Desk Report,
Asif did not hide himself, wants to remain in the blood donation program for life
Physical disabilities or family hardships have not deterred Asif Ahmed (23). He has overcome his limitations and is working to save the lives of dying people. He donates blood himself, and also plays a role in saving the lives of countless people by collecting blood donors from different parts of the country.
Asif did not hide himself, wants to remain in the blood donation program for life
Asif is a moderator of the Facebook-based blood donor organization ‘Bangladesh Waiting for Blood Donation’. The platform has more than 360,000 followers. So far, he has provided blood for at least 10,000 patients through this platform. He has stored the information and contacts of about 15,000 blood donors in his own Google database. Asif was born in Mymensingh city. He is the eldest in a family of three siblings. His elder sister is already married. His mother, Aklima Begum, works as an office assistant in a private organization and runs the family.
Asif said, ‘I want to do this work all my life, I want to be by the side of people. But my family is very poor. If there was a job for a living, life could be pulled along a little easier.
Asif was born with a short stature and is known as a ‘disabled’ in society. It has always been a challenge for him to find a place in mainstream society, but he did not give up. After overcoming poverty, he passed his SSC and got admitted to the Brahmaputra Polytechnic Institute in Mymensingh. From there, he successfully completed a diploma in electrical engineering. But financial stability has now become an obstacle in his path to higher education. It is not possible to meet these expenses with his mother’s income alone. As a result, his studies have stalled.
Poverty and physical disabilities hurt Asif, but they have never stopped his work, nor will they. Asif’s words of determination were repeatedly uttered. Asif said, ‘There was a time when I was proud of myself. I felt that I was not like others. I used to hide myself, but one day I realized that I did not become like this on purpose. So what does it mean to hide yourself? Rather, if doing something for others is the identity of life, then it is worth living.’
It is from this belief that he joined the blood donation platform. Now he regularly posts awareness posts on Facebook. He also participates in the organization’s programs by finding new blood donors. His mother Aklima Begum is also proud of Asif’s work. She said, ‘There are many tensions in the world; yet I am proud that Asif is working day and night for people. People respect me for this work of his, hearing the boy’s praise erases all the pain in his heart.’
