March, 2016 | The Butterfly Tree Charity

I have just returned from Zambia after two weeks visiting the projects and sourcing new ones. Despite the drought, late rains provided a much needed supply of water, streams are filling up and the vegetation is lush and green. Millet and sorghum crops are growing well, but the early maize crops perished, the wet season is almost over and it will be at least six months before the next rains fall.

Jane with the Kamwi Twins

As always there are many projects to inspect, most especially the completed clinic at Mambova, funded by a private donor, which was a delight to see. The old crumbling clinic was infested with bats, so seeing patients being attended to at the new premises was a humbling experience. I also visited Musokotwane Clinic to donate blankets knitted by Inner Wheel District 6 Clubs and to offer them a Women’s Shelter funded by The Besom.

Newly opened clinic at Mambova

On other health issues we are getting great feedback from the new malaria prevention initiative, especially from Chuunga area where no new cases of malaria have been reported. In November we provided over 1,000 households with the safe insecticide coating – the results have been quite astonishing. More funds are needed to help other areas where there is a high prevalence of malaria. KarmaKarma‘s donation to purchase mosquito nets will give additional protection, the organisation also donated money to pay school examinations fees.

Malaria is prevalent in many areas in Zambia

As always I spent a great deal of time with the orphans and located new ones to be sponsored. Regrettably HIV is still on the increase, therefore we have stepped up our HIV prevention workshops using Meet Mutsa’s peer education method. It’s heart breaking to see so much loss. The younger generation must be protected. We have enrolled several of our former sponsored orphans, who have now completed high school, to be trained as peer educators.

HIV PREVENTION GROUP

It was a busy time at the schools, now on a month’s break. Sinsimuku Community School development is under way thanks to a further donation from Attraction Tickets Direct. We distributed more school bags at River View School through our partnership with School in a Bag, and Monde par la Main/Give a Hand donated funds for text books – Mukuni, River View, N’dele and Sinsimuku are the beneficiary schools.

School in a Bag donation – River View School

I am more determined than ever to create awareness and increase our fundraising efforts to provide much needed resources for water, food, health and education projects. We are very grateful to Colour Graphics who has kindly donated flyers, posters and banners to help with our campaign.

Jane Kaye-Bailey

Ten years ago today I boarded a flight in Livingstone after spending an amazing week in one of the most stunning parts of Africa. The magnificent Victoria Falls is a World Heritage site and one of the Seven Wonders of the Natural World. The area has an abundance of activities including game drives, elephant back safaris, river cruises and a cultural visit to Mukuni Village.

Victoria Falls – one of the seven natural wonders of the world

Little did I know that a visit to this renowned village would have such an impact on me and that I would be running a charity to support orphans and vulnerable children. Nor did I imagine that I would have a global following of volunteers and supporters and be working in over one hundred villages in remote areas of Zambia.

February 2007 – Mukuni Village Ceremony

Three weeks later I returned to Mukuni Village with my son younger son David. Inspired by three little girls, and after seeing so much need, The Butterfly Tree Charity was born. The following year we registered as an NGO in Zambia, which included the UK team and some remarkable local people who are still with me.

March 2006 – Angela, Esnat and Cynthia aged 3 and 4

What started as a project to sponsor a few orphans, followed by the construction of a high school, developed far beyond any of my expectations. My motto has always been ‘I do not expect anything so everything is a bonus.’ The bonus seems to get bigger every year and the reward is being able to reach out to ‘communities that need only the essentials in life – Water, Food, Health and Education‘.

2008 – First bore hole installed at Chise Village

Raising funds and awareness is not always easy, especially when there are so many good causes to support. Sadly charity in the UK has become big business and vast amounts of money are needed for salaries and administration costs. From its concept I insisted that The Butterfly Tree would be run entirely by volunteers in both the UK and Zambia. This has enabled all donations and grant aid to go directly into the grass root projects – this principle is still in place.

2009 – Mukun Secondary School 3 classroom block

Our projects include the development of some thirty schools and ten clinics. We have installed seventeen bore holes, constructed over eighty latrines and built seventy community houses. We have worked tirelessly to help with the prevention of HIV, training school leavers in peer education. We have sponsored several hundred orphans and helped thousands more to gain a sound basic education. We introduced the first special education units into Zambia and opened the nation’s first rural maternity clinic.

Some of the first orphans to be sponsored by the charity

In 2014 I was offered the opportunity to introduce a safe new malaria prevention initiative into Zambia. Up until then we had only worked at District level. It was a gamble, but after months of working with the Ministry of Health and the National Malaria Control Centre the method was accepted and we were given the licence to import and distribute the products. We started distribution into remote village in November 2015, and the reports coming in are quite remarkable.

2015 Mrs Maseka, member of the team, with volunteers at Chuunga Village

The Butterfly Tree is the first charity in the world to use this superior form of malaria prevention. Our involvement has enabled the UK company to use our name and reports to introduce the products into other countries, not only to help the fight against malaria, but also Zika, Dengue Fever and Chikungunya.

The home of these children has been coated to prevent malaria

I am so grateful to all the people who have helped me to achieve so much, most especially my sons Mike and David (a trustee), and trustees Miranda de Freston and Wendy Calloway. A special thanks to all the volunteers, sponsors, donors and fundraisers who have given up their free time and a considerable amount of money to support The Butterfly Tree. None of the success could have been accomplished without our dedicated team in Zambia.

November 2015 – Esnat, Cynthia and Angela aged 12 and 13

With much appreciation,

Jane Kaye-Bailey

Monthly Archives: March 2016

March 2016 Newsletter

Ten Year Anniversary