Valerie Ann Taylor


Valerie Ann Taylor, is a British-Bangladeshi physiotherapist, social worker and philanthropist. She is the founder of Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed in Savar, Dhaka District. Dubbed the Mother Teresa of Bangladesh, she was awarded the 2004 Independence Day Award by the Government of Bangladesh for her public service. In 1998, she was granted Bangladeshi citizenship by the Prime Minister of Bangladesh.

Early life

Taylor was born in Kent, England to Marie Taylor and William Taylor. She grew up living close to National Spinal Injuries Centre at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England.

Career

In 1969, Taylor arrived in Bangladesh, under contract for 15 months, with the Voluntary Service Overseas to work as a physiotherapist at Christian Hospital, Chandraghona, in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. She established the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed in 1979. At the start of her career, she ran CRP with four patients in an abandoned warehouse of the Shaheed Suhrawardy Hospital. Later, CRP grew to include a 100-bed hospital.

Personal life

Taylor is a legal guardian to two girls with disabilities.

Awards and honors