JOIN USCovid-19: West Bengal teacher turns wedding into blood donation camp
The Covid-19 pandemic has changed many aspects of everyday life and wedding ceremonies are no exception. But a school teacher in West Bengal’s Nadia district decided to turn her wedding ceremony into an opportunity to help those affected by the ongoing health crisis.
A few weeks before her wedding, Noorjahan Khatun asked her father whether she could hold the wedding ceremony a bit differently. No, the difference was not just abiding by the state government’s instruction of keeping the gathering limited to 50 people at the ceremony.
Recently, she came to know about the acute shortage of blood in blood banks in the state amid the pandemic. So she turned her wedding ceremony into a blood donation camp. Nearly 40 people, including her relatives and neighbours, donate blood during the event. The ceremony was held at the Dhubulia village in Nadia on Tuesday.
Khatun’s father Rustam Ali Seikh was in for a pleasant surprise when she told him about her desire to conduct the wedding ceremony in such a manner.
“I was a bit surprised but I'm proud of my daughter. Her idea of holding a blood donation camp at the wedding ceremony touched my heart." Her husband Abidur Rehman, also a school teacher in Murshidabad district, is all praise for his new bride.
“All I wanted is to stand by people in my humble way at this time of crisis. This is the reason why I planned my wedding in such a manner,” said Khatun.
Being a teacher, she was also aware of the financial crisis several students were facing in the wake of the pandemic and consequent nationwide lockdown. Khatun distributed books among a large number of students in the locality who will be appearing for the board examinations next year. All the guests were gifted saplings.
"I went to the market myself to buy the saplings. It's the least I could do to stand by her,” said Khatun's father.