Meet The Team

I have been a member of Voice BME-T for 10 years and its treasurer for 9 years. I have been part of a team of people who have overseen the developments, improvements and growth of the organisation.

Over the years we have successfully developed and delivered many projects and services. As the treasurer, I have been responsible for managing and planning the finances of VBME-T so that we are able to continue delivering projects that are relevant to the Trafford and wider community and to continue to present the community at a strategic level.

Most of my working life has been community-based building, developing and delivering projects and schemes to improve community cohesion, environment, economy, and build relationships. As a senior trade union activist, I have represented and negotiated at the highest-level workers’ rights, conditions, and safety. I have been a voice for the community in encounters with local authority officials and elected representatives.

I continue my community activism through VBME-T, representing the Trafford BME community, reducing inequalities, and building community cohesion through Voice BME – Trafford.

Aliya is a Coordinator and BME Engagement Consultant at Voice of BME Trafford with vast experience and qualifications in project and event management. Holding a Master’s in Business Administration and a Post Grad. Cert. in Psychological Therapies from the University of Manchester, she specialises in the delivery of bespoke workshops on various topics to improve health & wellbeing including mental health in BME communities.

Her journey with Voice of BME has been very rewarding and provided her with opportunities to understand and engage with the community yet also to manage many successful projects commissioned by the Public Health and Clinical Commissioning Group Trafford. One of the project successes was previously recognised and acknowledged in the “Jo’s Cervical Cancer National Award” and the recent “NHS 70th Parliamentarian Award” due to VBMET’s exceptional outcomes on cervical screening uptake in Trafford.

Her passion is her work which allows her to grow but also to help others who usually slip through the net. Aliya when helping someone make the positive change in their life is rewarding whether that change is for health and wellbeing or empowering them in general. Voice of BMET has provided her a platform that has given her a purpose to work with complete dedication in the community.

Aliya is a firm believer in the saying ‘do what you love and love what you do’.  She constantly strives to better herself as a person by seeking to gain more knowledge and skills. Working with Voice of BMET has enabled her to be given various opportunities and achievements allowing her to excel towards her potential.

She represents BME communities on the Health and Wellbeing Board- Trafford in addition to various strategic forums, as a BME lead. She is a Dementia Champion, GM Cancer Champion, and ‘Cancer Talk’ trainer.

Outside work Aliya likes to practice meditation and also likes to spend time with her family particularly enjoying making different recipes together, she balances this by working hard to discipline herself to do more exercise.

Mumba Kafula works with VBMET on a sessional basis as a Project Facilitator/Trainer to the programmes undertaking. She believes her driving force is her passion for the communities she has worked within for most of her life.  She is truly a people person and has a strong desire to continue to support the growth and development of our BME communities.

Mumba who resides in the borough of Trafford knows that one of the greatest challenges in Trafford is the impact of health and social inequalities. Her recent contribution to acquiring funded support from the lottery has created an opportunity for VBMET to help move the health agenda across Trafford forward and help contribute to Public Health England’s definition of health inequalities as unjust disparities in health outcomes between individuals or groups. They arise from differences in social and economic conditions. This Mumba takes pride in helping through VBMET to address.  Her work is an opportunity to make a difference, to be part of an engine for change and to work with other partners together to make a difference.

Running her own training and coaching company for a number of years, being a highly experienced trainer with a wealth of knowledge and proven track record, a Manchester City Council Award Winner for work across Manchester, a qualified trainer and coach, a recent author of a published book written for women, she specialises in motivation, confidence-building and helping people into employment and pre-business start-ups.  As she puts it “Helping people to translate their thoughts into action!”

She utilises her skillsets within her work to enhance her repertoire of services she can offer to the community. Being an experienced personal development and learning consultant with over 20 years in the sector with a background in design and delivery of bespoke workshops and accredited courses, delivered to a range of voluntary, private, and public sector services.

Her overall passion and purpose is to empower individuals to perform at a higher level within demanding and sometimes challenging situations both in personal and professional life, working towards building their skills, to empower others in the community to do just the same.

Mumba believes she is working within a strong team in VBMET that bring together a plethora of diverse abilities and strengths to support the building of a community voice across Trafford.