Sirajganj: Joynal Abedin is more than just a rickshaw driver -- he's the founder of a clinic that's saving lives in his undeveloped village of Tanhashadia in Bangladesh.

Abedin, who is now over 60 years old, spent half his life saving money to bring Tanhashadia its own medical facility, according to a report by Al Jazeera. He says his father was the inspiration for this dream.

 “My dad died because we couldn’t take him to the hospital and the nearest doctor was two days walk away,” he told Al Jazeera. “I was so angry. People here think that because we are poor, we are helpless. I wanted to prove them wrong.”

According to the BBC, Abedin moved to Bangladesh's capital Dhaka with his wife to earn money as a rickshaw driver, where he earned approximately $6 a day. He saved all he could for 30 years in order to make the clinic a reality.

"Sometimes my wife used to argue with me for not bringing enough money to run the family. But I always saved some money. Even during difficult times, I never touched my savings," Abedin told the BBC.

He built the clinic from the ground up using the $4,000 he'd saved. Although he initially faced resistance from the medical community, Abedin managed to find volunteer doctors.

The clinic now sees 300 villagers daily and maintains a small pharmacy. Abedin's operation also continues to grow with the help of donations, Al Jazeera reports.

He told the BBC, "My dream is to convert this clinic into a full-fledged hospital with the help of the government and other donors."

The Indian subcontinent has many such stories of individuals doing good in the face of institutional negligence. Last year, HuffPost Good News wrote about an Indian man who single-handedly planted a 1,360 acre forest.

Ends/AMA/11/06/13