Margot James supports Bewal International Hospital Appeal

Margot James attended and spoke at a charity dinner with the Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Cllr. Chauhdry Rashid, in support of the Bewal International Hospital Appeal.

The appeal is the brainchild of Russells Hall Hospital consultant Mr Atiq-ur-Rehman. And a number of Lye residents, including Pedmore College teacher, Mohammed Saeed, serve on the Charity Board. The charity was formed four years ago in memory of Mr Rehman’s late father. Since this time a staggering £400,000 has been raised towards the million pound target, and the physical hospital building in the Rawalpindi district of Pakistan is virtually complete.

Margot said “although we read of many complaints about the NHS in the press we are very fortunate to have a system in Britain which cares for people’s health on the basis of need and not the ability to pay; this is not at the moment an option for the people of Pakistan. I am inspired by Mr Rehman’s vision of a hospital to provide free treatment, including maternity services, for the poorer people in Pakistan, who are at the moment dying of conditions that we in the west find easy to treat.

The dinner, held in the Small Heath district of Birmingham on December 7th, was also attended by Cllrs. Ian Kettle and Colin Wilson of Pedmore Ward, and Cllr. Mohammed Hanif of Lye Ward. Thousands of pounds were raised for the Bewal Appeal.

Photos: Margot speaks at the dinner (top) and with Mohammed Saeed and Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Cllr. Chauhdry Rashid