Zeshan volunteered with an international charity to help support refugees displaced by war and conflict in countries such as Syria, Yemen and Ukraine. In May 2022, he raised over £1 million for charity through utilising his links within community pharmacy and providing on-the-ground coverage of humanitarian aid work and its life-saving impact, which encouraged people to donate more.

The stories Zeshan has encountered are truly heartbreaking. One Syrian woman he spoke to had been widowed, she had witnessed the death of her eldest son, who was sadly killed in an air strike, and another of her sons had been abducted. But thanks to the support that Zeshan helped to fund, the woman was moved from a flimsy tent into a proper house and her remaining children were enrolled into a school for a fresh start in life.

Having launched a brand-new community pharmacy in June, Zeshan launched The Refugee Wellness Project, where the pharmacy’s doors were opened to those that have sought refuge in the UK, escaping conflict.

After witnessing first-hand the trauma that many refugees carry and also the challenges they face in seeking appropriate mental health support in the UK, he teamed up with the charity Action For Humanity to launch a free mental health service for refugees from the pharmacy’s consultation room to provide one to one therapy to help deal with conditions such as PTSD, trauma and anxiety.