Restaurant owner pledges to raise money to help people living in poverty in Asia

Kaz Miah, who runs the Kassia group of restaurants, including The Pacific Thai in Drayton and Pasha in Cowplain, has pledged to put £20,000 towards helping to build better lives for people in his hometown in Bangladesh.

As his businesses begin to recover from the pandemic, Kaz wants to pay it forward after being shown support from people over the last 18 months.

Kaz was born in Sylhet in Bangladesh but moved to the UK at eight years old. Previously, he supported local charities such as Rowans Hospice and Naomi House and Jacksplace, but after a trip to Bangladesh, he realised he wanted to do something to help people living in dire conditions.

He said: ‘I didn’t go back to Bangladesh for around 20 years, but after visiting again all the memories came flooding back. I saw people I used to know still living in the awful conditions, in mud huts and with no running water, so I knew I wanted to do something to help.’

Five years ago, Kaz spent £7,000 having a house built for a family in Sylhet and wants to step up the fundraising even further.

His plans are to put £20,000 towards building two more houses and allowing two families to have access to clean, running water.

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He said: ‘Over the last few years my mentality has changed massively and now I would rather spend that money on helping other people. This is something that’s very close to my heart and I feel I’m in a position to make a difference to lots of peoples’ lives. Where I’m from, every area is deprived; the people have no income or way of getting food. I tasted that poverty.

‘The living conditions are very different out there and as someone who has come from that and has made a success its only right to go back and help. You can make a big change for a small amount of money.’

Eventually, Kaz wants to establish a charity through his restaurant group to help people in Bangladesh yearly.