Melinda Gates remembers Sir Abed
"We were saddened to hear of his passing and will forever draw inspiration from his work, as will the rest of the world, which he left so much better than he found"
Melinda Ann Gates, the American philanthropist, has expressed her deep shock at the death of Brac founder Sir Fazle Hasan Abed.
Melinda on Saturday posted a condolence message on her Linkedin account saying, "The world will suffer an irreparable loss at Fazle Hasan Abed's death."
"We were saddened to hear of his passing and will forever draw inspiration from his work, as will the rest of the world, which he left so much better than he found," She wrote.
In 1972, after Bangladesh's war of liberation had left many homeless, Fazle Abed left his job as a London oil executive and returned to his home country with £6,000 in his pocket – and the ambitious goal of building 10,400 houses.
He ended up raising enough money to build 16,000 houses for some of the poorest people in Bangladesh and still had enough left over to start his next project.
"That's who Sir Fazle was as a humanitarian, and that's what he helped us learn about development work: How to build a big, efficient organization, while never forgetting who you were doing it for," She posted.
Brac Founder Sir Fazle Hasan Abed died December 20. He was undergoing treatment for a malignant brain tumor. At the time of his death, he was 83 years old.
Sir Fazle Hasan Abed was laid to eternal rest at Banani Graveyard on Sunday afternoon.