THE DEDICATED TEAM BEHIND THE TAFIDA RAQEEB FOUNDATION
At the Tafida Raqeeb Foundation, our mission is driven by a passionate and committed team of professionals who believe that every child, regardless of physical or neurodisability deserves the opportunity to live a full and meaningful life.
At the Tafida Raqeeb Foundation, our mission is driven by a passionate and committed team of professionals who believe that every child, regardless of physical or neurodisability deserves the opportunity to live a full and meaningful life.
Our senior leadership team brings a wealth of expertise and dedication, ensuring that the foundation’s vision is realised through impactful initiatives and unwavering advocacy. The board of trustees provides strategic guidance and oversight, safeguarding our mission and ensuring the highest standards of governance and transparency.
Beyond leadership, every staff member plays a vital role in turning our vision into reality. Their dedication, compassion, and relentless drive empower us to provide critical support, resources, and opportunities to children and families across the UK and beyond.
At the heart of our work is a simple yet profound belief, no child should be denied a future because of their medical condition. We are committed to breaking barriers, challenging limitations, and creating a world where every child, regardless of their challenges, has the chance to thrive.
Mr Jacob Lyon is the co-founder of the Rivercrown Group which is a pan-European Commercial Real Estate Platform focused on investment management, asset management, and advisory.
Mr Mohammed Raqeeb is the father of Tafida Raqeeb. He has participated in many charitable causes involving children previously and now has a keen interest in supporting children who have sustained any form of brain injury.
President and Founder
View MoreShelina is a lawyer by profession and the mother of Tafida Raqeeb. Shelina is the powerful force behind the Tafida Raqeeb Foundation. Since February 2019 she has made the hospital her residence and has spent every night with her daughter. Whilst caring for Tafida round the clock, Shelina reflected on the paucity of resources and care to support children with similar conditions to Tafida. She constantly contemplated on what she could do to support these children. This is when she realised that children in the UK do not have enough access to rehabilitation following a brain injury and that there was a fundamental shortage of facilities. And that is when the idea emerged of setting up the Foundation. Despite the challenging journey, she decided to follow that path. Two years was spent on planning the Foundation. At times it became unbearable, other times it was a race against time, but she carried on for the sake of all children. She believed that every child deserves a chance at life after sustaining brain injury. Shelina has stated that “anything could happen any time to anyone of us as the pandemic has shown us. A sudden brain injury could happen to your child as it happened to my Tafida and it was completely out of the blue. But there is hope and I want to provide that hope to children”. Shelina has managed to inspire so many people to share her vision of a Neuro Rehabilitation Centre in the UK. This is a bespoke Centre which will be the first of its kind. Shelina has showed huge strength of character and resolve in launching the Foundation and is working tirelessly to ensure her vision becomes reality very soon.
Managing Director
View MoreJakir is a financial consultant and is the managing director of JC & Hunter Capital. He has expertise in financial markets, business mergers, acquisitions, asset management, consulting in aviation and sustainable entrepreneurship development in the UK and globally. Jakir achieved his financial qualifications CeMAP and CeRER from Royal Charter, The London Institute of Banking and Finance. Jakir has over 23 years of experience in commercial finance. In 2006 Jakir with partners launched the United Airlines in Bangladesh. The Airline was the biggest after the national carrier in Bangladesh. He is also part of LIM Global, based in USA, which serves many organisations including the World Bank, Volvo, Motorola, UNICEF, Glaxo Smith Kline, AmericanExpress, Ikea and many more. Jakir was part of Connectire Group, a consultancy company based in Singapore. In order to meet client’s requirements, Jakir created Knightsbridge Asset Management LLC to make it easy for client with progressive interest to and enter into potential real estate market in USA. Jakir strongly believes that the world is a local place without any boundaries and any business is achievable if we follow the code of ethics on deals. Jakir is active in several non profit organisations and volunteers with his family in many community projects and activities. Jakir understands how to form and maintain public relationship. He has a keen interest in cycling, fishing and running.
Vice President
View MoreProfessor Dr Philippe Menasché is a clinical cardiac surgeon at the Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou, Professor of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at the University of Paris and Co leader of an INSERM (National Institute of Health and Medical Research) team devoted to cell therapy of cardiovascular diseases. He also has a part time affiliation with the Department of Biomedical Engineering of the University of Alabama in Birmingham. The group has a long standing interest in stem cells for the treatment of heart failure. While the initial research has focused on the transplantation of skeletal myoblasts, it then moved towards the combination of cardiac progenitors derived from human embryonic stem cells (ESC) with a tissue engineering based construct. The first in man trial testing this cell loaded patch has now been successfully completed. In parallel, mechanistic studies have unraveled the predominant role of paracrine signaling and, consequently, the group is now shifting its research towards a cellular cell therapy based on the exclusive use of the secretome with the objective of further streamlining the clinical translatability of this myocardial repair strategy. However, considering that cell therapy is an area where different medical areas can cross fertilize in a particularly fruitful fashion, we have now leveraged our experience with heart failure to other non cardiac indications including severe traumatic brain injury, acute respiratory distress syndromes as seen in patients with Covid 19 induced pneumonia and possibly in the future other neurological diseases involving a strong inflammatory component.
Mr Dejan Štancer is the Chairman of the Global Chamber of Business Leaders, the president of the KSBC Business Club, a registered and licensed lobbyist in the EU institutions, and at the same time he is also an advisor to many political and business leaders around the world, and he also advises governments and companies. He is also a polyglot, fluent in at least eight world languages. He is an advocate of global business cooperation, integration, sustainable and social development, and the fight against climate change. For his work and merits, he has been honored with various state awards, as well as awards for his role as a global influential business leader.
Senator Simone Pillon graduated with full marks in Law at the Università degli Studi di Parma. In 2000 he accomplished the qualification for the forensic practice. From 2013 he worked in Court of Appeal as a lawyer. In the same year he obtained a Master’s degree in Family Mediation and he kept studying Anglo-Saxon law at the City University in London, during a training course of the National Forensic Council. He was elected at the Italian Senate in 2018. From June 2018 he was party whip of the “Lega” party in the Justice Commission at Palazzo Madama and also in the Council for the Election until September 2019. On 15 November 2018 he was elected vice-president of the Commission for Childhood and Adolescence
Dr Petralia has a Degree in Medicine and he is has specialised in hygiene and hospital management at Genoa University. Moreover, he has a degree in Religious Sciences with a specialisation in Bioethics at Catholic University of Rome. Since January 1st 2021 he is the General Manager of Asl4 Liguria. Before, he was the General Manager of Institute of Giannia Gaslini of Genoa since 2010 and of other regional social health services. Since July 2021 he is the National Vicar Vicepresident of FIASO (Italian Federation of Hospital); he was also President of The Italian Paediatricians Association since 2011.He is also a journalist, member of different scientific committees, author of different books and publications and Professor in History of Medicine and Bioethics at Genoa University. He also volunteers with the National and Regional organisation in culture and education.
Dr Honey Kalaria is a multi award winning performing arts professional, media presenter and mind body soul expert, who is popularly known as “Bollywood Ambassador to the UK”. Dr Kalaria is recognised nationally and internationally for her high profile projects working alongside other Bollywood stars and mainstream celebrities supporting charitable and community based initiatives, and launching a range of creative businesses that encourage an appreciation for the multi cultural arts to the global community. Her creative work in the field of Art, Culture & Entertainment has led to Dr Kalaria becoming a recipient of an “Honorary Doctorate of Arts,” and “Best Bollywood International Artist” award, the global award for “Best Dance & Performing Arts Coach in UK in 2020” and breaking the Guinness Book of World Record on SKY TV amongst many other accolades. Various accomplishments include working on projects for numerous television programs, films and West End Musicals; founder of Honeys Dance Academy which ran 20 dance schools throughout UK; Talent Ambassador & Achievement Coach providing training to over ½ million students; Advisory Member to the National Dance Council; District Chair of Environment Committee at Rotary Club of London; Delivering Health, Wellbeing and Spiritual Growth Programs using Power of Meditation & Dance Therapy for over 20 years; Popular Radio and TV Presenter; Production Director and Online Media Host for “Healing Our Earth”; worked as Member of Local Mayors Fundraising Appeal Committee; Nominated as one of the top three Asian Business Women in the UK; represents Commonwealth Entrepreneurs’ Club as a Global Ambassador. Dr Kalaria is an enthusiastic Ambassador for various charities including “Diabetes UK” and “The Duke of Edinburgh Award”, with a demonstrated history of working in the Education & Charity Sector, Media & Public Relations Industry, as well as Dance & Performing Arts field. Bringing forth thirty years of experience as a creative education professional and dance expert, multi-cultural celebrity assignments that develop East West relations and a passion for helping humanitarian causes. She is motivated by the appreciation of the human spirit and the innate desire to achieve our maximum potential. The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport had shown great support for the extensive work carried out by Dr Kalaria in the field of promoting dance education in schools throughout the UK and devising various multicultural training programs, leading students to improved health, well-being and personal growth. Dr Kalaria brings forth dedication and a desire to positively impact the lives of children and be of service to make this world a better place. For more information visit: www.honeykalariaofficial.co.
Hamza Dewan Choudhury (Bengali: হামজা দেওয়ান চৌধুরী; born 1 October 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or right-back for EFL Championship club Sheffield United, on loan from Premier League club Leicester City.
After studying medicine in Berlin (1984-1989), Matthias Koepp trained as a Neurologist with Dieter Janz obtaining an MD degree from the FU Berlin. In 1993, he moved to London for further training in Neurology and Psychiatry, and in 1999, he obtained a PhD from the University of London. Matthias was appointed as Consultant Neurologist at the National Hospital for Neurology in 1999, and promoted to Professor of Neurology at the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology in 2008.
His research group focus on predicting cognitive, mood and seizure outcome following both surgical and pharmaceutical interventions. Currently, he is PI in trial to prevent epilepsy, leads the epilepsy clinical trials unit at the National Hospital for Neurology, and leads a research programme into dementia in epilepsy. For his research and impact on the care of people with epilepsy, he received several international awards, including the AES Young Investigator Award (1997), Michael-Prize (2001), ILAE Ambassador for Epilepsy Award (2019) and, most recently, the AES Clinical Science Research Award (2023).
Matthias directs a busy clinical practice, seeing over 2000 people with epilepsy per year. His clinical focus is to support people with epilepsy and additional learning disability. He has been looking after the 100+ residents of the Chalfont Centre for Epilepsy for the last 30 years.
In his spare time, he enjoys travelling with his family, is obsessed with rowing, and trained as a disability ski instructor. Watch here.
Regional Operations Coordinator
European Coordinator
International Advisor
International Advisor
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