to normality; this means that nearly 300 people in Bangladesh will benefit.

"Thank you to everyone who attended or donated money. I would like to special thank you to Shaukat Ali, from BACP and Councillor Farooq Ahmed for helping me organise the event."

Nurul Chowdhury, the Chairman of BACP, said: "We would like to thank everyone who came and supported our event. This will make a real difference to so many people and we are delighted to have raised so much money.

"Every single community in our town backed us and we had a great evening of entertainment and quality food for such a good cause."