Bala's Basildon Bond

摘要

Chief executive of Basildon DC, Bala Mahen-dran, describes his life as a journey - and it is, perhaps, one which has taken him on several detours along the way. Born in Sri Lanka, he arrived in the UK in 1975 with 'good intentions' of getting a career in engineering before returning home. But, halfway through his mechanical engineering degree, things changed. Bala was on a work placement when he lost part of his hand in an industrial accident. He then had to re-learn how to write with his left hand. Three years and 18 operations later, his plans to return to Sri Lanka with a mechanical engineering career looked less clear-cut. Then there was the prospect of qualifying as an engineer in the middle of Thatcher's Britain. There was a recession in the manufacturing industry, and he was an engineer with dexterity difficulties.