Sir William Beveridge Foundation
Working on Health & Social Care; Women Empowerment; Training & Education; Research & Dementia Friendly Care Village
Rahman Jilani PhD: Executive Chairman
Rahman- a very senior social worker by profession is the Founder of the Sir William Beveridge Foundation. Born and educated in Bangladesh, gaining two degrees including an MA in Public Administration Rahman moved to the UK where he undertook further Post graduate Degrees from London University & USA and also studied to become a qualified social worker. From 1983-2004 he was Deputy Warden at the Universities’ Settlement in East London and Director of Education in Toynbee’s Asian Studies Department. He writes regularly for newspapers in Bangladesh and various publications in London including presenting a very popular weekly chat show TV programme in one of the Sky satellite TV for western European viewers. “I had been aware of Sir William Beveridge and his ideas before I arrived in Britain,” says Rahman. “Through my work in the years since I made it my home, I have come to appreciate even more just what a great visionary he was. His 1942 report heralded a new approach to the meaning and quality of life in Britain and it provided people with the means to improve their own lives that in turn benefited our society. While his vision has provided a blueprint for a fairer and more caring society in Britain, I believe it can also be pursued in other countries. If they adopted such an approach then we would have a much happier world.”
Altamash Hasan: Executive Vice Chairman
Altamash Hasan has been working as the Executive Vice Chairman of Sir William Beveridge Foundation since 2015. Prior to his role as the EVC, he was working as Advisor to the Board of Trustees of the Foundation and was closely associated with its formation in 2006. Mr Hasan has the first-hand experience of working in the care sector in the UK and well versed in the requirements of the UK’s Care Quality Commission. He, therefore, plays an active role in guiding the Foundation’s work in the care sector in Bangladesh and ensuring that the services are up to UK standards. Mr Hasan is also involved with the Tea Sector in Bangladesh and is a Central Committee Member of the Bangladesh Tea Association. He is also a member of the Labour Welfare Sub-Committee of the Association which works on matters relating to labour welfare of the Bangladesh Tea Sector. He also leads the Board of Trustees of N.H.Zahid Academy as Chair which is running a Primary School in Sylhet, Bangladesh for the underprivileged children of that community. Other than his passion for voluntary work, Mr Hasan is the Managing Director of Planters Group which has business interests in Tea Manufacturing, Tea Brokerage and the Property sector in Bangladesh.
Jiban Kanai Das: Country Director
Jiban has a Master’s degree in Defence Studies after studying in Bangladesh. During 36 years of service to his country, he held a number of senior positions including Director General of the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies; Commandant, Bangladesh Ordnance Factories; Quarter Master General, Bangladesh Army and, for a time, served as an advisor in the office of the Bangladesh Prime Minster. His training and study activities during his distinguished career took him to the UK, Malyasia, China and Thailand and USA.
Michael O'Keefe: Chairperson of the Advisory Board
Michael retired from a successful career as a senior police officer a few years ago and now owns a thriving speedboat business in London. During 30 years with the Metropolitan Police, Michael was a keen supporter of the South Asian community in East London and led various operations to tackle serious and organised crime in these vulnerable groups. He aims to continue working with the voluntary sector to challenge ignorance and help vulnerable groups in all communities.
Dr Mohamed Sakel (FRCP, UK): Global Ambassador
Dr Sakel is a Specialist in Neuro-rehabilitation Medicine in UK. Expertise include managing traumatic brain injury; COVID-19 survivors; complex stroke and spinal injuries and many other complex neurological conditions. Dr Sakel has received numerous National and local awards for exceptional service to the NHS and wider health and care sector and is a regular invited keynote speaker at UK and overseas conference events. During his career, Dr Sakel has contributed regularly to the teaching and education of medical, healthcare and research colleagues both in the UK and overseas communities. He has presented courses, workshops and webinar sessions on Neuro-rehabilitation for India and Bangladesh. In recognition of this role, Dr Sakel received an Honorary Professorship in Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation at Jashore University of Science and Technology in Bangladesh. Dr Sakel regularly organises and chairs conferences on Neuro-rehabilitation and recently organised the first National conference on ‘Long Covid’ in Bangladesh (May 2021). He leads the Cross Specialty Research Team Kent, which is actively researching the vulnerability of people with Black and Asian ethnic backgrounds to Covid-19 in the UK. He is also leading the largest research study into the prevalence of ‘Long Covid’ in Bangladesh and a qualitative study into the experience of ‘Long Covid’ by spinal cord injury survivors in Bangladesh. Dr Sakel is the Director Lead of the Kent Brain Injury Foundation & Forum. He is considered a key opinion leader in Botulinum Toxin, Spasticity and Robotics and has over 87 publications focused on improving neuro-rehabilitation care.
Karen Saunders: Global Neuro-Therapy Advisor
Karen is a Consultant Research Fellow neuro-physiotherapist who works as a core member of the Cross Specialty Research Team at East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust. She works on a diverse range of clinical and qualitative research projects including the impact of COVID-19 on the Black and Asian minority communities in Kent, the use of exoskeleton technology to improve balance for people with Multiple Sclerosis and the prevalence of ‘Long Covid’ in Bangladesh. In 2020, Karen was awarded a PhD scholarship grant from the National Institute of Health Research, UK, to undertake a 5 year research project into the Co-production of a supported symptom self-management intervention for Traumatic Brain Injury survivors living in the community, which will include a small pilot clinical trial. This is applied research focused on meeting the needs of a vulnerable group of people with the aim of improving their lives and is linked to Kent University. Karen trained and qualified in Qualitative Research Methods at Oxford University and is currently leading a qualitative research project in Bangladesh on COVID-19 survivorship and ‘long Covid’ symptoms experienced by spinal cord injury survivors. She is a regular contributor to the teaching and education of medical, healthcare and research colleagues in both the UK and overseas communities, and has presented courses, workshops and webinar sessions on Neuro-rehabilitation and neuro-physiotherapy for India and Bangladesh. In recognition of this role, Karen has been appointed as an Honorary Professor in Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation at Jashore University of Science and Technology in Bangladesh. Over the years, Karen has received awards for research, education and clinical leadership. Most recently, in December 2020, she was presented with a Highly Commended Team Award for making an Exceptional Contribution to Neuro-rehabilitation Clinical Research at East Kent.
Jackline Teresa Gomes: United Nations Representative
Jackline Teresa Gomes was born in Bangladesh. She received her MSS in Sociology from Dhaka University and an MBA from North South University. She has 13 years of work experience at Grameenphone Ltd, a leading multinational company, in the management position of Customer Division where her role was to manage business operation, human relations, product development, legal aspects of business & team development and motivations. Apart from her professional life, she has been involved with educational institutions and voluntary work since 1990. She was also very much involved with different social and charitable activities such as contributing in natural disasters by distributing clothes and food, collecting donations, and financially aiding the poor and orphans. Aside from her generous pursuit, she is filled with enthusiasm and is extremely dedicated to the society and human rights.
Tanzir Khan: United Nations Representative
Tanzir Khan, popularly know as Tanzir, was born and brought up in Bangladesh and now living in the United States of America. He achieved his Masters in Business Administration degree from the Washington University of Virginia, USA, having the first degree in Business Administration from North South University, Bangladesh. A talented person, and by heart a ‘humanist’, he currently works as an Information Technology Consultant in the USA. His love for humanity and vision for creating a better society, he worked in several private organizations in the USA and Bangladesh but never forgot his thirst for it. Since his student life, he has been involved with several social works organizations in Bangladesh. By heart, he is a hardcore social worker, a humanist who loves to work for a better society. He was involved with organizing teams of so many events in Bangladesh and the USA. He considers himself a ‘forever student,’ eager to both build on his academic foundations and stay in tune with the latest Technologies. His hunger for knowledge and determination to turn information into action in line with his aspiration for social vulnerability, disparity and discrimination have prevailed with a sustainable and enduring practicality.
Rezaul Karim: Ambassador of Spain & Portugal
Mr. Rezaul Karim, very popularly known as Mithu bhai is a Bangladeshi by birth, a financial market analyst and a businessman living in Spain for last 23 years. He obtained his first degree in commerce from the University of Delhi. His study and work took him to a lot of places but he finally settled in Spain where he received his post-graduation on Block Chain Engineering and Financial Market Analytics. He also had his professional Diploma in Advanced Forex Trading. Karim served Moviltablex Madrid and IBAST Trade Intl. as their Managing Director for 11 years. Currently he is the group Technical Market Analyst of Santander Bank of Spain and also engaged in International Trade personally. A very sharp mind armed with the spirit and vigour of serving his beloved motherland- Bangladesh and vulnerable people in distress, he happily accepted invitation from our Chairman – Rahman Jilani PH.D who lives in the UK, to join as an Ambassador for Spain and Portugal for the Beveridge Foundation in order to highlight, create and generate the core spirit of the Foundation- “Serving the Humanity.” His special focus would be on the subject of organizing the expatriates residing in those two countries for the propagation of the foundation’s work and create a support network with the mainstream similar organization in those two countries.