LBTV A Force for the community…
Emdad Rahman
Barking & Dagenham cyclist Abul Kalam is gearing up for his toughest cycle challenge yet – All in aid of charity.
45 year old Kalam and a team of cyclists will embark on a unique ride along the coastal paradise that is Cox’s bazaar, cycling above the clouds in Bandarban, and meandering through to the beautiful villages of Sylhet.
As part of the TeamMC Cycling Club the team will take on a gruelling cycle challenge from the longest sea beach in the world to Sylhet, whilst soaking up some of the most beautiful routes in the world, gaining first hand experience of the culture, food, and the people of Bangladesh.
Speaking ahead of the trio in January Kalam said, “Our trip is tailored to let us experience the beauty of Bangladesh and to highlight the incredible work Team MC as a charity are doing with the most vulnerable communities.”
The team will be accompanied by experienced staff from the UK as well as cycling specialists who will be leading the cycle.
Kalam added, “This is a very important cause for us and we are hoping to use funds raised to build permanent homes for street children.
“I’m appealing to all readers to really dig deep and help me reach my target of £5000. Anything is possible with your help and support!”
Muslim Charity has been working with street children in Bangladesh for almost 5 years. Along with local ground partners the team have established a mechanism to rescue ‘street children.’
Team MC have several sites in Dhaka that act as informal schools to engage, track, and encourage children to come off the streets. These are manned by Social Mobilisers and experienced staff who rescue children into transitional shelters.
The transitional shelter based in Dhaka is where children will start their healing process. It’s a safe place where experienced staff will sensitively start to extract the journey and story of the child as well as developing leads to find their families.
The children are kept for a maximum of 6 weeks and if within this time their families are found they are reunited with the support of government agencies.
For the children that have no family they are referred onto partner or government orphanages.
