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Valerie Ann Taylor, daughter of a reverend was born in 1944. Is from Buckinghamshire, England, first came to Bangladesh then known as East Pakistan, with Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) in 1969 to work as a physiotherapist in Chandragona Hospital, near Chittagong.
Her stay was very briefly interrupted by the 1971 War of Independence, after which Bangladesh became an independent state. This war was particularly vicious and cost the lives of approximately 3 million Bangladeshis. During the war Valerie was evacuated, but returned to Bangladesh in September 1971, two months before the war ended.
She was very aware of the need for rehabilitation services for the disabled. This problem had become even more acute in the aftermath of the War of Independence.
By the very nature of the injuries of spinal cord, it is poor who mostly fall victim of it. There fore Valerie needed funds to make go to the services she wanted to provide. In 1973 she returned to England in attempt to raise funds to establish a rehabilitation centre for disabled. She stayed in England for two years before returning in 1975. It took another four years before CRP was able to admit it's first patients in 1979. During this time, Valerie worked in the Shaheed Surawady Hospital in Dhaka and it was in the grounds of this hospital that CRP had it's first premises, two cement storerooms which were used to treat patients.
Through all the various moves from one premise to another, Valerie has continued to work tirelessly for the benefit of CRP. Even today the light in her office can be seen burning till late in the evening.
Valerie has also adopted two severely physically challenged girls who live with her in her house, on the boundaries of CRP premises in Savar. Joyti is now 25 years old and works part-time as a computer operator at CRP, while Poppy is 17 and attends the local Radio Colony School.
Despite officially taking a backseat role at CRP some years ago, Valerie remains the driving force behind the running and over seeing the development of CRP; in a word CRP is synonymous to Valerie Taylor. Her life went in building this organization and in her psyche she round the clock dwells for the development of the organization and the welfare of the underprivileged paralyzed.
Valerie Taylor is decorated with numerous awards; amongst many is O.B.E. (Order of the British Empire).In 1998 she was awarded Bangladeshi citizenship by the Bangladesh Government and also the “Shadhinota Dibosh Podok” the highest civilian award of the country. But her real triumphs are the many lives she touched and improved in her long service to the very poor and ill fated paralyzed people who came in touch with her and gained optimism. |
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