Rochdale man awarded OBE for community work

Mr Shahzad and his OBE

Mr Ghulam Rasul Shahzad received his OBE (Order of the British Empire) Honour from Her Majesty the Queen in a prestigious ceremony held at Buckingham Palace yesterday (Wednesday 2 June 2010). He has been honoured for his services to the community and social housing in Rochdale.

Rochdale Online reporter Paul Finnerty spoke to Mr Shahzad to find out how it was to meet the Queen and where his dedication to community work began.

Receiving the news of the OBE brought about a remarkable coincidence for his family.

“On the 13 November last year my second granddaughter was born, and on the same day I was informed by letter that my name would be included on the list. I was told not to mention it because it was sent in strict confidence. Then on 31 December, when I received an official invitation to Buckingham Palace it was my other granddaughter’s birthday.

“I travelled by car with my wife and two sons and stayed in a hotel 10 minutes away from the palace,” he relates. “It was very prestigious. I was very honoured when Her Majesty greeted me. There was a large audience from all walks of life.

“She asked me about my community service work and was very pleased. She told me to pass on her best wishes to Rochdale. I told her ‘I have brought good wishes from Rochdale.’”

Mr Shahzad is no stranger to meeting important figures. He travelled down to 10 Downing Street in November 2009 to meet former Prime Minister Gordon Brown to receive a Community Crimefighter Award. Before that he was presented with the Bob Cotton award for services to local, national and international communities by Tony Blair.

He became involved with his local communities from the age of seven and recounts how his mother played an enormous part in his upbringing:

“She told me to be like the sun. She said ‘the sun’s rays are for everybody. It gives them out without asking for anything in return.’”

“It all started at the age of seven. What I am is because of my mother, and her love and affection towards me. There was a lady who lived nearby. Her husband had gone to the Middle East and she had three small children. My mother told me to go to her house and comfort her. I found great satisfaction in it.”

He continued to follow his mother’s advice to help others, receiving numerous awards and recognitions for his community work, and emphasises that as well as serving other people, it is a mutually beneficial experience for all concerned:

“The people of Rochdale supported me and provided me with this opportunity. I am pleased to see the different walks of life we are serving.

“You help communities and make lives better. At the same time, I have got to know lots of people through my work and it gives me a great satisfaction in my heart to do something good and be recognised and appreciated.”

He has made friends worldwide and revealed that he received telephone calls from Pakistan, Australia, Japan and the US to congratulate him on his achievement. He has not yet organised any sort of celebration, but will in the near future when he figures out how to involve all of his family spread throughout the country.

Looking towards future projects he plans to assist a charity that will provide drinking water for thousands of people in Uganda, but gives a keen reminder that community work is valuable in any form.

“My advice is if we care and share for all our communities, we can make Rochdale, the UK and the world a better place and a safer, healthier, more prosperous place.”