TWO WEEKS IN BANGLADESH

Planning my gap year was a challenge! I was 18 years old and had just left QE Sixth Form College. Finding work as a health care assistant at Pilgrim Homes Nursing Home gave me invaluable experience of working with the elderly, but I knew that I wanted to see the world before going on to university to study medicine. After much searching, I learned of an organisation in Bangladesh called ‘Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed'. This organisation was started in 1979 by a physio- therapist named Valerie Taylor who was deeply concerned at the lack of care available for Bangladeshi citizens with paralysis (due to spinal injury or disease). She committed herself to changing attitudes and to providing free treatment to those in greatest need. They agreed to let me work there on a voluntary basis.

Arriving at Dhaka airport, I was driven to Savar. I was stunned by the amazing hustle and bustle of the city, the colours, the road, the countryside. It was beautiful.

The Centre in Savar was a 100-bed hospital with operating theatres. There was also physiotherapy and occupational therapy, a paediatric unit, a halfway hostel, a professional institute and an inclusive school. Because I didn't have any specific medical qualifications, I worked at reception in the morning, and at the school in the afternoon. I helped the children with their stretching exercises, played and sang with them and learnt a little Bangla.

My two weeks were soon over. I returned home with memories of the kindness and hospitality of the Bangladeshi people and the great work CRP do to help people beat their difficulties. I only wish there were more organisations and people like Valerie Taylor around who stick with their ambition to make a difference. I know that my experiences will stay with me all my life.

Alex Hughes (left) at the Centre in Savar

If you want to find out more about CRP and the Valerie Taylor Trust, or would like to make a donation please visit www.valerietaylortrust.org or email admin@valerietaylortrust.org.

Alex Hughes