Sharif Ahmed

Sharif and his wife

A hero is anyone who tries to make a difference in the world. A hero is someone that you can look up to and take examples from. A hero leaves a positive impact on society throughout their life, and even when they are gone.

Sharif Momtaz Uddin Ahmed was born in Bangladesh in 1931. He grew up in a village where his father was the head. Sharif was the baby of the family and he was loved greatly by his parents. His father died when he was only two years old. Sharif left the village and headed to the capital city, Dhaka. He started selling rice on the streets to try to make some money. From those profits, he began his own construction business. On the side, he also began producing movies. His construction company eventually moved to one of the three largest companies in the country.

Sharif always cared about others and working for the good of society. During the Bangladesh Liberation War, he built a ship for the movement leader and was pursued by the Pakistani Police. He was not afraid to voice his opinion.

Sharif grew to become very successful from his business, but he never let his money or success get to his head or let him become selfish. In 1988, he donated land to begin a college for the village that he was from, Tok. It allowed students who would not normally have a chance to go to school, continue their education. Until the late 90's, Sharif fully funded the college, until the college became enlisted and the government took over. In Tok, he also constructed a mosque, so that the villagers would have a place to pray.

Throughout his life, Sharif never stopped helping people. He made sure that his children and family were always taken care of. He did not stop with them, though. He helped many people in several different ways. He also purchased land so that poor people would have the opportunity to farm and make money, without having to pay a high fee to farm on the land. He also gave money to people so that they could start their own business and support their family. Sharif never stopped caring about other people.

On July 4th, 2010, Sharif Momtaz Uddin Ahmed, passed away. His incredible impact on the country could be seen immensely after his death. He had five different prayer ceremonies after he passed, each with many people to commemorate his life. People from all over came to pray for Sharif, young and old, even people who could barely walk came to say goodbye to the one who touched their life so deeply. In his last ceremony, the forty day prayer, over 24,000 people came to pray for his soul. Sharif Momtaz Uddin Ahmed left the Earth, but his legacy was left in so many hearts.