Birmingham father raises £100,000 in daughter's memory

Saghir Ahmed's daughter Maryam died in 2017

A father has raised £100,000 for communities in Tanzania in memory of his daughter.

Saghir Ahmed, from Birmingham, lost his daughter Maryam to ovarian cancer in 2017, aged just seven.

She had told her father if he could do anything for her it would be to go and help people in need in Africa.

The 37-year-old has now raised money to support the installation of community water wells and a village mosque.

Mr Ahmed has raised money for wells, clothing, food and a mosque

Between January and April he also raised £20,000 towards clothes for orphaned Tanzanian children to wear for Eid celebrations, as well as books and meals for hundreds more youngsters.

Mr Ahmed, assistant operations manager for National Express West Midlands, who lives in Alum Rock, said: "Two weeks before Maryam passed she told me that she wanted to build water wells in Africa for those who are less fortunate, so it was really important to me that I try and do this for my daughter.

"None of this would have been possible without the support of my family, friends and my local community. Thanks to everybody's help I am able to fulfil my daughter's wishes and I am forever grateful.

"The people I met in those Tanzanian villages have nothing, so these small changes to us make such a huge difference to them."

Mr Ahmed will visit Tanzania in November

Mr Ahmed has worked closely with UK-based charity Islamic Help.

Mohammed Ilyas, from the charity, said: "Words alone cannot express the magnitude of Saghir's achievements or reflect the love, selflessness and dedication that he has shown in honouring his daughter's memory by helping some of the world's poorest and most vulnerable communities."

In November, Mr Ahmed will visit the completed mosque and water wells that have recently been installed and hopes to be able to leave more Qurans, footwear and some sewing machines so that locals can fix and sew clothes.