Desk Report,
Rafiqul-Kalpana couple takes care of helpless elderly people like ‘parents’
If my parents were alive, I would have taken care of them. I lost them at a young age and could not serve them. So, I took care of them as if they were my own parents after they left for the streets.’ These were the words spoken by Md. Rafiqul Islam, director of ‘Matrichaya Samaj Kalyan Sangstha and Old Age Home’, established in the remote Charkamtkhali village of Nandail Upazila of Mymensingh.
Rafiqul-Kalpana couple takes care of helpless elderly people like ‘parents’
Rafiqul Islam lost his parents at a young age. It seems that his unique journey began with the pain of not having them. Through his two decades of service in hospitals, he has seen how people become lonely in old age. Some lie on the hospital verandah, some on the streets. He considers those people his parents. He started trying to provide them shelter.
In 2018, Rafiqul started the shelter activities in a tin shed house on 8 percent of his land. Since 2019, abandoned or unidentified elderly people have started taking shelter here. Later, in 2022, the Apex Club of Mymensingh built a semi-paca house for the shelter.
Since its establishment, a total of 33 elderly people have taken shelter in ‘Matrichaya’. Of these, 12 have died, 4 have returned to their families. Currently, there are 14 women, 2 men and 1 child there.
Nurturing with the pull of love
Recently, I went to the ashram and spoke to Rafiqul Islam. He said that he started giving shelter to unidentified or abandoned parents due to the grief of losing his parents in his childhood. He collects food and medicines from people. He will serve them as long as he lives. After his death, his children will serve these people.
Rafiqul said, ‘I bring old clothes from the mines to wear for my parents. With the help of 10 people, I arrange food. I do whatever I can for them.’
