This fundraising page is being set up ahead of my trip to Bangladesh in January 2026. For those who remember, ahead my last trip in 2023, we raised over £1500 that was distributed to the students and teachers (in the form of cash gifts, food and essentials) of Tara Miah Khan International Academy, in Golapganj, Sylhet.
This time, funds will again be prioritised for the same cause (including widows and the most impoverished children); however, we will also be supporting three of our local Madrasahs, where orphaned children spend their time studying and memorising the Holy Qurʾan. All funds raised will be personally overlooked by myself in its spending and distribution of purchased items. Please specify if your donation is part of your annual Zakat.
If you would also like to donate any new/good clothing (such as prayer clothes or children's clothes), Hijabs and Abayas, women's sanitary products, sports equipment or other useful items, please DM. Updates will be posted on this page and any specific requests of documentation of your donation can be organised too.
For those who are unaware, Tara Miah Khan International Academy is a high school named after and founded by my grandfather in 2000. I plan to be visiting the school, meeting with teachers and parents, and spending my time with the hundreds of students who attend and thousands of alumni students. Our residence is attached to the school.
Any support, no matter how small, is appreciated!
قُلْ إِنَّ رَبِّي يَبْسُطُ الرِّزْقَ لِمَن يَشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ وَيَقْدِرُ لَهُ وَمَا أَنفَقْتُم مِّن شَيْءٍ فَهُوَ يُخْلِفُهُ وَهُوَ خَيْرُ الرَّازِقِينَ
“Say, "Indeed, my Lord extends provision for whom He wills of His servants and restricts it for him. But whatever thing you spend [in His cause], He will compensate it; and He is the best of providers." [Qurʾan 34:39]
My grandfather, Al-Hajj Tara Meah Khan (may Allah have mercy upon him) passed away in 2010. He was an entrepreneur, philanthropist, human rights activist and British-Bangladeshi community leader. He is mentioned in the book, ‘Bangladeshis in Britain’, by Professor Omar Faruque — a book covering several influential British-Bangladeshis, where his biography is outlined in detail.
He came to Britain with his father-in-law in the 1950s. First working in a brick factory, he later found success as a young businessman. In response to the call for Bangladeshi independence, he flew back to Sylhet with my grandmother, where he was detained and tortured for some months by the Pakistani military for providing shelter to the Bangladeshi freedom fighters. In the middle of the night, he managed to escape and return to Britain. He dedicated the rest of his life to humanitarian work — constructing schools, bridges, roads, water wells and mosques all over Bangladesh, as well as directing community centres and a Bengali newspaper in West London.
He was an illiterate, modest migrant who never once sought out recognition, popularity or affluence, but left a legacy which has forever changed the lives of my family and all those he left behind. His funeral prayer in East London Mosque brought together people from all over the country to pay their respects; I personally remember the mosque being filled to its capacity and the congregation continuing onto the streets. A further 10,000 people took part in his burial ceremony in Sylhet, Bangladesh, where he was buried in his village alongside his parents.
My grandfather passed away when I was only 10 years old, which means he never saw me become who I am today. I hope he is proud of me; I pray to become half of what he was... Please support me in continuing his legacy and giving back to the people he cared so much about.
