Timothy Miti

My name is Timothy Miti, a Zambian citizen. I was born in 1993 in the eastern part of Zambia.

Family background

I am the last born in the family of 3 brothers and 4 sisters (7) and my both parents are subsistence farmers in eastern province. Mostly I was brought up by my elder brother since 2001 when I left my parents to live with my brother in the capital city of Zambia, Lusaka.

Education background

I started schooling in 2001 at Kalingalinga basic school Lusaka where I did my primary education from 2001 to 2006. Then in 2007 and 2008 I did my junior secondary education at Jacaranda secondary school and from 2009 to 2011 I did my high school education at Lusaka High School where I obtained a school certificate. In June 2022, I qualified with a three-year diploma in prosthetics and orthotics from Mobility India.

Work experience

After completing my high school in 2011, I wanted to find a job and take myself to college but I couldn’t find anything to help myself until June 2016 when I came across Kein Chabene in Lusaka who told me about 500 miles organisation. By then 500 miles was looking for someone to work in eastern province of Zambia at St Francis Hospital to do some repairs of devices and to organise outreach programs. But the job required a short training, therefore, before I went to do the main job in eastern province – firstly I worked at University Teaching Hospital (UTH) in Lusaka as part of my training from June 2016 to December 2016 and 500 miles was paying me during my training. In January 2017, I went to work in eastern province at St Francis Hospital and I loved the job. I worked in eastern province from January 2017 to June 2019, paid by 500 miles. At the end of June 2019, I left St Francis Hospital when 500 miles decided to take me to school to study for 3-year diploma in prosthetics and orthotics in India.

Click here for Timothy’s account of his time at Mobility India written in autumn 2021.

Since I returned to Zambia from India in July 2022, I have been trying to secure employment as a prosthetist/orthotist with the Ministry of Health of Zambia – but I first needed to pass my professional exams in Zambia, and to sit those exams, I needed a pass in school level biology which I was missing, but have now passed. I will sit my professional exams in February/March 2024. In the meantime, to keep my professional skills high, 500 miles has been giving me a living allowance so that I can volunteer at the prosthetics and orthotics department of UTH where I hope eventually to employed.

My vision

I love my job and I want to participate in changing lives of people living with disabilities to give them chance to live and enjoy independent life by offering the best prosthetics and orthotics cervices. Therefore, I don’t limit myself how much to study in this field. In future I would want to go for a degree or up-to masters in prosthetics and orthotics.

I thank 500 miles for the continued support in my career of Prosthetics and Orthotics.