TT&F Who We Are document Providing educational, vocational and nutritional support for HIV+ orphans, vulnerable children and pregnant women in Zambia. In 2003, a woman with AIDS, seven months pregnant and living in a bus terminal in Lusaka, Zambia was found by the good sisters of Kasisi Children’s Home. After delivering the baby, Tim Meade, M.D. and a team of volunteers took turns bringing warm formula to the child. Unable to care for her newborn son, the mother asked “Dr. Tim” to take care of the baby. As a sign of gratitude, she named the baby Tim. It was Tiny Tim’s story that inspired friends and family around the globe to get involved. As a result, Tiny Tim & Friends (TT&F), a non-profit organization, was founded and registered with 501 (c)3 status in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Our Board of Directors is comprised of 18 professionals, nine based in Zambia and nine based in Minnesota. To date, TT&F is the only organization in Zambia to specialize in pediatric HIV/AIDS clinical care. Our work is unique in that we combine medical care with active case management. TT&F currently serves over 400 children and their caregivers in our medical and psycho-social care program and has helped numerous other HIV infected orphans and vulnerable children in Zambia receive essential medical care and educational support. The Story of Tiny Tim and Friends Clinic Staff Clinic Staff Medical Team: I completed a diploma in administration from the University of Zambia and my nursing degree from Chipata School of Nursing. I just returned from a month long Palliative Care intensive course at Mildmay in Uganda. This course will prepare me for the palliative care ward that TT&F will open soon at Our Lady’s Hospice in Kalingalinga, Lusaka. I love working with children and playing with my dog Nemo (like the fish)!     I’m currently completing my diploma in pharmacy from Evelyn Hone college while helping out at TT&F. I enjoy attending to the clients and dispensing their medications. Outside of work I enjoy playing table tennis, salsa dancing and cheering on my football team, Arsenal. Social Team: I have a diploma in social work and I’m pursuing an advanced diploma in social work at the University of Zambia. The thank you from the children, given by their smiles, and the love they give out are my favorite things about working at TT&F. I love having the abilities and resources to save and help these children’s lives. I especially love working as the Children’s Support Group Coordinator and spending an entire day, once a month, with the children in our program. I love babies- their smiles and laughter. I am an outdoor person who loves to go camping in the bush. I attended Evelyn Hone College for a diploma in Gender Studies and hold certificates in pyschosocial and child conselling along with a certificate in play therapy. Wanting to use my counseling skills I started to volunteer at TT&F in 2009. After 8 months I began working as the Outreach Coordinator. I began identifying sites and talking to the caregivers of the communities, where we wanted to work, in order to prepare them for their children being tested. It's through this work that I help to broaden my experience and strengthen my skills. I really enjoy doing outreaches with TT&F and GRS because we do some of the biggest mobile VCT ourtreaches in Lusaka and I'm always given many opportunities to learn and grow especially when I connect to the caregivers. Outside of work I love to be social. I easily interact with people and so I love to go out dancing. I hold a diploma in Computer Science and Information Processing from the Zambia Institute of Management and a certificate in Community Development Studies from the local Governement Training Institute. TT&F is a wonderful family. Reaching out to those in the community who are in need shows how much love TT&F has and it makes me happy to be part of it. My work has me in the communities working with the women and helping them to form support groups, to market their crafts around the city, and to provide them with training in home based care. I LOVE to dance and I’m an outgoing person who loves to joke! I’m currently working towards a diploma in social sciences to add to my diploma in health studies and my certificates in social work, info and technology, and in global health elearning. As a social worker I love interacting with the kids at TT&F and the women that come to us when they have lost all hope. I love being able to put a smile on someone’s face even when they don’t want to and I most often succeed! Administration Team: I completed my grade 12 exams at Matero Girls. My favorite part about working at TT&F is cooking for the children at the monthly children’s retreat and being “Auntie Cecelia”. In my free time I love to be absorbed by a good novel. I was born on 21st July 1989. I am the only child, both my parents died when I was six years old. I was brought up by my grandparents who I stayed with until I was 14 years old. I came to Lusaka to stay with my uncle but later went back to stay at my grandparent’s place where my uncle continued to support me until I completed my grade 12 at Mufulira secondary school. He has been in my life ever since. I joined the TT&F team in November 2009. I started as a volunteer and now that TT&F has grown I have an agreement and I’m now working as a journalist. I am in charge of taking photos of our patients, listening to and writing their stories down and helping at Voluntary Counseling and Testing events. I completed my primary and secondary education at Matero Boys. Everything and anything I find myself doing at TT&F is enjoyable. When I’m not working I like to read the bible and go to church but I really like watching football games. Go Barcelona! Finance: Born on 29th November 1984 in Solwezi I am the 10th born in my family of 11. I started primary school in 1991 at Chimwemwe but later went to high school at Kitwe Boys. I stayed in Kitwe to complete all of my tertiary education. I am a young man who is highly ambitious who works to see TT&F friends as an organization grow and progress in the foreseeable future. I like to joke with people in the office and Barcelona is my team. ● Click here to download  letter sent by Tom and Betty Meade after their first trip to Zambia ● Click here to download  Farm Staff: I am a fully qualified Family Dr from the UK, specializing in women’s health and palliative care.  I came to Lusaka with my husband in 2010 and have since worked with TT&F as a clinician and manager to help TT&F achieve its mission goals. I am passionate about seeing HIV positive children identified early and working with mothers to prevent transmission of HIV, because of this I have particularly focused on developing protocols within PMTCT, DBS and nutrition. I am about to become a first time mother and so this will obviously impact upon my involvement at TT&F but fully intend to continue my work with them and continue to explore Zambia and its amazing countryside and wildlife! Dr. Tim has spent much of his career championing children’s health and education.  After graduating from the University of Minnesota Medical School, he served as a Medical Officer for the British Embassy in Russia and ran clinics in both Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as serving with Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in the Ukraine.  Through his team’s efforts, the region’s first Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV Project was created.   Today, Dr. Meade lives in Africa with his adopted son, (Tiny) Tim.  He is currently the Medical Director of Corpmed Medical Centre in Lusaka, Zambia and a volunteer physician at several area orphanages and hospices. Phridae is the second born in a family of 8 children. His family is from the Mambwe-speaking people of Northern Zambia. His roles with TT&F are many, including managing administration department and the farm project. He was born in the Copperbelt province of Zambia and moved to Lusaka at the age of 12. During high school, he did some short courses in HIV peer training, peer counseling, and HIV care-giving. He was a leader of an organization called Safe Club, part of the Forum for African Women Education in Zambia (FAWEZA) which dealt with identifying vulnerable and HIV+ boys & girls, providing them with access to schooling and counseling. Before working with TT&F, he was the project manager for the United Church of Zambia AIDS Project (ZNAN/CHAZ), from 2004 until 2006.  He worked with grant management and training and project implementation for educational and nutritional support for OVC’s and AIDS widows. During that time, Phridae also served as the Awareness and Anti-Stigmatization Coordinator for Church’s Health Association of Zambia (CHAZ.) Phridae is fluent in English, Bemba, Nyanja, Toga, Kiswahili, Mambwe, and Lungu. Jolly Mwansa is the Financial Manager of Tiny Tim & Friends (TT&F).  The fifth born in a family of seven (four boys and three girls), Jolly is originally from Kitwe in the Copperbelt.Jolly developed his love for volunteer work when he met Dr. Meade in 2006, and began to assist with visits to hospices, clinics and transit homes where many vulnerable children, especially orphans, desperately needed help. Jolly realized that his ability to translate between English and local languages was particularly useful for TT&F.With a passion for finance, Jolly decided to further his career prospects by going to college to pursue his degree in Accounting and Finance. He enrolled in the Zambia Institute for Chartered Accountants, commonly known as ZICA, which is almost equivalent to CIMA or ACCA.Jolly obtained a full-time job at Corpmed Medical Center as an Accountant and a Health Insurance Liaison Officer. However, he continues to dedicate time to TT&F, where he handles the finances for both the TT&F Clinic and the TT&F Farm.Other issues of particular interest to Jolly include transformation of the workforce, performing audit trail, preparation of financial books, monitoring and managing of finances, drafting reports and ensuring timely submission, donor relations, and ensuring that all stakeholders work towards the same goal with efficiency and effectiveness. Senior Management Team I have a diploma in social work from UNZA, an International Baccaleaureate Certificate and an International General Secondary Education (IGSE) Certificate of education from Cambridge University for my Grade 12 studies. My favorite thing at TT&F is the one on one counseling sessions that I conduct with our clients. I cannot stop smiling so if you come to our offices and see a man with a huge smile on his face that will be me! I hold a diploma in Computer Science and Information Processing from the Zambia Institute of Management and a certificate in Community Development Studies from the local Governement Training Institute. TT&F is a wonderful family. Reaching out to those in the community who are in need shows how much love TT&F has and it makes me happy to be part of it. My work has me in the communities working with the women and helping them to form support groups, to market their crafts around the city, and to provide them with training in home based care. I LOVE to dance and I’m an outgoing person who loves to joke! ● Amy Tiwari - Director of Programmes and Operations  amyt@tinytimandfriendszambia.org   Link with our partners ● Center for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia. ● Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. ● Elton John AIDS Foundation.               ● Grassroot Soccer Zambia. ● Orange Babies Holland. ● Grassroots Heroes International. ● Corpmed Medical Center.                                      ● Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fund. ● Demelza Hospice Care for Children UK. ● Project Concern International.                                                                          ● Ministry of Social Welfare of Zambia. ● Ministry of Health of Zambia. ● Tiny Tim &Friends USA. About Us  Amy came to Zambia 3 years ago and worked with an NGO in Lusaka as an OVC Under-5 Advisor, where she managed programs that strengthen early childhood development, nutrition and HIV/AIDS services for orphans and vulnerable children under-7 years old. After this program finished, Amy started a successful private consulting business for the NGO sector in Zambia where she worked with partners such as UNICEF, World Bank, the National AIDS Council and EGPAF to conduct assessments, develop manuals and provide trainings. During her time as a consultant, Amy began a working relationship with TTF where she developed successful proposals and provided technical support. Amy joined TTF in July 2011 to oversee programs, provide technical support to staff, maintain and develop relationships with donors and strengthen TTF’s overall operations and systems.