On Monday 30th October, members of the villages of Kamal Pur and Uttor Khalijuri (KPUK), Bishwanath, met for their Annual General Meeting in Bow, East London.

Elders and youngsters gathered from various parts of the country, from as far away as Oldham, to celebrate their annual achievements and to discuss new projects, as well as network with their fellow villagers. Some wouldn’t have seen one another for many months and look forward to this gathering. The organisation was set up only about 5 years ago for the betterment of the villages of Kamal Pur and Uttor Khalijuri as a model village and has achieved immensely in a very short period.

The organisation does not follow a typical structure with a chair, secretary, treasurer etc. The elders of the villages collectively select 15-17 members of the Executive Committee in the UK with the skill-sets to deliver the aims and objectives of the organisation. Similarly, there is a 7-9 member Working Committee back in the villages to oversee and implement the projects on behalf of the organisation. Every member of KPUK has set up a monthly contribution. The UK executive committee have a maximum spending limit of £1000 without the prior consent of the village elders and the wider membership.

So far, it has worked well. Any addition or removal of executive members is decided collectively at the AGM. Their past projects included:

• Building brick homes for the poorest.
• Providing medical and eye camps.
• Providing food packs to 55-60 poorest villagers twice a year.
• Helping with occasional medical emergencies.
• Providing educational support and stipend.
• Facilitating sports activities.

The programme commenced with the recitation of the Qur’an by a young Qari Iqbal Rashid. Then the village elder, Md Abdul Noor was nominated as the Chairperson to oversee this meeting, followed by Jamal Uddin, a founding executive member of KPUK, who provided a brief update of the projects and breakdown of the income and expenditure for 2022-2023. He also mentioned how many of the UK members collectively visited the villages back in February 2023, and carried out various activities including the installation and launch of the Village Street Lights project.

The main project for 2022-2023 was the Village Street Lighting project. KPUK committee provided free street lighting to both villages, including paying for their electricity costs and maintenance from the UK, which was a great achievement to date.

Other projects delivered for the year were:

• Ongoing pensions scheme for the elderly.
• Medical support for individuals with grave illnesses.
• Wedding financial contributions.
• Ramadan food packs.
• Student’s gift packs.
• Eid-ul Adha food packs.

Then the discussions were opened up to the floor for feedback and suggestions for short-term and long-term projects. Some suggestions included:

• Inter-village road networks.
• Village Training Centre.
• Micro Business Finance.
• Students Financial Support.
• Madrasah Students Support.
• Murabbi Pensions Scheme
• Night School for elders.
• Road signs.

“This organisation is committed to delivering a model village in our locality!” Mentioned Nurul Islam, a well-known person from KPUK. “Many people from the surrounding villages are now looking to us for inspiration and enjoy seeing our progress.” He added.

The organisation also welcomed 6-7 new members who have come to the UK from Bangladesh. Some of them will go on to become members of the UK executive committee.

The meeting ended with a photo procession and networking over dinner.