Lola Karimova Tillyaeva is a renowned philanthropist from Uzbekistan, whose work is recognized for her advocacy on behalf of children. She was born in Uzbekistan’s capital, Tashkent, in 1978.
Inspired by her knowledge of social and human issues, she earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in law from the University of World Economy and Diplomacy in Tashkent and later a doctorate in psychology. Both professions have a close relationship with the concerns of the modern world’ s problems.
Lola Tillyaeva has served as UNESCO’s Ambassador to Uzbekistan since 2008 and is a permanent delegate because of her ongoing charitable work with the needs of children with disabilities. Her work as a promoter of the importance of culture and sport for the integral development of people, especially children, has enabled her to hold various official positions. In 2005, she became president of Uzbekistan’s Gymnastics Federation, and in 2010 she was appointed honorary president of the General Assembly of the Asian Gymnastics Union (AGU).
Tillyaeva’s work in the cultural and sports field is based on a personal philosophy supported by her studies on the importance of culture and sport in growth. Through these factors, a better inter-ethnic and multicultural understanding can be achieved. She believes in an educational focus on human values and the elimination of prejudices through cultural understanding and exchange. Dr. Karimova Tillyaeva is a strong supporter of her principles and belief in education and therefore promotes her foundations to create the conditions for every child to be educated appropriately.
She married Timur Tillyaev, a businessman in the transport sector, and together they share their philanthropic interests. They have two daughters and a son, and in addition to their family, they run several charitable projects together as part of their social work based on their personal beliefs.
You Are Not Alone
The You Are Not Alone Foundation was set up in 2002 and was Dr. Karimova Tillyaeva’s first charity. The foundation focused on helping children in orphanages improve their living conditions by providing them with the items they need, and equipped them with infrastructure, medical care, and psychological care. Children in orphanages often have problems in their social adaptation processes as young adults, so the goal is to grow up in an environment that meets their needs, physical, psychological, social and emotional for optimal development of themselves.
The foundation has helped many orphanages and children from disadvantaged families who have low resources and cannot effectively meet their needs. The work with underprivileged families is done in partnership with the National Centre for the Social Adaptation of Children (NCSAC), providing children all over Uzbekistan with better conditions for their growth.
The You Are Not Alone Foundation has helped to the Muruvvat orphanage for children with disabilities in Tashkent, the Tashkent orphanage for children under the age of three, Chirchik Mercy Home (orphanage), the Tashkent Mercy Home and Samarkand Mercy Home. These orphanages were provided with infrastructure improvements, remodeling and re-stocking.
The National Centre for the Social Adaptation of Children
The most comprehensive foundation in Central Asia for children with special needs, was founded by Dr. Karimova Tillyaeva in 2004 just two years after its first foundation. It aims to bring facilities to children with disabilities, providing them with specialized medical care, from diagnosis to orthopedic treatment, neurological, therapeutic, psychological, sign language teachers, cardiologists, surgeons, or any specialist in the condition suffered. It also provides the necessary tools to continue or start with children’s education and assist their families.
More than 7,500 children have benefited from the foundation, and have spent their recuperation in the center with the necessary equipment. The center’s function is not only to provide needed medical attention but also to help the children in their process of social adaptation through their interaction with other children and their development in the student environment.
Dr. Karimova Tillyaeva is committed to art, culture and sports to facilitate the integration of children with special needs into their social environments and provides the psychologists and therapists to help children socialize through these means.
Lola Karimova Tillyaeva, the woman behind the foundations
As a woman engaged in constant growth and self-improvement, in 2019, she graduated from Gaia School of Herbal Medicine and Earth Education, adding to her education and broadening her vision. Besides being a professional, a philanthropist, and a mother and wife, Lola Tillyaeva is an entrepreneur. One of her most recent projects being The Harmonist, a perfume house on par with the best French perfume houses but with a unique concept focused on the Chinese philosophy of Feng Shui.
A Western technique with an Eastern concept unites Dr. Karimova Tillyaeva’s beliefs about the close relationship between different cultures and, in turn, involves her charitable work, as part of the profits from her perfume brand are donated. She always keeps to her principles to help those in need.
