I immigrated to Canada in 2005 with the goal of building a strong foundation for my family. Back in Bangladesh, I had many achievements, such as earning a Ph.D. in horticulture, managing and supervising many research centers in my field, and developing a stellar reputation. After coming here, I had to start all over, just like many of you. After doing property management for a few years, I realized I wanted to do something more with my opportunity. I wanted to build a temple where people from all communities could come together and be a part of something great. After many years of sleepless nights, I was able to help build the first Bangladeshi Hindu temple in the GTA in 2009, which also goes by the name Toronto Durgabari. With the help of many helping hands, this temple became a strong imprint of our community. Toronto Durgabari took it one step further by opening its doors to become a vaccination clinic to bring the community together in a time of need. To add to that, Toronto Durgabari continues to give back to the people in need by organizing a blood donation event annually. Accomplishing these goals was difficult and taught me how to build a strong community. It taught me how to persevere when all hope was lost, it helped me learn how to use my resources correctly, and to motivate others to keep going. Most of all, it helped me to realize how strong of a leader I am. These are some characteristics I plan on bringing as a TDSB trustee. With your help and support, I want to bring those similar accomplishments to this ward. I plan on listening to all your concerns and worries and working with the whole community to help provide solutions. As you can see from my accomplishments, when I set my mind to something, there is nothing that I can’t achieve.