A grandad who raised more than £420,000 during Covid by walking laps of garden has died at the age of 106.
Dabirul Islam Choudhury OBE passed away in the early hours of Tuesday, January 13, at the Royal London Hospital.
In 2020, raised more than £420,000 by walking 970 laps of his garden in Bow, east London.
Inspired by British Second World War veteran Captain Tom Moore, the 100-year-old began walking 100 laps of the 80-metre garden on April 26 to raise £1,000 – but hit the target within hours.
In the end, Choudhury walked 970 laps of his garden.
What made his efforts even more impressive was that he carried out the incredible feat whilst fasting for Ramadan.
Almost £116,000 of the money he raised was donated to the NHS while the remaining amount was divided between 30 charities in 52 countries as part of the Ramadan Family Commitment (RFC) Covid-19 crisis initiative, run by British-Bangladeshi television broadcaster Channel S.
His fundraising efforts drew praise from Keir Starmer, who labelled Choudhury an “inspiration to us all,” and he was made an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.
Choudhury was born on January 1 1920 in British Assam, now modern-day Bangladesh, and moved to London to study English literature in 1957.
He became a community leader in St Albans and has been responsible for many community and fundraising projects over the years.
He is also an accomplished poet and has published thousands of his own poems.