The International Cricket Council (ICC) has invited a team of delegates from Gazi Consortium to learn from their miraculous and much-talked about CSR project that restored the sight of a blind Bangladesh cricket fan for him to enjoy his first ever cricket match.
A mast head press release on Sunday highlighted sent by International Cricket Council (ICC). ‘This is a unique moment for Bangladesh as ICC has for the first time sought to learn from a uniquely Bangladeshi project initiated by Gazi Consortium.
GTV through its statement “You only get to see what you want” wanted to stand tall with the commitment with the blinds – out of social commitment, GTV took up the project “Sight to Blind” – “Shopno Dekhe Chokh” from the belief that sight is a basic human right.
In partnership with the Sight-savers Foundation, GTV reached out to Samiul – an avid cricket fan. Samiul’s sight was challenged at the age of six months by cataracts, which deteriorated in a few years. With the help of the Sight-savers Foundation, both of Samiul’s eyes were operated on and his sight restored!
Samiul’s family of five, consisting of his mother and siblings is supported by his younger brother Saidul who works as a barber in their village. Despite his lifelong handicap, Samiul had always been an enthusiastic cricket fan and never missed a show in which Bangladesh played – watching them all in the village’s common TV viewing areas with friends and asking everybody what was happening.
Once Samiul heard that Bangladesh Tigers knocked out England Lions from the World Cup in Australia, he became desperate to watch the Tigers excel. GTV organized the logistics for Samiul to experience the match between England VS Bangladesh and he was there in the field of play as Joss Butler combated Mashrafe Mortaza!
Throughout the match, Samiul kept getting goose bumps on every boundary and wicket fall. As the Bangladeshi team won on the 9th of October, Samiul had tears in his eyes – his first glorious sight from a lifetime of passion.
ICC was so moved by this story that they believed that all the other broadcasters from around the world could learn from it. This is the first time that ICC has invited someone from Bangladesh to present a case study on best practice of CSR in sports broadcasting.
A team from Gazi Consortium -Ziauddin Adil, CEO, Top of Mind, Md. Moinul Haque Chowdhury, Proprietor of Total Sports Marketing, Aman Ashraf Faiz, Managing Director of GTV is set to present on the case at the ICC Broadcast Workshop in the UK, on the 21st of November, where important decisions regarding the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 and ICC Women’s World Cup- 2017 will be made.
Ziauddin Adil said, “We are proud to have been recognized by ICC for our efforts with Samiul – who has become an overnight sensation in Bangladeshi social media and talked about by everyone.
Moinul Haque Chowdhury commented, “This is a great moment for Bangladesh as ICC takes notice of something that we did in Bangladesh, something that was initiated here, and what the ICC now believes the rest of the world could replicate in a show of sportsmanship and solidarity.”
Aman Ashraf Faiz added, “Now is an exciting moment for cricket in Bangladesh – we are no longer following but leading. Things we are doing are being emulated and learnt from. We accept this role with modesty, and believe that CSR projects like the one we attempted with Samiul should be replicated around the world.”
