Mr. Tamzid Rahman is the Winner of Glocal Teen Hero, Bangladesh 2023. Born on 20th November, International Children’s Day, Tamzid fights for the health rights of thalassemia-infected children.
Bangladesh needed 900,000 bags of blood per annum but only 32% of it was met on time, on demand by voluntary donors. It is estimated that nearly 14,000 thalassaemic children are born every year in Bangladesh. These children need 2-5 bags of blood every month just to survive. Likewise, the parents of these children face extreme difficulty managing voluntary donors to keep the supply of blood bags per month for their children.
His Works,
At the age of 15, he founded his organization BloodLink. His app helps connect blood donors to recipients, completely free of cost. BloodLink’s Blood Donor Database currently features over 950+ active blood donors all around Dhaka.
Tamzid is now a leading child health advocate in Bangladesh. BloodLink is now the youngest youth organization officially working with the ICT Ministry, Government of Bangladesh. At just 13 years old, invited to address the U.S. Embassy Dhaka’s Youth Conference. At BloodLink, Tamzid and his team are now working towards the goal of 0% child mortality ratio due to the lack of blood transfusion in Bangladesh.
Tamzid has also developed an activity ebook for new-generation blood donors breaking their misconception and bursting the myth around blood donation. He has reached over 1,000+ teenagers and youth through his speaking engagements in sessions/workshops of different schools, and colleges in Dhaka.
Since its inception, BloodLink has directly contributed to the saving of over 500 children’s lives. Tamzid’s app has over 100 downloads in the Play Store and they’ve so far received over 3500+ blood requests via the messenger chatbot extension. So far his initiative has over 15,000+ individuals reaching, in-general.
BloodLink has so far raised over $15,000 in grant funding with support from the ICT Division, the Government of Bangladesh, KidsRights Netherlands, The Pollination Project, and Project Nightfall Philanthropy.
Tamzid’s big goal now is to make sure no child in Bangladesh dies because they can’t get a blood transfusion.
His Journey to Glocal Teen Hero,
He adds, “ Glocal Teen Hero gave me not only years of memories and confidence, I feel delighted to be a part of such an engaging and inspiring community that has installed a sense of ever-learning and experiences in me, that surely would have taken me years to gain by myself. Now, I believe in keep flying and never settle, because GTH has my back and it’s all about exploring new stuff as magic has just only started.”
