Left by parents, Hafsa turns three tomorrow

Newborn dumped in dustbin and rescued by a driver’s family is growing up amid love

Safiya Rahman Hafsa is going to turn three tomorrow thanks to driver Shahjahan Sarder and his family members who had picked her from a dustbin in Mirerbagh area of the capital and raising her in the family.
Things could have been different had Shahjahan’s children not heard the cry of Hafsa, then a newborn of hardly several hours as claimed by the rescuers, from inside a schoolbag on March 17, 2014.
Since then, the girl is being raised by the driver and his family as one of their own. Notwithstanding his own poverty, Shajahan is doing everything within his means to raise the child as best as he can.
On March 30, 2014, The Independent had published an exclusive report, titled ‘Driver’s family adopts abandoned baby’. Following its publication, several affluent families got in touch with this correspondent and sought to adopt the child. Some of them contacted Shajahan and lured him with hefty amounts of money, should the poor driver be ready to part with the child.
On March 13, Shajahan, who works as a personal driver of Dr AKM Fazlul Haque, said: “Other than the adopted baby, Safiya Rahman Hafsa, I've three more children. 
All of them are students and that's why I'm under considerable financial strain. But never for a moment it occurred to me that Hafsa could be handed over to others in exchange of monetary benefits!”
He also said many affluent families had offered him large sums to get Hafsa. “But I refused such offers outright. I think Almighty Allah himself had sent the innocent baby to my family for being taken care of,’’ he added.
"Only Jewel Rana, additional police commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, came to help Hafsa without any motive,’’ he told The Independent.
‘‘A few months back, Hafsa fell very ill due to a serious infection and had to undergo treatment at the Ad-din Hospital in Bara Maghbazar for 12 days. 
Although the treatment was very costly, I managed to meet the expenses, even though it meant taking loans from my relatives and friends,’’ he said.  ‘‘We treat her just like our other children. No one, not even our relatives, friends, and colleagues can ever tell  Hafsa from my other children," said Shajahan, with his voice full of filial affection. Mahmuda Akter Hena, Shazahan’s wife, said: ‘‘Believe me or not, we're more concerned and careful about Hafsa than my own children.’’
“Hafsa doesn't go to bed until my husband returns home from work. She always stays awake even if it's quite late in the night," she added.
Remembering the day when his family found Hafsa, Shazahan said: ‘‘I was on duty when I first learnt about Hafsa. It was March 17, 2014. I had already reached the Japan-Bangladesh Friendship Hospital, where I worked back then. 
I received a call around 8am from my wife, who told me that they found an abandoned baby outside our home.” Habia Akter Setu, the couple’s elder daughter, said: “My brother Md Hasan and I heard a baby cry. The sound seemed to be coming from outside the window of our ground floor flat. We came out of our home and found a schoolbag lying on the street below our window." 
“I opened the bag and found a beautiful baby girl inside. There were also two ballpoint pens, one ruler and a class routine inside the bag,” she recalled.
The baby’s umbilical cord was still uncut. “A local midwife cut it. And from that moment on, the baby has become a new member of our family,” a beaming Setu said. “My mother has to stay awake all night to take care of my little sister, who sleeps through the day and stays awake at night,” she laughingly added.

 

Left by parents, Hafsa turns three tomorrow

Newborn dumped in dustbin and rescued by a drivers family is growing up amid love

Safiya Rahman Hafsa is going to turn three tomorrow thanks to driver Shahjahan Sarder and his family members who had picked her from a dustbin in Mirerbagh area of the capital and raising her in the family. Things could have been different had Shahjahans children not heard the cry of Hafsa, then a newborn of hardly several hours as claimed by the rescuers, from inside a schoolbag on March 17, 2014. Since then, the girl is being raised by the driver and his family as one of their own. Notwithstanding his own poverty, Shajahan is doing everything within his means to raise the child as best as he can. On March 30, 2014, The Independent had published an exclusive report, titled Drivers family adopts abandoned baby. Following its publication, several affluent families got in touch with this correspondent and sought to adopt the child. Some of them contacted Shajahan and lured him with hefty amounts of money, should the poor driver be ready to part with the child. On March 13, Shajahan, who works as a personal driver of Dr AKM Fazlul Haque, said: Other than the adopted baby, Safiya Rahman Hafsa, Ive three more children. All of them are students and thats why Im under considerable financial strain. But never for a moment it occurred to me that Hafsa could be handed over to others in exchange of monetary benefits! He also said many affluent families had offered him large sums to get Hafsa. But I refused such offers outright. I think Almighty Allah himself had sent the innocent baby to my family for being taken care of, he added. Only Jewel Rana, additional police commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, came to help Hafsa without any motive, he told The Independent. A few months back, Hafsa fell very ill due to a serious infection and had to undergo treatment at the Ad-din Hospital in Bara Maghbazar for 12 days. Although the treatment was very costly, I managed to meet the expenses, even though it meant taking loans from my relatives and friends, he said. We treat her just like our other children. No one, not even our relatives, friends, and colleagues can ever tell Hafsa from my other children, said Shajahan, with his voice full of filial affection. Mahmuda Akter Hena, Shazahans wife, said: Believe me or not, were more concerned and careful about Hafsa than my own children. Hafsa doesnt go to bed until my husband returns home from work. She always stays awake even if its quite late in the night, she added. Remembering the day when his family found Hafsa, Shazahan said: I was on duty when I first learnt about Hafsa. It was March 17, 2014. I had already reached the Japan-Bangladesh Friendship Hospital, where I worked back then. I received a call around 8am from my wife, who told me that they found an abandoned baby outside our home. Habia Akter Setu, the couples elder daughter, said: My brother Md Hasan and I heard a baby cry. The sound seemed to be coming from outside the window of our ground floor flat. We came out of our home and found a schoolbag lying on the street below our window. I opened the bag and found a beautiful baby girl inside. There were also two ballpoint pens, one ruler and a class routine inside the bag, she recalled. The babys umbilical cord was still uncut. A local midwife cut it. And from that moment on, the baby has become a new member of our family, a beaming Setu said. My mother has to stay awake all night to take care of my little sister, who sleeps through the day and stays awake at night, she laughingly added.