Lola Tillyaeva's solidarity projects

Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva and her husband, businessman Timur Tillyaev, share a profound attachment to the nation of their birth. Though professional commitments led them to base themselves outside of Uzbekistan, their love for the country remains. This depth of feeling is reflected in the fact that the couple operate three separate foundations to assist Uzbeks in need.

Founded back in 2002, the You Are Not Alone foundation directs assistance to Uzbek orphanages and care homes. The aim here is to, “ensure that vulnerable children grow up in a caring and loving environment,” (https://www.lolakarimova.com/about-the-foundation). For nearly two decades, with Lola Karimova and Timur Tillyaev’s assistance, institutions across the country have been able to upgrade both their facilities and level of care.

For example, between 2012 and 2014 the organization provided for the complete renovation of the Tashkent Orphanage for children under the age of three. It also funded the upgrading of mercy homes in towns outside of the capital like Chirchik and Samarkand. Beyond that, You Are Not Alone has also overseen the construction of purpose-built facilities - one recent example being Mercy Home No. 6 in Samarkand in 2014.

Working in partnership with You Are Not Alone, is the second charitable organization set up by Lola Tillyaeva – the National Centre for the Social Adaption of Children (NCSAC). Created in 2004, it “provides medical and financial support for children with disabilities and their families”.

The scope of support is comprehensive and wide ranging. It includes, “diagnosis, orthopaedic and neurological treatment, speech therapy and education,” (https://www.lolakarimova.com/about-the-centre). All of these services are provided without charge. For both the child concerned and their entire family, this kind of assistance is life-changing in every sense.

Beyond this, Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva and Timur Tillyaev’s foundations also make funds available for hospitals more generally. For instance, after identifying a need at the State Perinatal Centre in Tashkent, You Are Not Alone generously provided new pieces of equipment such as; x-ray systems, cardiac monitors and ultrasound machines, (https://www.lolakarimova.com/healthcare-assistance).

 

Lola Karimova and Timur Tillyaev have also formed partnerships with international organizations to allow for more specialized health services. Perhaps the most celebrated example of this is the relationship they have with the French organization, Associaiton La Chaîne de l’Espoir (Chain of Hope). Specializing in the treatment of congenital heart conditions, Lola and Timur see to it that their patients get the best medical attention available. Since its launch in 2015, over 130 procedures have been conducted. Some of these operations were so delicate, that Lola and Timur’s foundation sent children all the way to France to ensure they received the best possible care.  

In 2016 Lola Tillyaeva and Timur Tillyaev launched a new venture – this time directed towards education. Called The Karimov Foundation, it provides scholarships to “enable talented students to pursue their education at some of the best universities in Europe,” (https://www.theupcoming.co.uk/2019/11/12/the-karimov-foundation-discover-lola-karimova-and-timur-tillyaevs-project/). To date, 36 students from Uzbekistan have received two-year scholarships for post-graduate studies in universities in countries such as Germany, Italy, Switzerland, UK, Russia and Poland.

 

The Droplet and Lola Tillyaeva's Interest in the Environment

 Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva is passionate about the environment. With husband, Timur Tillyaev, she is determined to heighten public awareness about the dangers associated with water scarcity. To achieve this objective Lola Tillyaeva decided upon an ambitious and innovative stratedy – she would reach people through art.

          “I believe that art has an incredible capacity to inspire, encourage and unite people around a cause, due to its ability to touch the human soul. That is why we harness the power of art as a means to raise public awareness of issues relating to global warming and climate change.”

          (https://tillyaev-karimova.com/the-droplet/).

 

Inspired by this vision, The Droplet was born. Constructed of polished aluminum tubing, The Droplet stands 12 meters high and reaches 6 meters at the base. Forming a stylized droplet of water, the sculpture also acts as a free-standing installation designed to shroud itself in a fine vapor mist - “a unique multisensory art installation,” (https://tillyaev-karimova.com/the-droplet/)

 

The Droplet is certainly an attention grabber. Created by a team led by artist, Marcos Lutyens and fabricator, Scott Froschauer from the Institute for Art and Olfaction, it turns heads everywhere it goes. This is precisely the point. In Lola Tillyaeva’s own words, “by engaging the participants through sound, smell and touch as well as visually, The Droplet naturally opens the way for discussions on water conservation and management.” (https://www.lolakarimova.com/the-droplet ).

 

That Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva would feel a deep concern for the issue of water scarcity is no surprise. Her maison de parfum, The Harmonist, is built around Feng Shui and its philosophy of balancing the energies of Earth’s five elements. She displays a further commitment to the environment by ensuring that, “recyclable materials at every possible touchpoint, from perfume bottles and deluxe packaging to the vegetal wax candles,” (https://www.theharmonist.com/pages/philosophy). Lola Tillyaeva has also made refills available for every product across the range, a practice which serves to lessen the ecological footprint of her enterprise. Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva proves that genuine concern for the environment does not have to come at the expense of business best-practice.

 

Water scarcity is undeniably one of the most pressing challenges face by the global community. The UN see it as a primary concern given that it affects all continents and is worsening at a rate faster than global population growth. At worst, “some regions are even reaching the limit at which water services can be sustainably delivered,” (https://www.unwater.org/water-facts/scarcity/). Armed conflict can be one direct consequence of this problem can be conflict. Termed, ‘water conflicts’, they are an increasing feature of international relations, (https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2019/11/18/whatever-happened-to-the-water-wars). Clearly, water scarcity is an urgent issue.

 

After an initial unveiling at a major event in Paris, The Droplet is going to tour other European cities such as Barcelona. Everywhere it goes the installation encourages debate and inspires action. A subtle, eye-pleasing means of opening hearts and minds to an urgent issue, it’s also a manifestation of Lola Tillyaeva’s deep commitment to her goal of, “respecting the environment with every nuance of their activity”, (https://www.lolakarimova.com/the-droplet).

 

Timur Tillyaev - Philanthropist Committed to Helping Disadvantaged Children

 

Being a father, Timur Tillyaev has a deep awareness of what children require to thrive. Along with his wife, Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva, he also feels great compassion for the children forced to endure poverty in their Uzbek homeland. Back in 2002 the couple decided to do something about it. They named their foundation You Are Not Alone and looked for ways to provide long-term solutions to the challenges faced by orphans and underprivileged children.

Recognizing how ill-health and limited education hold a person back, they decided to focus their assistance in this direction. In other words, the objective was to build up the recipient’s independence. Or, as they put it;

        “to help unlock the children’s potential by providing them with an all-round         education, and to prepare children for independent life, encouraging them to         become self-reliant, confident and emotionally stable you adults.”        (https://www.lolakarimova.com/about-the-foundation).

 

One of their earliest programs was to provide for the upgrading of orphanages across the country. Whether it was refurbishing entire institutions or simply providing new equipment the goal was always the same – improve the quality of care and the variety of services. Specifically, their goal was to “ensure that vulnerable children grow up in a caring and loving environment”.

More generally, You Are Not Alone supports large numbers of kids through primary and secondary schooling. Given that both Timur Tillyaev and Lola Tillyaeva have enjoyed the fruits of tertiary education, seeing some of the children they’ve helped graduate university is especially satisfying.

To tackle the complex challenge of health care provision, Timur Tillyaev and Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva’s foundation decided to set up the National Centre of the Social Adaptation of Children (NCSAC), a charity which provides life-enhancing opportunities to children with disabilities, offering diagnoses, orthopaedic and neurological treatment, speech therapy and education free of charge. The charity is fitted with the latest equipment for children suffering from musculoskeletal disorders. To date the organisation has helped over 8,000 children with special needs, including children suffering from cerebral palsy, speech delay, autism, Down syndrome, as well as children with other learning disabilities.

Identifying a need at the State Perinatal Centre in Tashkent, You Are Not Alone stepped in.

They generously provided new pieces of equipment such as; x-ray systems, cardiac monitors and ultrasound machines. Seeing the benefits that this program brought to mothers and their new-borns must have been deeply moving.

The Foundation also helped to renovate operating theatres in the National Specialized Surgery Centre in Tashkent in 2013.

Hearing about chronic shortages of equipment hampering service in the State Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusion they were quick to act. A suite of new machines and instruments have improved patient care there.

 

 

A very successful partnership has developed with the French organization, Associaiton La Chaîne de l’Espoir (Chain of Hope). This program targets children with chronic cardiac conditions and ensures they receive the best treatment available. Timur Tillyaev and Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva’s foundation offer everything from access to the best specialists, whether they be Uzbek or foreign, to having kids flown for treatment to international hospitals.

With the Foundation’s support, over the past five years French surgeons have performed over 130 surgical procedures on children with congenital heart conditions from Uzbekistan’s low-income families and orphanages.

Lola Karimova Tillyaeva and Timur Tillyaev

Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva and Timur Tilliaev

Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva has been Uzbekistan’s envoy to UN’s cultural organization Unesco since 2008. She and her husband Timur Tillyaev provide financial support to two major charitable organizations in Uzbekistan: “You are not alone” foundation, which was founded by Mrs Karimova-Tillyaeva in 2002 to help orphanages; as well as the National centre for children’s social adaptation (founded by Karimova-Tillyaeva in 2004), which provides medical and financial support to children with disabilities and their parents. Both charities also give funding for the treatment of children from low-income families, including surgery grants for children with serious medical conditions.

Karimova-Tillyaeva has described her charitable work as “her calling”.

The Uzbek president’s younger daughter and her husband keep a rather low media profile. According to media reports, neither Lola Tillyaeva nor Timur Tillyaev nurse any political ambitions.

Karimova-Tillyaeva has her official website as well as page on the Facebook where she mainly shares news about her charitable work.

In her interview with the BBC in September 2013, Mrs Karimova-Tillyaeva said she did not have any political ambitions and never discussed politics during her rare meetings with her father.

Speaking about relationship with her elder sister Gulnara Karimova, Mrs Karimova-Tillyaeva said: “We have never hidden this from anyone. We have neither family nor friendship contacts.”

Her official website says Karimova-Tillyaeva was instrumental in launching key nationwide reforms to improve the situation in orphanages across Uzbekistan, which resulted in many children left without parental care being offered better opportunities for their development.

Between 2012 and 2014 Karimova-Tillyaeva’s foundation financed large-scale construction and renovation work in four Uzbek orphanages: Tashkent orphanage for children under the age of three; Mercy Home No 14 in the town of Chirchik; Mercy Home No 10 in Samarkand; Mercy Home No 23 in Tashkent.

On 25 September 2014 Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva announced on her Facebook page that her charity was currently building new premises for children living in another Samarkand orphanage, Mercy Home No 6.

“A year ago, following the reconstruction of Mercy Home No 10 in the city of Samarkand, we set ourselves new tasks on improving the standards of living of other children brought up in Samarkand orphanages. The inspection of Samarkand Mercy Home No 6 revealed that the current premises of the orphanage - which is home to 160 children aged between 4 and 16 - were in a poor state and lacked the conditions needed for children’s overall development and education. Therefore, “You are not alone” foundation has decided to build a new home for these children at a new location, to fit it out with modern furniture and advanced facilities, create everything necessary for children’s comfortable living and development.

”The construction of the new premises got under way last spring and the project involves the experts who worked on the construction and relocation project for Tashkent orphanage No 23. These are people with broad expertise in the area of the education, training and socialization of children left without parental care.

”The construction work is currently in full swing and we plan to open the new premises of the mercy home in 2015,” Karimova-Tillyaeva said in her message.