Timur Tillyaev, together with his wife Lola Tillyaeva (Till), founded the You Are Not Alone Foundation in 2002. The goal was to address the needs of severely underprivileged children in Uzbekistan. The Foundation’s first five months were devoted to a thorough review of all orphanages throughout the country, and revealed that the living standards in many of the country’s orphanages were below par. In the two decades that have followed, the Foundation has worked tirelessly to address this issue, developing and refurbishing orphanages and supporting hundreds of children across Uzbekistan. Projects are undertaken in collaboration with leading architects, educators and psychologists to ensure these vulnerable children receive the best possible healthcare and education and are able to grow in a loving and caring atmosphere.
Over the years, the Foundation has developed its healthcare provision, helping children in need to receive life-saving surgery and medical care. In 2004, Timur and Lola founded the National Centre for the Social Adaptation of Children which worked in partnership with You Are Not Alone Foundation until 2020 to provide specialist care to children with disabilities. In 2012, You Are Not Alone provided the Centre with state-of-the-art equipment and facilities for the functional recovery of children suffering from musculoskeletal disorders.
In 2011, the Foundation provided the State Perinatal Centre in Tashkent with advanced medical equipment, including humidity cribs for new-borns, ultrasound machines, life support systems, cardiac monitors, and an air purifying system.
In 2013, the Foundation renovated and equipped four operating theatres at the National Specialized Surgery Centre in Tashkent. The new, state-of-the-art medical equipment enabled doctors to perform some of the most complex surgeries in the Centre.
In October 2015, You Are Not Alone Foundation provided the children’s unit of the State Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusion with new medical equipment. This allowed the unit to provide better quality and timely treatment to children needing urgent and complex therapy.
Since 2015, the Foundation has worked closely with the French Association La Chaîne de l’Espoir (Chain of Hope), bringing some of France’s top surgeons and medical professionals to Uzbekistan. More than 130 children with congenital heart conditions have received medical operations and care through the initiative.