by Nadia Rahman & Novita Rahman 

The year was 1989, a hot summer night on the 7th day of April.  A tragedy caused by an unexpected fire left six-year-old Lipi Begum severely burned and distraught from the fact of knowing she will never lead a normal life again.  Her house was on fire in the middle of the night while she was asleep.  Her parents and siblings thought she was already outside the house waiting for her family to come out.  However, to everyone’s surprise she was inside and left alone by herself.  When Lipi woke up and saw the fire, she was terrified and could not get her self out of the house.  Finally, when she was rescued after several hours, it was too late.  She suffered from severe third degree burns that melted her skin leaving parts of her body glued to each other. The skin on her arm was attached to her body and her legs were attached to each other.  Now, she has scars from the damaged skin scattered all over her body and is seeking help to find a path to guide her through this painful journey.

Lipi is originally from Noakhali, Bangladesh, the fourth born of Mr. Kala Mia and his wife.  Doctors in Bangladesh stated that no help can be provided for her serious injury in Bangladesh, simply because the medical technology is not yet available.  Her only choice was to come to the United States and try to make her impossible dreams become a reality.  So far, she had gone through fourteen reconstructive surgeries to separate her arm from her body and to replace her damaged skin to cover the affected area.  Unfortunately, only the first four months of the treatment in United States was sponsored by the Lions Club of Bangladesh (who also had sponsored Lipi and her father to come to the United States in 1999).  After the fourth month, Lipi and her father Kalamia have been on their own and supporting most of the expenses.  The matter became even worse, when the doctors notified them that many more surgeries would be needed in the future.

Lipi, coming from a poor family of rural Bangladesh is facing an unfortunate fight against very complex challenges.  Her mother and everyone from her village gave up hope on her much needed treatment.  In search of possibilities of hope, Lipi came to America to prove her mother and others wrong.  She’s just unable to make it happen on her own.  Not because it is impossible, but because her family is not financially able.  Mr. Kalamia had spent all his life savings hoping for a miracle to happen.  He is working as a street vendor in Queens, New York to support Lipi and himself in the United States.  He also has to support his family of six members in Bangladesh.  He does not have any friends or family that can provide the financial assistance required during and after the treatment.  

This December, Lipi will start her fifteenth surgery at Shriners Hospital For Children located in Boston, Massachusetts.  After she is released from the hospital, she needs to stay in Boston for about a month to give enough time to heal and attend follow-up meetings with doctors.  However, her delicate condition does not allow her to take public transportation.  She has no other choice but to stay at the nearest hotel and commute in taxis.  She needs our help to buy surgery medicines, and to complete the upcoming reconstructive surgeries next year, as well as her hotel ($150/day) and transportation expenses during her treatment.  Though the hospital is providing Lipi free treatment and free 7 days of her hospital stay after the surgery, her father is depending on donations from the community for other expenses.  She will come back home in New York after the treatment process is complete for this surgery and stay in New York until the next surgery date is scheduled. 

Lipi’s chance of returning to a normal life, possibility of meeting her mother and siblings again after all these years and paying her day-to-day expenses now solely depends upon her well wishers. 

Please help her complete the treatment and get back to normal life.  Is it not our duty to come forward and be their guardian angels?  Let us be little generous and try to alleviate Lipi and her families sufferings.

How You Can Help: 

(If possible by Nov 30, 2003, as her treatment starts from early December, 2003)

• Make a donation to BAFI Lipi Begum Fund. Bangladeshi-American Foundation, Inc. (BAFI) will accept the donations on behalf of this fund raising campaign. BAFI will continuously monitor and independently verify financial needs of Lipi, and will issue you a receipt for your donation. Your donation is tax-deductible.

• Become a sponsor for an on-going support for Lipi during her scheduled month long treatments with day-to-day expenses, surgery medicines, hotel & transportation expenses.

• Become a volunteer tutor and teach Lipi reading and writing in English and Bengali within Jackson Heights, New York area.

• Organize a Fund Raising Event.

• Spread the word. You may use this flier prepared by BAFI.

Please contribute generously to the Bafi Lipi Begum Fund. Send us only checks drawn on US banks and in US dollars. We cannot cash Money Orders, domestic or foreign. PLEASE ISSUE A CHECK TO “BAFI”, WRITE “Lipi” under Memo and mail your donation, including Zakat, to:

BAFI

11717 Enid Drive

Potomac, MD 20854

USA 

Please mention if you wish to be anonymous as donor’s name or how you would like it to appear on the BAFI Lipi Begum Fund Raising Campaign website. 

For updates and further information, please contact:

Novita Rahman, Coordinator, BAFI Lipi Begum Fund at Email: helplipi@yahoo.com.

For More Detail on the fundraise please check the following link:
Help Lipi Campaign

2003

New Jersey, USA