BRADFORD fundraiser Nazim Ali has just returned from a trip to Pakistan where he helped to distribute 500 pre-Ramadan food parcels to the poor and needy in Jhelum.

Through fundraising, Nazim, from Manningham, had raised the money for the parcels which each weighed 50kg and included essentials such as flour, salt, spices, vegetables, oil, sugar and soap.

The £12,546 worth of aid in this trip brings his fundraising total to almost £500,000 and earned him a garden party invite from The Queen.

He said: "This was my first aid trip in over two years since the start of the Covid pandemic and my first ever humanitarian aid trip to Pakistan. It was a real eye opener to witness the poverty and high inflation in Pakistan.

"I was involved in sourcing the parcel content, getting it packed and then distributing it. Altogether 276 food parcels were delivered to the homes of the beneficiaries and elderly with the delivery taking place in the evening until midnight.

"The remaining 224 food parcels were distributed during the day but we had over 2,000 people queuing so we had to make a decision to split the parcels so that no one went home empty handed.

"To give you an example of the poverty and high inflation, local labourers earn around 1,000 rupees a day (£4.50) and two litres of cooking oil costs 860 rupees (just under £4).

"It was a short two week self-funded trip since I work as a careers adviser in three inner city Bradford secondary schools.

As well as food parcels, Nazim has been successful in sourcing live goats for communities in Malawi. Last September he ran the Great North Run in memory of nine-year-old Mohammed Haider Rasab who died from cancer. My original target was to raise £2,500 so that I could provide 100 live goats to poor families for their meat and milk.

"I have recently completed this project raising £15,025 for 601 live goats with Keighley-based Green Crescent Aid UK charity. They were distributed to 16 poverty-stricken villages.

"Altogether I have now single handedly raised almost £475,000 for a plethora of causes both home and abroad. God willing with my upcoming 9th annual Ramadan 10K Run I will reach the £500,000 mark. I have also been invited to the Queen's Garden Party in May 2022 for my community and charity work."

Nazim's 10k run during Ramadan will be taking place in Blackpool.