Safety first is Farooq’s mission
An accountant has been busy working to help places of worship become safe and Covid-free venues.
Farooq Khan, from Handsworth, in Birmingham, runs a decontamination service, which he has been offering for free across the region since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
The service was started by the 51-year-old, self-employed accountant, while he was sitting at home during the first lockdown.
He said: “When lockdown began, I found myself sitting at home and not doing very much, which was difficult for me to do.
"I was reading the paper and came across an article which said that places of worship were attracting large congregations and that there were lots of cases coming out of them.
“It gave me the idea to do something about it and to help people and the sanitisation idea was the best one out of all the ones I had.”
Mr Khan said he bought all the equipment, including a hazmat suit and a fogging machine, and took on training before starting his business in April with a deep clean of St Mary’s Convent, in Handsworth.
Since then, his services have been used by more than 200 churches across Birmingham, the Black Country and Staffordshire, with Mr Khan saying word of mouth had helped his name to be known across the region.
He said: “At the peak of the pandemic, I was doing two places per day, depending on how big they were, and the reception from these places was really good as they feel really privileged that someone is looking out for them.
“It makes me feel proud as well to help them as I love the Midlands. I will continue carrying on doing this for as long as it takes to help people feel safe.”
To find out more and to book Mr Khan’s services, call 07817 523105.
