About Ali
Traditionally in most countries, those building facilities and making care arrangements for disabled people concentrate on one kind of disability. Usually there is one school for the deaf, one for the blind, one for those with mental problems, and so on. Likewise there is one group of medical specialists and one lobbying group/charity dedicated to doing the best for that one disability.
Ali saw the possibilities of bringing the different disabled categories together into a mutually supportive group where they could all help each other in their daily lives, learn from each other and thereby learn to feel wanted and useful – and above all have fun.
For this to work they needed a common means of communication. So Ali’s idea was to teach them all sign language (including the blind!).
His aim is not to provide an institutional home or permanent refuge but to turn round the children’s lives and equip them to live in the community with dignity. This may involve medical operations e.g. for a cleft lip or club foot, manufacturing assistive devices, training in life skills, training in work skills, and training for other family members in looking after the disabled child. Most children are expected to return to their families/communities after three years to make room for others.
Another of his innovative ideas is to teach all the children to swim. It may seem strange to people in Western developed countries where every child is taught to swim at school if not before, but in Asian countries the ability to swim is rare.
Putting his ideas into practice
It was a long wait before the opportunity came to try out his ideas in practice. But
in five years at Bhola Garden Ali has already had remarkable success in turning his ideas into practice.
It was not easy at first. He had to go into the villages on his bicycle and win the confidence of the families just to find the disabled children (who were often hidden away out of family shame). He then had to persuade them to entrust the children to his care.
Now he is known around the island as the man to come to if your child has a cleft or similar disability. At first, he was arranging cleft operations for children who were perhaps five or ten years old. Now some of them are brought to him soon after birth. Then not only can they receive the operation much earlier (at 6 months for a cleft lip, 12 months for a cleft palate) but in the meantime the mother can be helped with advice on matters such as breast-feeding techniques.
Securing the future of his vision
Initially at Bhola Garden Ali did everything. Now that it is established and the finances have been put onto a permanent footing, a priority for Ali is to reduce the dependence on himself. Also, as the number of children increases, more staff are required and the amount of administrative work increases.
Ali’s son, Ali Haidar, lives and works in Dhaka and gives assistance in a variety of ways.
His daughter, Roksana Shreen, has recently qualified as a doctor. Although she too lives and works in Dhaka, she visits from time to time in order to check the children’s health and instruct the staff on medical care and diet.
As Bhola Garden expands, we are actively training the staff to take on more of Ali's work.
Achievements to date
• Major repairs to the buildings and the boundary wall which were in a very poor state when Bhola’s Children took over the funding of Bhola Garden
• Further repairs for damage caused by Cyclone Sidr
• Purchase of a minibus. The minibus has greatly increased the activities which it is possible to arrange for the children. It has enabled much more effective outreach work – educating people in the schools and villages about the causes of disability which can be avoided. And, of course, it serves as a general taxi and a van for collecting food and building materials. 2008-09
• Completion of the basic structure of a three-storey accommodation block which when fitted out would increase from 15 to 50 the number of children who could be accommodated on-site and include a large meeting room and guest rooms. The timber used came from trees felled within the boundary and much of the labour was provided by Bhola Garden staff. It was, however, a very expensive year in which to buy other materials such as steel and cement. In the event, we just managed to raise the funds to build all three floors at the outset rather than having to defer adding the third storey as was originally intended.
• Bruna Colombo-Otten and other Swiss and Italian supporters funded the purchase of a piece of land near a village called Valimia, which comprises two fields, fishponds and a dwelling-house. Work started on cultivating this land and it is hoped that Bhola Garden will in future be self-sufficient in most vegetables other than rice and maybe even produce a surplus which can be sold in the market. In addition to this financial benefit, the new land has greatly increased the scope for teaching horticultural and agricultural skills. Furthermore, the vegetable plots within the boundary at Bhola Garden can now be put to other use if necessary.
• Standard of basic education significantly improved by hiring better qualified teachers 2009-10 (up to October)
• Fitting out of the new 3-storey accommodation block which has now been brought into use. A large groundfloor room is used by the entire family for eating, playing games, dancing and watching television; this room can also be hired out for meetings, to raise money. The girls live on the first floor, the boys on the second floor and there are two guest rooms and a roof terrace on the third floor.
• Construction of a single-storey kitchen block adjoining the accommodation building.
• Draining and infilling an area of marshy wasteland outside the rear boundary wall which posed a threat to the stability of the wall. This was made possible by Dinah Wiener who personally funded the purchase of this land. The trustees are now considering possible uses for this land - see Future Plans.