By Melvin Tarlue
Keith Mason, a British actor and former professional Rugby player, has launched a non-profit sportswear brand to help raise funds for a £25 million brain injury hospital for children in the United Kingdom who are not provided NHS treatment.
Funds to be generated through the sales of the MasonMerch sportswear line will be donated to the Tafida Raqeeda Foundation towards the construction of the hospital.
The MasonMerch non-profit clothing are available for sale via: https://shop.gutentogltd.com/collections/keith-mason
Every single purchase of the MasonMerch sportswear stands to help save the life of a little one who is counting on the benevolent support of everyone to survive.
Aside purchasing the charity clothing, Keith Mason is also encouraging everyone to donate directly to the Tafida Raqeeda Foundation towards the construction of the hospital, a facility needed to save the lives of thousands of children.
In 2019, a little Muslim girl aged five, Tafida Raqeeda, suffered a traumatic brain injury. Tafida was a perfectly healthy child before sustaining the unexpected brain injury, leaving her fighting for her life.
Not captured under the NHS treatment scheme, there were attempts in the UK to withdraw Tafida from medical care, which led to legal proceedings. The legal proceedings which took place in a UK High Court, resulted in a landmark victory for little Tafida and her family and she was later sent to the Genoa’s Gaslini Hospital in Italy for treatment. She had been receiving treatment at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, east London.
Her mother, solicitor Shelina Begum and father, construction consultant, Mohammed Raqeeda, then established the Tafida Raqeeda Foundation, and in 2022, launched a campaign to construct the second medical centre in Britain for treating brain-damaged children.
There are estimated 6,000 children in the United Kingdom who are battling various degrees of brain injuries.
Keith Mason, the ‘Imperative’ movie lead actor and Ambassador of the Tafida Raqeeda Foundation, says the plan is to build the hospital in London.
According to him, a number of fundraising events will take place in London, in June and in Leeds, at the later stages of 2023.
Writer’s email: tarluemelvin12@gmail.com
