An Oldham man has been honoured with a British Empire Medal (BEM) for his charity work in Greater Manchester and around the world.
Afruz Miah, 48, is being recognised for raising a staggering half a million pounds for local and international charities, despite only entering the charity sector in 2019.
Recently, Afruz had just returned home from a stint supporting Palestinian and Syrian refugees in Lebanon when he found out about his award win.
Read more: Oldham 'running man' to run 8 half marathons and London Marathon for charity
He told the M.E.N.: "M y wife and son showed me a letter from the Cabinet Office.
"I thought I must be in trouble or something!
"Then, I opened the letter and it was surreal to find out I have been awarded the British Empire Medal.
"My family were overwhelmed.
"I thought, this award isn’t for me, this is collectively for all the people who have supported me, donated to my campaigns and wished me well.
"It’s for everybody.
"Working in the charity sector is a 24-hour job.
"It's difficult, but meeting new people, having donations come in and seeing the impact on people's lives, that's what keeps me going."
Afruz is nicknamed Oldham's 'Running Man' because of his commitment to doing epic runs for charity.
Earlier this year, Afruz raised £130,000 for UK charity Global Relief Trust (GRT) by running 313km from Oldham to London, while fasting for Ramadan.
He also ran the London Marathon and eight half marathons in aid of GRT and Oldham cancer charity Maggie's.
Additionally, the running enthusiast founded the charity JustBreathe, which provides fitness and wellbeing programmes for BAME communities in Oldham.
This December, with GRT, Afruz travelled to the Kutupalong refugee camp in Bangladesh and other rural villages.
There, he distributed winter blankets, food parcels, handpumps and other essential items.
Seeing first-hand how his work makes a difference to people's lives all over the globe is deeply personal for Afruz.
The dad-of-four, who is of Bangladeshi heritage, added: "Visiting Bangladesh was an eye opener for me.
"I usually visit places that my parents have taken me to, but this time, I went to different parts of Bangladesh that have been affected by global warming.
"The land is not fit for growing crops, so the standard of living is very poor.
"For miles and miles, there is no foreign help.
"Covid has made it worse for lots of people.
"In Dhaka, I've seen children sleeping on dogs to get the heat from the dogs to keep themselves warm.
"You can't imagine it until you see it with your own eyes.
"There was one woman in Bangladesh who we donated 500 Taka to (less than £5) and she broke down, she was kissing my forehead.
"Things like that, money can't buy."
Prior to entering charity work full-time, Afruz was a maths tutor for 20 years.
He added: "For me to raise half a million pounds in two and a half years- for someone who hasn’t had any training on fundraising- it’s all built on trust and it’s overwhelming.
"I take inspiration from Captain Sir Tom Moore and Dabirul Islam Choudhury, who were both 100 years old when they did their charity walks.
"I am half their age, so people can look at me a nd think, 'if he can do it, why can’t I do it?'
"This award is not for an athlete- it’s for somebody who has been overweight, who had a cataract operation due to high blood pressure and is now being recognised with a British Empire Medal.
"Hopefully, this is the start and who knows what more we can do together."
For 2022, Afruz has more charity campaigns planned, including another Ramadan running challenge and more health programmes with JustBreathe.
To donate to Afruz's fundraising page, visit https://givebrite.com/runningman.
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