Shakar Hussain is originally from Pakistan he came to UK at the age of ten, grew up in the local area of Cheetham Hill and then settled in Crumpsall.

Shakar attended the local high school going on to do a few different jobs from factory worker, private hire taxi driver, pharmacy dispenser and now the chair of Rainbow Surprise. His role within Rainbow Surprise has involved being a neighbourhood organiser for Factory International (MIF) And Royal Exchange Theatre.

Shakar is a family man with three kids he has always held community and family interests at his heart.

Shakar loves to help the local people and is an active member of the community.

Project Manager and founder of Rainbow Surprise.

I started this charity as a hobby to put on events in Crumpsall to bring people together.

I grew up in Oldham and when the riots started my dad moved us to Manchester. We all hated leaving school and friends behind just because of people who didn’t get on and understand each other’s cultures.

When I started to see signs of division happening in Crumpsall I thought we needed to do something. I spoke to two of my friends from school of my vision and they fully supported me to get Rainbow Surprise started. Now, 12 years later, we are a registered charity helping 1000s of people.

My role within Rainbow Surprise varies on a daily basis, I help to maintain the daily jobs to keep the charity working like clockwork, ensuring that we are supporting the neediest within the community. On a wider scale, I continuously keep working with other agencies to ensure that we have projects running, funding available for the projects and looking after our most valued team of volunteers.

I am one of three trustees of Rainbow Surprise.

My journey with Rainbow Surprise began as a service user. During difficult times Rainbow Surprise supported me and my family, nine years later I now have the pleasure of being a trustee.

I am an ESOL teacher based at Manchester Adult Education, Abraham Moss. I enjoy teaching English as I love working with the community. In my spare time, I enjoy reading. I feel privileged to be part of a charity that has the community as one of its core values.

Aisha Malik is a GP and grew up in Rochdale and settled in Manchester to live and work after training in medicine and intercalating in International Health at the Nuffield Institute in Leeds. She has always had an interest in health inequalities and global health and has spent time working in impoverished communities in Brazil as well as the UK to improve health and wellbeing outcomes. She is a practising GP in the NHS, an NHS England Clinical Entrepreneur and has also worked in the pharmacy-technology industry.

She was the clinical lead for the programme of work 'Winning Hearts and Minds' from 2018-2021 which aimed to reduce health inequalities from heart health and mental health in Manchester and was also the clinical lead for a multiple-award winning service for asylum seekers.

She is passionate about the power of community and advocating for communities suffering at the hard edge of poverty. In 2022 she was awarded the award for Outstanding Contribution to Equality and Diversity by BAPIO (British Association for Physicians of Indian Origin) for her portfolio work on race and health. You can find out more about her clinical work with asylum seekers here: B-MeHealth.com

At her heart she loves her family and working in the community. She is a trained dancer which is how she met Shabnam and Shakar: at a Manchester International Festival event taking place in their house, celebrating bhangra dance. She loves the work done by the charity and values her work there as a volunteer and trustee, running dance sessions and supporting wellbeing and promotional activities.

I worked as a science teacher in schools in York for 24 years, before moving to the north west to work as a trade union official.

I have lived in Crumpsall since 2007. When I retired in 2019, I was keen to do something to help the local community.

I first got involved with Rainbow Surprise as a volunteer driver delivering food parcels during the pandemic.

I was impressed by the tireless and selfless work done by the Rainbow Surprise team, and I am keen to carry on supporting their endeavours.

My name is Sugra Akbar.

I have worked in the voluntary sector for more than 25 years, supporting victims of domestic abuse.

My decision to become a trustee for Rainbow Surprise was driven by the desire to contribute to the amazing work being done, benefitting many individuals and families daily — especially through the food bank and community shop.

I’ve heard countless people speak about Rainbow Surprise as a lifeline during difficult times, so it is an honour to be on board.