FRED Hyde’s legacy of building schools for children in one of the poorest parts of the Third World will live on, thanks to those still involved in the charity he founded in 1991.
The Warwick legend passed away at The Oaks nursing home and Tuesday 8 November and was farewelled last Thursday at a service at the Warwick Funerals Chapel on Willi Street.
Mr Hyde was instrumental in establishing Cooperation in Development or CO-ID, a charity which has built more than 40 schools on Bhola Island in Bangladesh, providing an education for more than 50,000 Bangladeshi children.
Fred was involved closely involved in the establishment of Warwick’s Akooramak Home for the Aged.
CO-ID chairman Dr Olav Muurlink travelled from Brisbane to speak at Fred’s farewell and said that while the two of them had often crossed swords he had nothing but “absolute respect” for Fred’s determination and toughness during his 25 years dividing his time between Warwick and Bangladesh.
“Fred’s work was not separable from Fred the man,” Dr Muurlink told those gathered at the service.
“CO-ID is not some cutesy, glossy and glamorous charity full of teddy bears and pop-up cardboard koalas.
“It’s a tough organisation and when Fred was in Bangladesh he walked in the same mud and slept in the same hard bed as the villagers, and ate the same fish that had more bones than flesh.
“It has always seemed strange to me that Fred didn’t become more famous – how does Fred not win a Nobel Prize when we have a reality TV star who becomes President of the United States?
“We weren’t the best of friends for many years – I haven’t spent half my life working with CO-ID because it was fun, it’s because it was right, because providing education is absolutely always worth doing.
“Fred was a freakishly amazing person – almost from another planet.
“At this time of year he would have been spending the evenings at a raw wood desk handwriting thank you letters to donors back in Australia – because he knew the power of a handwritten note and a grubby Bangladeshi stamp.
“Towards the end over there he would be declared dead and given the last rites at least twice a year – once they’d organised a helicopter for him – but then he’d have a stretch and get up again.”
Fred’s nieces Jean Hagan and Joclyn Watt gave the eulogy and word of thanks, and members of the Warwick RSL Sub-Branch paid a formal tribute to him.
CO-ID committee member and Warwick local Paddy O’Leary said he would be travelling to Bangladesh in early 2017 to spend a month help to oversee the building of more new schools and the refurbishment of existing ones.
“The wet season is horrendous and we’ve started with some of the existing schools to brick them up to the windows and cement the floors for when the rain comes through,” he told the Free Times.
“We are also starting to build kindergartens alongside some of the existing schools to accommodate younger siblings of the students.
“The Bangladeshi Government is now starting to take over some of the schools, which is great to see.
“We provide the schools and the government provides the curriculum and the text books.”
To find out more about CO-ID and to donate visit www.fredhyde.org.
