The Shishu Sasthya Foundation, which has been working for the health and protection of children for four decades, celebrated its ruby jubilee on Friday evening at the Dhaka Club in Ramna.
Speaking as chief guest, Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain said Professor M R Khan—the foundation’s founder—was “a noble man who lived a truly meaningful life.”
“You have preserved his legacy by sustaining the institutions he created,” he added. “I knew him as a great physician, but I did not know he founded so many institutions. Continue running the nursing institute under the foundation and turn it into a world-class one. We will provide full support.”
In his welcome remarks, the foundation’s current General Secretary and son-in-law of Professor M R Khan, Engineer Reza Karim, said the late national professor established the foundation in 1983 as part of his retirement vision. Patient services began under the foundation in 1985 and continue to this day.
Reza said the foundation is successfully operating institutions in Dhaka, Jashore, Satkhira, Tangail and Chuadanga. Its initiatives include healthcare for underprivileged children, microcredit for disadvantaged women, evening schools for deprived children, vocational training centres and various environment-related welfare projects.
Foundation President and Professor M R Khan’s daughter, Mandy Karim, said three hospitals are currently running under the foundation, including the 250-bed M R Khan Children’s Hospital and Institute of Child Health in Mirpur, built with support from the Ministry of Social Welfare and the foundation.
“We wanted all members of the foundation to come together. We hope the foundation advances even further in the coming years,” she said.
Additional Secretary of the Health and Family Welfare Ministry, Mahbub Alam, said, “The foundation has marked its ruby jubilee. We hope it continues its service for more than 100 years.”
Special guest Director General of the Department of Social Services, Saidur Rahman Khan, said the department and the foundation have long worked together through partnerships that he expects will grow even stronger.
At the event, Adviser Touhid Hossain handed over certificates and appreciation cards to foundation members.