大象传媒

Photo caption: After having her sight restored on board the Jibon Tari floating hospital, Bokul has regained her independence and hope.

If the Jibon Tari floating hospital had not moored close to my village, I would never have been able to have the operation to restore my sight, I would have continued to live in darkness. I am so happy, I can see everything clearly now, I thank all who helped me”. Bokul

We would like to thank the very generous Radio 4 listeners who supported our appeal and helped us to raise an incredible £137,103 for our floating hospital in Bangladesh. We are so grateful.

Our appeal was presented by British chef, author and TV personality Nadiya Hussain, who brought the Jibon Tari (Boat of Life) floating hospital’s story to life. Nadiya recounted how Bokul lost her sight due to cataracts at just 40 years old. Bokul thought she would never see again until IMPACT’s floating hospital moored at a riverbank near her village.

Launched in 1999, the Jibon Tari is a fully equipped, modern hospital, perfectly designed to travel to remote rural areas of Bangladesh where people do not have ready access to even basic healthcare. Bangladesh has more than 700 rivers so a hospital on a boat is the perfect way to reach remote rural communities. Since 1999, IMPACT’s floating hospital has helped over a million people just like Bokul by providing surgery to restore sight, hearing or mobility. An operation on board costs an average of £43. Throughout the pandemic, the Jibon Tari floating hospital has continued to operate in a Covid-safe way, ensuring that the poorest people are able to access the medical treatment they need.

Our small team is over the moon with the success of the appeal and we share our delight with all our supporters who make our vital work in preventing and treating needless disability possible. The generous funds donated by Radio 4 listeners will be used to provide medical treatment and surgery to even more impoverished people in rural parts of Bangladesh, who might otherwise remain needlessly disabled for life. On behalf of all the men, women and children who have the chance to live a life free from needless disability, Thank you.

If you would like to know more about our work please visit .