Sir Chris Bonington, Patron of The Abaseen Foundation UK Shafqat Hussain – Patron

The Himalayas including the Karakoram and the Hindu Kush have been central to my life and I have a great respect and affection for the people who live amongst them or at their margins. I am aware of the deprivations that many face in these areas especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. I am particularly interested in the mountain health project that the Foundation is beginning to develop in Chitral; whose mountains and inhabitants I hold in the highest regard.

Shafqat Hussain – Patron

Shafqat was born in Peshawar and studied medicine in Multan, he came to England and married Kathryn and had 2 wonderful children and 4 delightful grand children.
Whilst in England in his professional life he was introduced to Abaseen Foundation and agreed to serve as patron. In this role he has planted trees with Kathryn in Nahaqi hospital and involved supporters in London and arranged fundraising meetings. Shafqat hopes to organise a team in London and ambitiously put together a regular progress report to sell AF to friends in London.

Afzal Hussain – Co-Chair

I initially graduated in Computing, Statistics and Mathematics in 1981 and worked as a Systems Analyst in a software development company for 18 Months in Leicester. I then moved into working in the mental health field and have worked as a social worker and a manager. I contributed strategically and operationally to the development of high quality mental health services across Lancashire Care Foundation Trust and in Lancashire County Council’s Adult and Community Directorate.

Eileen Waddington – Co-Chair

Eileen has worked in both Health and Social Care and was the Head of the Community Care Division at the Nuffield Institute  at Leeds University where she led a programme to improve the information flow between research and practice. The job included work abroad, particularly in Eastern Europe, supporting the development of community alternatives for children in institutional care and service standards and inspections processes.

She joined the Board  in September 2017 and Chairs the Board meetings. She has visited the projects in Pakistan and is keen on supporting opportunities for girls to reach their full potential.

David Le Mare – Trustee Board Secretary

David Le Mare was a social worker who has worked in Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Scotland and England. He spent almost 30 years with Cumbria County Council both as a social worker and in senior management. Since retiring in 2011 he has been a Board member of Mind in Furness, a mental health charity, and also of a small housing association in Windermere that provides extra care supported housing for older people. He joined the Abaseen Foundation UK Board of Trustees in 2017 and has visited the Foundation projects in 2017 & 2019.

Helen Bingley – Chief Executive

Helen Bingley is a founder member,Trustee and CEO of the Abaseen Foundation UK. Helen is Managing Director of Bingley Consultancy Ltd, a business that has been established to support senior managers in the NHS, and public, private and voluntary sectors with strategic change. Prior to this Helen worked as Head of Teaching and Learning in the Centre for Ethnicity and Health at the University of Central Lancashire. Helen qualified as a nurse in 1979 and took up her first management post in the NHS in 1984 gaining promotion through the different management levels in the NHS.

Mark Ferguson – Treasurer

Mark Ferguson is an Infrastructure Specialist at BT, where he studied towards an MSc in Telecommunications Engineering. He has been actively involved in fundraising activities for the foundation since 2005 and was part of the evaluation team visiting Pakistan in 2006 after the earthquake. His interests include travel, reading and cooking.

Nicola Lowe – Trustee

Nicola Lowe is Professor of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Central Lancashire. She is a trustee and research lead for the foundation. Research currently taking place at the Baghbanan Health centre includes a study of diet and micronutrient intake in young women. We have recently completed a Wellcome Trust funded project investigating the role of the traditional Jirga system for engaging the community in health related research.

David Gill – Associate Member

David is a founder member of the Abaseen Foundation who supported and mentored Mukhtiar Zaman when he was a Consultant Chest Physician at Blackpool Victoria Hospital when returning to Pakistan was a mere pipe dream. He believed in Mukhtiar’s dream to return to Pakistan to develop health and education for people in Pakistan. He is a qualified accountant and has 20 years senior management experience in the NHS. David was chief executive at Blackpool Victoria hospitals from 1993-2002 and is now retired.

Mick McKeown – Trustee

Mick McKeown is a mental health nurse who used to work in the NHS and now works as a lecturer and researcher at the University of Central Lancashire where amongst other things he works on a community engagement project called Comensus. He has lived all his life in Liverpool and is a passionate supporter and season ticket holder for Liverpool Football Club.

Hafiza Suleman – Trustee

Hafiza has recently joined the Trustees and provides a much valued insight into the life of women in South Asian communities. Hafiza is a solicitor at Holden’s Solicitors in Lancaster where she trained before qualifying in 2008. She is a dedicated member of the Family Department.

Rob Paine – Trustee

Rob Paine’s career in education involved teaching at all levels from secondary level in schools to all levels at University, and latterly in a management role which involved travelling throughout the Indian sub continent. In retirement he is now happy to use his skills and expertise to progress education in Pakistan with the Abaseen Foundation.

Inayat Munshi – Trustee

Inayat is a founder member of the Abaseen Foundation. He is a great spiritual inspiration and influence and also acts as ‘guardian’ of our finances.

Rose Anderson – Associate Member

Rose Anderson, a retired nurse and senior manager in the NHS, was a founder Trustee of the Abaseen Foundation , Prior to that she worked with Prof Zaman and supported him in his work for Nahaqi Hospital, providing UK experience for nurses from Pakistan. Since retiring from her Governance Manager Role in the NHS she worked for 10 years in safeguarding in the Catholic Church in England and Wales. She visited Nahaqi Hospital and the earthquake region in 2007. Rose has previously led on Health for the Foundation and was co-chair for 2 years. She stepped down from her role as Trustee in 2017 and was appointed Associate member in 2019. She is currently the Foundations Governance Lead.

Pete Ansell – Trustee

Pete Ansell comes originally from Kent in SE England and worked for over 20 years as a Teacher of English as a Foreign Language (EFL), mainly teaching in colleges and universities in North Africa and the Middle East. For the last 10 years of his career he ran an English Language Testing department at Middlesex University.  Since retiring he moved to Lancaster in order to be nearer his family, and also nearer to the Lake District, where he spends as much time as possible tramping the hills with his dog.