Valerie Ann Taylor
| Valerie Ann Taylor OBE | |
|---|---|
| Born |
February 8, 1944 Bromley, Kent, England, United Kingdom |
| Citizenship |
British Bangladeshi |
Valerie Ann Taylor, OBE (born February 8, 1944) is a British-born Bangladeshi physiotherapist and philanthropist.[1] She was awarded Independence Day Award in 2004 for her social work by the Government of Bangladesh. In 1998 she was granted Bangladeshi citizenship by the Prime Minister of Bangladesh.[1] She is often called the Mother Theresa of Bangladesh.[2]
Early life
Taylor was born in Kent, England to Marie Taylor and William Taylor.[3] She grew up living close to National Spinal Injuries Centre at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England.[4]
Career
In 1969, Taylor came to Bangladesh, under contract for 15 months, with the Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) to work as a physiotherapist in the Christian Hospital, Chandraghona in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.[1] She established the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP) in 1979.[3] At the start of her career, she was running CRP with four patients in an abandoned warehouse of the Shaheed Suhrawardy Hospital. Later CRP has grown to include a 100-bed hospital.[5]
Personal life
Taylor is a legal guardian to two girls with disabilities, Joyti and Poppy.[3]
Honors
- Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) (1995)[1]
- Arthur Eyre Brook Gold Medal (1996)
- National Social Service Award (2000)
- Anannya Top Ten Awards (2000)
- Millennium Award (2000)
- Dr. MR Khan and Anwara Trust Gold Medal (2001)
- Hakkani Mission Bangladesh Award (2001)
- Bangladesh Independence Day Award (2004)
- Rokeya Shining Personality Award (2005)
- Princess Diana Gold Medal (2007)[6]
- Mahatma Gandhi Peace Award (2009)
- Lifetime Achievement Award by Hope Foundation for Women & Children of Bangladesh (2009)
- Nova Southeastern University Award (2009)
- Rotary International Award (2013)[2]
References
- 1 2 "Valerie Taylor wins Rotary International award". The Daily Star. June 8, 2013. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
- 1 2 3 "Valerie Ann Taylor: Founder and Coordinator of CRP". The Daily Star. November 28, 2014. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
- ↑ "Valerie Taylor's anniversary of birth today". The Daily Star. February 8, 2011. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
- ↑ "Valerie Ann Taylor". CRP-Bangladesh. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
- ↑ Amitava Kar (March 8, 2015). "IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS". The Daily Star. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
Further reading
- "CHALLENGING THE STIGMA". The Daily Star.
- Khan, Mubin S. (1 June 2007). "Divided we fall". New Age. Dhaka. Archived from the original on 2007-07-07. Retrieved February 13, 2016.