March 2023 saw our second successful ‘Gift of Vision’ Eye Camp completed in the Sunamgonj district of Sylhet, Bangladesh. The purpose of the eye camp is to help restore vision for those who are in dire need of treatment; whether that is something simple as glasses, anti-bacterial drops, or more complicated cataract surgery. All patients were also given the option for follow up appointments in the future if required.
Over 750 patients were seen to with over 65 cataract surgeries taken place and a further 10 specialist eye care surgery being required. This was a free eye camp held for the poor to help them with there vision.
International legal firm ELS Legal based in the City of London are supporting The Aydin Foundation by holding a bake sale on Thursday 7th March 2019. The sale will see delicious goodies baked by both staff and partners of the London based firm. All money raised will go towards funding future projects. Please show your support by attending and purchasing some goodies at their London office in 10 – 12 Ely Place, Holborn, London, EC1N 6RY
Uganda have over 2 million orphaned children. The reasons for these high figures have been attributed to a number of factors including parents being HIV/AIDS positive, children themselves being born with HIV/AIDS and those families facing financial difficulty resulting in early death to parents.
To commemorate Aydin’s 4th birthday, celebrated on 23rd September 2021, Fahmida and Rumel decided to treat an orphanage to a delicious wholesome meal which they wouldn’t get otherwise. The day saw over 100 orphaned children have a day off from daily duties and have a fun filled day.
Aydin’s 3rd Birthday was celebrated on 21st September and as such the family decided to provide meals to children and families in deprived parts of Yemen. Over 100 families will be fed for a minimum 30 days.
Yemen is currently facing a major humanitarian crisis. The current conflict has left families including children in desperate need of foods and water.
Our first round of water wells in West Africa had completed in November 2019 and Rumel was on hand to see the beneficiaries first hand. It’s amazing what we can do when we all come together. Lives have been transformed. The daily routine prior to these wells being installed would consist of an 8km walk to the local river to get dirty, contaminated water for daily drinking. Bathing was often overlooked as the water was scarce. Bathing would often be done once a month; often bus drivers would refuse to take them on board due to the strong body odour. Mali has a hot climate with average temperatures reaching around 40 degrees C.
The Aydin Foundation water wells have helped to allow families to have a direct source of clean, safe water almost on their doorstep. It has allowed families to grow crops for themselves and also sell on too.
Please continue your donations, fundraising and awareness campaigns; access to clean drinking water is a human right, and the Aydin Foundation plans to deliver this, each country at a time.
The 21st August 2019 saw Bobby and Rabiya embark on an epic journey to concur Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania in support for The Aydin Foundation. The mammoth task took 6 days whilst battling some of the toughest terrain and weather conditions over an ascent of 19,000ft.
Extensive training, exercise and regular visits to the Altitude centre in London, still did not prepare them for the harsh reality that Mount Kilimanjaro had in store. However perseverance, determination and strong will led them to complete the climb and reach the summit in record time. Bobby and Rabiya managed to raise over £3500 for The Aydin Foundation and we thank you for all your hard work and efforts.
Bobby & Rabiya build up for there Mount Kilimanjaro Climb
After a successful crowdfunding campaign and raising over £20,000 in donations, it was time to carry out our first set of projects. The projects as set out were to build 15 deep water wells dotted around remote villages and conduct the ‘Gift of Vision’ eye camp in Bangladesh. All the planning was done in London and on 20th March 2019, we set off on our first journey to Bangladesh to see where all your generous donations will be used.
The plan always was to see the lives changed by The Aydin Foundations projects. The most needed locations for these water wells were scouted based on specific criteria. The aim was to help those in desperate need of clean water.
Our researchers identified key remote villages and spoke to those who had no access to clean water; who’d travel for miles just to be drinking out of dirty lakes. Each water well was designed to help over 20 families and provide access to clean drinking water for at least 40 years.
The locals were thrilled upon hearing the news of a water well being built by The Aydin Foundation in there village. Work had started on 6th March 2019 with the intention to complete most of the wells by the end of March. Excavations were deep at some places, reaching up to 800 feet. We specifically instructed the deep water wells as these have a longer life span then conventional wells. The plaques were designed and feedback was received from the local villagers who were often in tears of joy.
One particular water well benefited a household where the bread winner was a blind man who needed constant looking after. His name was Hafiz Jahidur islam and was an Imam for the local mosque who had memorised the Quran just by listening to it. Jahids home is in a remote part of Sylhet, Bangladesh where it’s inaccessible by car. The water well built here would serve the desolate villagers for at least 35-40 years and it was one of the deepest we’d built at close to 800 feet.
Upon visiting these completed water wells; together with the project coordinator, we had provided detailed information about safe water practises and how to avoid water borne diseases. The clean water project built 15 deep water wells in remote parts of Bangladesh, all thank you to your donations.
The Aydin Foundation announces its first projects.
Gift of Vision Project
The foundations first project will be named the ‘Gift of Vision’. The project is to help needy children and adults by providing eye care treatments from vision correction lenses to cataract surgeries and everything in-between.
The project will begin by a member of the foundation travelling to Bangladesh on 8th March 2019. They will be visiting deprived villages in and around Sylhet announcing the eye camp whilst organising the setup of the eye camps in the village of Shaharpara, which is situated in the Sunamgonj district of Bangladesh.
The camp has been booked to take place on Saturday 23 March 2019 where 15 eye specialist doctors will set up for the initial eye check-up assessment.
We are expecting a large turnout for this and we will be there in person to ensure everything goes smoothly.
Clean Water Project
First sets of deep water wells will be built in Bangladesh. Deep water wells are ideal to serve a community. The wells draw water from 100 metres beneath the ground making them dependable during all seasons.
We will be building 15 deep water wells in the following villages in and around the Sunamganj District in the division of Sylhet:
Dowarabazar / Sullah – to build 4 deep wells
Derai – to build 3 deep wells
Dokkin Sunamganj – to build 4 deep wells
Tahirpur – to build 4 deep wells
The construction of the wells will start from Friday 8th March 2019. We will be in Bangladesh during 20th March until 30th March 2019 where we will be overseeing the projects and expecting to see most of the wells near to complete.
Bayaka children wash their hands at a charity: water well, July 7, 2010.
Crowdfunding reaches over £20,000 in less than 30 days
What started off as a small scale crowdfunding page to fund a couple of water wells in parts of Bangladesh has propelled into a large scale funding program. The funding has allowed for the ‘Gift of Vision’ and ‘Clean Water Program’ to jump start. What started off with aid in one country, has now resulted in projects in four different countries over a span of 6 months.
The funding now means we can safely carry out reliable work on all our embarked projects and deliver something that can remain for generations to come.
The overwhelming amount of support is astonishing and we thank each and every organisation and person for your generosity.
All of this would not be possible without your donations and we can’t thank you enough for your support. We assure you that your donations will change the lives of thousands of people.
