Moved by the humanitarian gesture of a group of students, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has taken responsibility for the treatment of a woman suffering from blood cancer in Sakhipur, Tangail.
After passing their Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations recently, 25 students of Kaltan Bidyaniketan decided not to buy sweets to celebrate their success. Instead, they donated Tk20,000 to help fund the treatment of their classmate Naim Islam’s mother, Laily Begum.
Later, teachers and students of the school contributed another Tk20,000, bringing the total donation to Tk40,000.
The money was handed over to Naim’s grandfather, Abdus Sattar Sikder, at a programme held at the school on the morning of 16 August. Laily was diagnosed with blood cancer on 4 August and is currently undergoing treatment at Khwaja Yunus Ali Medical College Hospital in Enayetpur, Sirajganj.
Sakhipur Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Ashraful Alam said the students initially handed their contribution to school headmaster Aminul Islam Badal instead of spending it on sweets after receiving their SSC results.
The students’ gesture was later shared on social media and covered by several media outlets. After the matter came to the prime minister’s attention, he called Tangail-8 MP and Liberation War Affairs Minister Ahmed Azam Khan and instructed him to stand beside the family.
The minister subsequently contacted UNO Ashraful Alam.
The UNO told TIMES of Bangladesh that, following the prime minister’s instruction, an initial amount of financial assistance would be provided to the family from the prime minister’s fund. Ahmed Azam Khan is scheduled to visit the school on 26 August to hand over the assistance.
Naim Islam, who had been worried about his mother’s treatment, expressed gratitude for the support.
“I express my gratitude to the prime minister. At the same time, I thank all my classmates, teachers and students for standing beside us,” he said.
Headmaster Aminul Islam Badal said, “What my students have done is unparalleled. I am also grateful to the prime minister.”
Ahmed Azam Khan said the prime minister was deeply moved after learning about the support provided by the students and teachers.
“He immediately instructed me to provide assistance and has also asked that the support continue in the future,” the minister said.
