According to the World Health Organisation – ‘1 in 4 or 2.1 billion people globally still lack access to safely managed drinking water.’ These figures come as no surprise to me knowing that Zambia alone has over 6 million people, approximately one third of the population, who do not have readily available safe drinking water. There is a notable disparity between urban and rural areas, the latter having the least facilities.

Last year’s severe drought proved that many more schools and communities are in need of boreholes. It is now four months since the last rain fell and no more is expected to fall before November. Thanks to two of our regular donors more boreholes are being drilled – most recently for Nakatela and Gombe schools and for Siampunga community. Boreholes not only help to minimize the spread of disease but reduce the time women and children spend collecting water from streams or shallow wells.

The new school term starts next week and exciting developments are currently taking place to improve the facilities at both primary and secondary schools. Three secondary schools are having additional constructions added to them. Musokotwane has gained another boarding house and toilets while Riverview will shortly have a third 1×3 classroom block. Both of these projects are generously funded by the Murphy Family Foundation.

A second 1×3 classroom block and boarding house will advance Nguba secondary school which opened in January this year. Since the change in the education curriculum the secondary enrolment has increased generally, resulting in most schools needing additional classrooms.

We have now received all the funds from Victor Ubogu’s successful fundraising event in June. In addition to the 1×2 classroom block the following facilities are being added to this remote school in Simukumbwa: a second 1×2 classroom block, a staff house, toilets, a solar-powered water system and feeding shelter. Seeds and fertilizer will be donated so that the school can initiate a sustainable feeding programme. A further 50 desks, textbooks, and the sponsorship of five orphans will complete the project.

The feedback for project entitled ‘Improving Education for Young People with Special Needs’ is excellent. Teachers from 161 schools in the Kazungula District received training on how to teach pupils with special needs in an inclusive education system. We also produced a guidance manual of which copies were given to each school in Kazungula, plus a copy for each District in Southern Province as well as all Special Education Officers. The entire project was funded by our Canadian Partner, Give a Hand.

For anyone who is interested below is the link to the guidance manual:

Special Education Guidance Manual.pdf

Construction of the new clinic at Katanda in Kalomo District, funded by the Overseas Aid and Development Commission of Guernsey is progressing well. The borehole and water system have been installed, and the main clinic and bio-digester are currently under construction. The next stage will be to construct two staff houses, a mother’s shelter, and toilets. 1,000 mosquito nets were given to school children in July after learning that four children had died after contracting malaria.

We aim to raise more funds and awareness of malaria, which remains one of the biggest killers of children in the WHO’s African Region. Some rural clinics in Zambia have reported to us that they have not received any support since 2022. Our ‘Mosquito Nets for Schools’ programme which we launched in 2017, continues to be an effective method in helping to reduce malaria cases. Every child and teacher within a school receives a mosquito net costing just £5 and can last for two years.

As always we are so grateful for your generous support.

Jane Kaye-Bailey

Founder

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July is usually a quiet month for The Butterfly Tree as people are focusing on travel and school holidays. However, I am pleased to say that this has been another successful month of fundraising and advancement of our water, health and education projects.

After the addition of a borehole for the new health post at Katanda a solar-powered water reticulation system has been added for the facility. 1,000 mosquito nets have also been distributed amongst pupils and teachers to provide protection from malaria. The construction of the new clinic is now underway thanks to a substantial grant from the Overseas Aid and Development Commission of Guernsey.

It is astonishing that there are still so many communities and schools that do not have access to clean drinking water in Zambia. We recently added a borehole for Njezi Primary school and funding is in place to drill three more in Kalomo District. Boreholes are crucial – they provide clean drinking water, help to reduce diarrhoeal diseases, lessen the distance people must walk to draw water, and provide irrigation for community and school vegetable gardens.

Several developments are taking place to improve the facilities for three secondary schools in Kazungula District. The Murphy Family Foundation are funding a boarding house and toilets at Musokotwane secondary and a third 1×3 classroom block for Riverview secondary. A second 1×3 classroom block and boarding house is also being constructed at Nguba secondary thanks to a private donation. These facilities will enable more pupils in rural areas to have access to secondary education.

After the completion of Namachele Community School the official opening took place yesterday. There are now 596 pupils, the number will increase when it is upgraded to a primary in September. Namachele along with Nguba and Simukumbwa schools each received an allocation of desks this month. Thanks to a further donation from Kampango, more schools will receive textbooks for next term.

University and college results are out – orphans and vulnerable students who were being sponsored by The Butterfly Tree have done exceedingly well. Graduations ceremonies will shortly take place.

• Kenneth – completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Banking and Finance.
• Henry – completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences (Microbiology).
• Charity – completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Civic Education.
• Christopher – completed a three year Chartered Account Programme.
• Esnart – completed a three year diploma course in Journalism.
• Mulanda – completed a three year course in nursing.

Much to my surprise The Butterfly Tree received another award. The Business Excellence Award came with the following message: This prestigious recognition highlights your dedication to quality, innovation, and outstanding service within the industry.’  This award will create more exposure for our grassroot projects in Zambia as it will be shared on the UKBEA platforms.

We are so grateful to everyone who has helped us to achieve these goals.

Jane Kaye-Bailey

Founder

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What a month this has been! So many good things have happened whereas this time last year I was reporting on water shortages, emergency food relief and the detrimental impact caused the worst drought in Zambia’s history.

You may have read in the previous newsletter that former England rugby player, Victor Ubogu, wanted to raise money to build a school in Zambia. We subsequently completed a 1×2 classroom block in April. Since the opening of the school pupil numbers have already increased from 198 to 320 and will continue to grow.

Simukumbwa Community School – Kalomo District

Victor visited Zambia in May to see the development. On his return to the UK he continued to raise further funds to provide teachers’ accommodation, toilets, and desks for Simukumbwa school. It was a privilege to have been invited to speak at the pre-Lions Tour lunch, which was held in London on the 11th June, in aid of The Butterfly Tree.

Jane with rugby legends at the pre-Lions Tour Lunch in aid of The Butterfly Tree

I was totally overwhelmed by the support offered on the day and throughout this month. The target to complete the school was surpassed, with further donations still coming in. I cannot thank Victor, his wife Anj, and his wonderful employees at Vu Ltd enough for all their hard work and commitment towards making this entire experience such a memorable and resounding success. A special thanks to everyone who have generously supported this fundraiser.

One of the Live Auction lots painted by a local Livingstone artist

Other great news this month is for our health projects in Zambia. Firstly, we are delighted to have been awarded another grant from the Overseas Aid and Development Commission of Guernsey. Previously the Commission has funded the development of rural health posts at Sikaunzwe, Bunsanga, Katondo, Boombwe and Mabwa in the Kazungula District. This new single year grant will be used to construct a much needed health post for Katanda in Kalomo District.

Current health post – Katanda

The project includes a clinic, two staff houses, mother’s shelter, a borehole and solar-powered water reticulation system, toilets, and a biodigester for waste, as well as equipment and 1,000 mosquito nets. The borehole was successfully drilled today, and the mosquito nets have been ordered. After learning that four children from Katanda recently died after contracting malaria, we will distribute the nets as soon as they are available to help prevent further loss of a life.

Secondly, thanks to a generous grant from the Angus Lawson Memorial Trust, we have expanded our malaria prevention reach. With the assistance of the Ministry of Health we have distributed 3,600 mosquito nets in Mulobezi District in Western Province. Last year there were 820 malaria cases per 1,000 population recorded in Mulobezi. The Butterfly Tree’s ‘Mosquito Nets for Schools’ programme is helping to reduce malaria cases in Zambia. This significant donation will provide protection for 3,600 pupils and teachers and is the first phase of a three-year grant.

Thank you to everyone who has given so generously and helped to make this such an incredible month.

Jane Kaye-Bailey

Founder

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The core of The Butterfly Tree’s work in Zambia is and always has been supporting orphans and vulnerable children in rural areas of Zambia. I am totally overwhelmed by the support we have and are still receiving from all around the globe, after almost twenty years!

Education is a way of empowering young people to better their lives, to give them employment opportunities and to help their communities. Rising above the poverty cycle can improve their quality of life is so many ways. Orphans that were sponsored at an early age are now teachers, nurses, accountants and skilled workers, being paid to build our facilities, while some have been enrolled into the army and police force.

This year we are aiming to make further progress on the education front by building more schools and expanding those that have increased enrolment after the introduction of the new education curriculum. Two new schools are at Namachele and Simukumwa in Kalomo District. In June Namachele will open its new 1×3 classroom block and teacher’s house to replace the mud and pole constructions, funded by a private donor. The same donor is also funding a dormitory for boarders at to Nguba Secondary school.

The newly constructed 1×2 classroom block at Simukumbwa is now in use. This was donated by Victor Ubogu, former England rugby player. Victor and his wife flew out to Zambia last week to visit the school, which was a 7 hour drive from Livingstone. Accompanied by two of our local volunteers, Victor interacted with the community and vowed to do more. He has organised a pre-Lion’s Tour Lunch on the 11th June, in aid of The Butterfly Tree and also a silent auction.

There are a few tickets remaining for the lunch, which can be ordered by email or phone: sales@vultd.co.uk or call 01225 788880 to place an order. The silent auction is now open and has some amazing lots including exotic destinations, sporting events, such as the Monaco Grand Prix, adventures, concerts, gourmet dining, paintings and much more. Please use this link if you would like to see the full list and to make a bid: https://superstars-auctions.com/lionslunch2025

Two new boreholes were drilled this month for Simukumbwa and Njezi schools in Kalomo District to provide clean water for drinking and for growing vegetables for school feeding programmes.

Once again we are grateful to The Murphy Family Foundation for providing further support towards our education projects. The ever growing Riverview school is to receive an additional 1×3 classroom block and Musokotwane Secondary school is to have another dormitory and toilets for the boarders. Some pupils live long distances from the school and The Butterfly Tree provides them with bags of ground maize and soya chunks to supplement their meals.

This month we are completing the special education programme for the entire Kazungula District. Teachers from 161 schools received training in special needs and inclusive education. The guidance manual is ready for printing and materials such as braille, stylus, talking calculators and sign language charts are being purchased today. Thanks to Give a Hand, our Canadian partner, this project can be expanded to other districts, improving education for these special children.

As always I am extremely grateful for all the support we continue to receive. Whether it be small or large your donations have helped thousands of orphans and vulnerable children to be empowered through education!

Jane Kaye-Bailey

Founder

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The 1st April was the start of The Butterfly Tree’s new financial year, and I am pleased to report that we have funding in place for more boreholes, classrooms, boarding houses and orphan sponsorship.

The 1x 2 classroom block that I went to see at Simukumbwa last month has since been completed. Officials from the Kalomo Ministry of Education recently visited the site and will provide trained teachers and ongoing costs. To add to this project, the donor Victor Ubogu, a former England Rugby player, is holding a fundraiser in London to raise further funds to build a teacher’s house and toilets, and for desks.

If you are a rugby fan and would like to meet former Lions and have lunch at Smith and Wollensky located on The Strand in London on the 11th June, please email sales@vultd.co.uk or call 01225 788880 to order tickets. The event is in aid of The Butterfly Tree. 100% of profits raised at the event will be used to further develop Simukumbwa school.

Thanks to a regular generous donor a 1×3 classroom block is currently under construction at Namachele, which is also in a remote area of Kalomo District. The same donor is funding the construction of a 1×3 classroom block and two boarding houses at Nguba Secondary school, which was opened in January. Already the enrolment has surpassed the capacity and some pupils had to be turned away.

Since November we have been working on an advanced Special Education programme, funded by Give a Hand, our Canadian partner. ‘Improving Education for Young People with Special Needs’ includes teacher training on how to teach pupils with special needs in an inclusive education system. While it may work in some schools, where pupils numbers per class reach 80-100, which I have frequently seen in Zambian schools, children with special needs are mostly neglected and do not perform well in exams.

Working with the Kazungula Ministry of Education up to three teachers from 161 schools have received training. Workshops took place in 9 zones, over 80 teachers attended one of the sessions. In addition we will shortly publish a Guidance Manual that we have produced and this can be used nationally. The final part of the project is to supply schools with specialised equipment and materials.

Zambia has been experiencing late rains, normally they finish in early April. This is great for the water table levels and for watering vegetables gardens. Once the tracks are clear we will be drilling boreholes for Simukumbu and Njezi schools as there are still far too many schools and communities in need of safe drinking water.

Grant Aid received from the Overseas Aid and Development Commission of Guernsey has been used to help with food security to alleviate future challenges when droughts occur. Four groups of women in Kanchele, Zalu, Sekute Central and Zwanga each received a borehole and solar-powered water reticulation system, a storeroom, tools, seeds and fertilizer, and a grinding mill. The aim is for each group to have sufficient food to provide for their families and to generate a sustainable income to help disadvantaged people in their communities.

We look forward to sending you further progress on the above projects as well news on the new initiatives, including expansion of Muskotwane and Riverview Secondary schools.

Jane Kaye-Bailey

Founder

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Today we complete our 19th year supporting orphans and rural communities in Zambia and tomorrow brings hope for people in new districts. Since first visiting Zambia in 2006, with the exception of 2021 when I was unable to travel due the COVID-19 pandemic, I have been fortunate enough to have travelled to Zambia twice a year to oversee existing projects and to initiate new ones. What was so special about my recent trip was that everywhere was lush and green. Seeing the mighty Zambezi River once again cascading over the magnificent Victoria Falls was spectacular, especially after seeing only a trickle of water running down the rocks in October. To quote David Livingstone ‘scenes so lovely they must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight‘. The worst drought in Zambia’s history finally broke in November and it was wonderful to see crops flourishing and an abundance of fruit and vegetables growing in the villages. Thanks to the support of our generous donors, in addition to distributing emergency food relief, we donated food security projects with water systems, seeds, and fertilizer so that people could grow crops. We also donated 30 boreholes last year to schools and communities that had no source of water other than polluted shallow wells or had to walk long distances to obtain drinking water. Apart from malaria prevention programmes the majority of our work has been done in the Kazungula and Livingstone Districts in the Southern Province of Zambia. This year for the first time we are working in Kalomo and Mulobezi Districts, the latter is in the Western Province of Zambia. This area has a high prevalence of malaria and last year recorded one of the highest numbers of malaria cases in the nation. Thanks to the Angus Lawson Memorial Trust we are about to distribute almost 3,800 mosquito nets to school children and teachers with the aim of reducing new cases of malaria. This is a the first phase of a vitial three-year grant programme. While I was visiting Simonga Rural Health Centre, where we donated equipment as well as recently completing a facility for under-five clinics, family planning and HIV testing, I saw three children recovering from malaria. After identifying where the children lived the next day we visited their community and donated mosquito nets to all the children and teachers at their pre-school and primary. This will help to prevent further transmission. We have stepped up our HIV prevention workshops and the booklets we produced on Girls’ Empowerment and Boys’ Allyship are now being used in schools and football clubs all over Zambia. We continue to promote football as the main sport for young people to participate in to prevent the spread of HIV, and to reduce teenage pregnancies, early marriages, alcohol, and drug abuse. Thanks to two generous donors more girls’ football teams received kits, and 175 footballs have been given out to schools and community teams, to empower more young people. Read More →

Since we started supporting education projects in Zambia in 2006 the government has changed the curriculum three times. This time it is based on the UK system and the good news is that pupils in state schools can now take their A levels, whereas previously they could only take them at private schools or during a foundation year at university or college.

Initially, this will mean extra work for teachers and administrators but it will done in phases and will help children in the future. Primary schools will now go from grades 1 to 6 and secondary will start from forms 1 to 4. This will considerably increase the number of pupils enrolling in secondary schools, resulting in the need for more classrooms and desks!

Nguba Secondary School which was recently built by orphans who were on our orphan sponsorship programme saw its first intake of pupils this week. Six pupils from Singwamba Primary school, where we recently built a teacher’s flat, did well in their exams and were offered places at Nguba. However, their parents could not afford to buy their uniforms and other educational needs. In cases such as this girls are often forced into early marriages. To avoid this happening we have included all six pupils on The Butterfly Tree’s orphan sponsorship programme.

Two new primary schools in Kalomo District are currently under construction – one at Simukumbwa, funded by Victor Ubogu, the former England rugby player. This school will get a 1×2 classroom block. The other one at Namchele, funded by one of our long-term donors, will have a 1×3 classroom block and a teacher’s house. Once completed the schools will be handed over to the Ministry of Education who will provide trained teachers.

We have now completed the first phase of an invaluable special education project, entitled ‘Improving Education for Young People with Special Needs.’ This includes teacher training sessions, the production of a training manual, community sensitization, and the provision of educational materials and specialized equipment.

Zambia practices an inclusive education system, which according to teachers results in pupils with special needs being neglected. Mukuni Primary School is the only school in the Kazungula District that has a separate facility, which we built in 2009. Thanks to a generous donation from our Canadian partners, Give a Hand, this project is making a difference. The teacher training sessions have already taken place at 7 of the 9 zones where teachers from almost all of the District’s 161 schools were in attendance.

The Heads of the District’s and Mukuni’s Special Education conducted the sessions and the teacher training manual has been drafted. In addition, each school has received wheelchairs, crutches, textbooks, school bags, and educational material, specifically for pupils with mental and physical challenges. The next phase of funding will be used to complete the training sessions, for community sensitization, and to purchase more specialized equipment such as braille, hearing aids and further learning materials.

After the long drought, that finally broke in December, crops are growing and communities are hoping for a bumper harvest, though most grain crops will not be ripe for another couple of months. Consequently, there is still widespread hunger and clinics reported that adults, as well as children, are suffering from malnutrition. We recently donated ground maize and soya chunks to 100 mothers who have children listed as severe malnutrition cases at Kauwe and Singwamba health centres.

We have funds in place to initiate another women’s food security project and the eight we implemented last year are making profits from the sale of vegetables. All of them are helping orphans and vulnerable people in their communities as well as their own families.

Thank you to everyone who has supported The Butterfly Tree.

Jane Kaye-Bailey

Founder

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First of all, I would like to wish all our donors, fundraisers and volunteers a happy, healthy and peaceful New Year. Secondly, I would like to say a huge ‘thank you’ to everyone who supported our Christmas Appeal and the many other projects that we implemented in 2024.

Vulnerable children and rural communities received bags of ground maize and the food security projects initiated for women, and for youths will disabilities has helped to alleviate hunger. The good news is that the drought has broken bringing much needed rain to fill streams, rivers and boreholes, and to provide irrigation for crops and vegetables gardens.

We receive many messages of gratitude, but this one reduced me to tears! ‘The food we are receiving is keeping the village alive. The little each one gets is shared with neighbours, and as a result there is no death or sickness and it gives us hope that at least someone cares.’ Sadly, hunger is still widespread with the Ministry of Health informing me that there is now malnutrition being recorded in adults as well as many children. Until the crops are harvested providing further support is paramount…

Thanks to the Overseas Aid and Development Commission of Guernsey we can make further progress with the four women’s water and food security projects in Zalu, Kanchele, Zwanga and Sekute Central. Each group was freely allocated land, boreholes were installed with solar-powered water reticulation systems, and bags of seeds and fertilizer were included in the grant. The next phase is to build storerooms and purchase grinding mills for the crops with the aim of having sustainable income-generating enterprises for hundreds of women.

Our Christmas appeal also received donations for mosquito nets. The rainy season is when malaria is most prevalent, and children need protection from malaria. According to the World Health Organisation:

• The WHO African Region carries a disproportionately high share of the global malaria burden.
• In 2023, the WHO African Region was home to 94% of malaria cases (246 million) and 95% (569 000) of malaria deaths.
• Children under 5 accounted for about 76% of all malaria deaths in the Region.

Zambia is making progress with various interventions, but further support is essential. Our aim for 2025 is to raise funds for our ‘Mosquito Nets for Schools‘ programme, which has proved to be highly effective in helping to prevent school children from contracting malaria.

Once again, we received a generous donation from Motive Real Estate, Texas to build community houses for orphans and widows, and for food distribution. Many orphans are living in dilapidated mud huts that leak when it’s raining, this donation will be used to build a further eleven houses.

Thank you to everyone, especially the Mukuni Village Trust, Australia for sponsoring orphans. In addition to Mukuni, Kamwi, Ngandu, Ndele, Riverview, Lumbo, Senkobo and Musokotwane we have added orphans from Singwamba primary school to the programme.

We will shortly commence construction on two classrooms blocks extending our reach to Kalomo District. Also in the Southern Province, Kalomo, a vast and mainly rural area, has a population close to 300,000. We will continue to support education throughout the Kazungula and Livingstone Districts as well.

Jane Kaye-Bailey

Founder

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After recently publishing the 2023-24 Annual Report and Accounts it is always a concern as to whether you can continue the success of the previous year in the next one. I am pleased to say that since the start of the new financial year in April The Butterfly Tree continues to flourish in all sectors.

As always we have launched a Christmas Appeal to raise money to buy bags of ground maize for orphans and vulnerable families. As Zambia is heading into the rainy season mosquito nets are needed to protect children against malaria. 100% of all donations for the appeal will be used for these two projects, nothing will be deducted for administration or personal fees.

A 25kg bags of ground maize costs £10 and can feed a family of four for one month. A mosquito net costs £5 and could save a child’s life. If you would care to offer a donation the payment options can be find by clicking on this link.

We continue to distribute 25 kg bags of ground maize throughout the Kazungula District to help people who are suffering from the severe drought. Thanks to substantial donations from the Murphy Family Foundation, Nick Bousliman and many individuals we have provided food for thousands of people suffering from hunger in remote areas of Nyawa, Mukuni, Musokotwane, Sekute and Moomba Chiefdom.

In addition, we donated bags of seeds and fertilizer to dozens of families and women’s groups who have no funds to grow vegetables and crops, another challenge caused by the drought. This will provide food security for thousands of people.

After contacting Khalsa Aid, a UK charity that we had worked with during the 2019 drought, the organisation kindly agreed to partner with us to provide extra support for Nyawa and Moomba, the two most remote Chiefdom. With the help of our local volunteers Khalsa Aid kindly donated a further 1,000 bags of ground maize and took part in the distribution in Nyawa.

Water shortages have reached an all-time low with rivers, streams and even boreholes becoming dry. This year we installed a record number of boreholes in schools and communities, 30 in total. After visiting a site in October where young people were climbing down into a well to draw water, we drilled a borehole last month. The people of Mukumba and neighbouring villages now have access to free clean water and will no longer need to drink polluted water.

The Guernsey Overseas Aid and Development Commission funded food security and safe water projects for women in Zalu, Sekute Central, Zwanga and Kanchele are progressing well. Other food security projects in Siambelele, Senkobo, Musokotwane and Mukuni are successfully producing vegetables. Women have readily available food for their families and profit from the sale of vegetables to educate their children.

The Youth Empowerment project for young people with physical and mental health challenges is finally making strides after delays caused by the drought. Thanks to a donation from our Canadian partners, Give a Hand, three groups of young people with varying forms of disabilities are running a chicken rearing project at Mukuni, and goat rearing projects at Kamwi and Ngandu. Some of the participants are receiving professional training in business management with the aim of making this a sustainable income-generating enterprise.

The new school at Bbombe Lyangoma complete with a 1×2 classroom block, teachers house and toilets will be in operation for the new school year in January as will the new secondary school at Nguba. We have funding in place to construct two more schools and will be adding Kalomo District to the areas we support.

We are excited to introduce an invaluable new project to improve the special and inclusive education system in the Kazungula District thanks to further support from Give a Hand. This has already started and includes training teachers, community sensitization, the production of a training manual, and the provision of equipment and materials to aid pupils with special needs.

We are forever grateful for the overwhelming support we receive from long-term donors and all the new ones who have made contributions to our cause. We sincerely thank you and all our volunteers both in the UK and Zambia who are committed to helping improve the lives of orphans and vulnerable communities, most especially through the period of drought. The good news is the rains are coming….

Wishing you all a very Happy and Peaceful Christmas and good health in the New Year.

Jane Kaye-Bailey

Founder

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On behalf of The Butterfly Tree I am delighted to present our Annual Report and Accounts for 2023-24. Please click on the link below to view or download the full report, the accounts, images and graphs.

Chairman’s Report

I am delighted to present to you The Butterfly Tree’s 2023-2024 Annual Report and Accounts. This has been the second most successful year since the founding of the charity in 2006. More schools have been developed. Both Riverview and Musokotwane Secondary schools are undergoing expansion after members of The Murphy Family Foundation joined me in Zambia to see firsthand how we are spending their donations. Both schools received funding to build additional 1×3 classroom blocks and to supply computers for their sciences labs. A new secondary school in Nguba is being built, this will be the fifth of its kind implemented by the charity. A 1×2 classroom block was completed for Katubya Community school in Musokotwane to replace the mud and pole construction. Bbombe Lyangoma, another community school, is to receive a 1×2 classroom block, toilets and a teacher’s house. Once we have completed the infrastructure for schools, we hand them over to the Ministry of Education who provide trained teachers and the ongoing costs.

The orphan sponsorship progamme funds the educational needs of orphans and vulnerable children, many live in extreme poverty and being looked after by their elderly grandparents. Though the government recently abolished school fees these are only a fraction of the costs. Money is needed to buy school uniforms, shoes, bags, books and for exams, and other school expenses. This programme has helped to transform the lives of thousands of young people. In addition, we are currently sponsoring ten students at universities and colleges. Seven former sponsored pupils after undergoing extensive training have been enrolled into the army, one as a junior officer.

We continue to support children with special needs, three units built by The Butterfly Tree received donations for materials and equipment. A young amputee, under our sponsorship programme, won three awards at Riverview’s prize-giving ceremony, passed grade her grade nine exams, and was offered a place at Kazungula Boarding school. We initiated a worthwhile project entitled ‘Empowering Young People with Physical and Mental Health Challenges.’ This comprises of chicken rearing in Mukuni, and goat rearing in Kamwi and Ngandu to provide a sustainable income-generating enterprise for these vulnerable young people.

A new health post was developed in Mabwa, a remote area of Nyawa. This included the construction of a clinic, two staff houses, toilets, a biodigester for waste, and a borehole. The facility was fully equipped, and solar power was installed. As this area has a high prevalence of malaria, we donated mosquito nets to the schools in the vicinity and also to Kauwe zone.  Our ‘mosquito nets for schools’ project is proving to be highly effective in reducing the number of malaria cases.

In March this year the President declared a state of Disaster and Emergency as a result of a severe drought predominantly caused by El Niño. The poor rainy season and extreme heat caused crops to perish and vegetable gardens to wilt. Most of the income in rural villages is generated from subsistence farming, which also provides food for households. The water situation is dire, I have never seen the Zambezi River so low in April. This is the time of year when an abundance of water cascades over the mighty Victoria Falls. Knowing that no rain was expected until October it painted a concerning picture. To provide help to schools and communities that rely on streams and rivers for drinking water The Butterfly Tree drilled eight boreholes. It is imperative that we install more, without water no life can survive. Thanks to receiving four substantial donations twelve more drills are scheduled for the coming months.

The drought has obviously had an impact on the women’s food security projects, and we are doing everything we can to support them. We are including these women in our distributions of ground maize which we provide for those most in need, especially orphans and the elderly who have no source of income. We have implemented four more sustainable food security projects at Siambalele, Musokotwane, Mukuni and Senkobo to assist with the food shortages and to provide income generation. All have solar-powered water reticulation systems.

I am so impressed with our trained peer educators and participated in one of their workshops in Kauwe. The zone recorded a high number of teenage pregnancies in 2023. The peer educators who were on our orphan sponsorship and have now completed school educate pupils about the dangers of HIV, teenage pregnancies, early marriages and drug and alcohol abuse. The workshops allow pupils to be open and talk about their problems. One school reported a reduction of teenage pregnancies from seven in 2022 to only one in 2023.

Sport keeps young people occupied and prevents them getting into of trouble. We sponsored football tournaments and provided kits for school teams. Two of our Zambian trustees were hosted by the organisers of the Blackpool Cup, an annual event for European school football teams. Martin and Mupotola travelled from Zambia to Blackpool and had a wonderful time watching the school matches and going to Liverpool’s stadium, as well as being taken to a premier league match and site seeing around the area.

We were honoured to receive two further awards during the 2023-24 period. We were chosen as the International Support Organisation of the Year for the 2024 Innovation and Excellence Global Awards. In addition, The Butterfly Tree was the winner of the Youth Education Nonprofit Organisation of the Year for London and the South-East of England. These awards give our work in Zambia more exposure, help to create awareness and give a boost to our teams in the UK and Zambia.

Its hard to believe that The Butterfly Tree has been operating since 2006. Though we work only in the Southern Province of Zambia we are making a substantial impact, and we are the biggest contributors to education in the Kazungula District. It covers an area of 16,835 km² and is the largest district in the province. Compared to other Provinces the south was neglected. Most of the projects we support are in remote areas that get very little aid from anywhere else. We also have several projects in the rural areas of the Livingstone Districts. Our aim is continue developing more education and health facilities and to provide clean water and food security for orphans and vulnerable people. 

Last year The Butterfly Tree registered as a Charity Incorporated Organisation – the benefits of being a corporate body is that we need only to comply with one set of laws, charity law, and only one regulator, the Charity Commission. Therefore in 2025 we will be changing everything over to the CIO. Nothing will change, except for the bank account as the bank states that a new account must be opened. For those who donate monthly, we will give you advanced warning.

As always, I am grateful to my fellow trustees Ann, Jackie, and Victoria who joined the Butterfly Tree earlier this year, for their invaluable help with accounting, safeguarding and fundraising. Anthony resigned as a trustee in February due to other commitments but will remain an avid supporter of the charity. Many thanks also to volunteers David, Carolyn, Valerie and Steven for giving up their free time to help with IT, fundraising and youth projects, and to Frank Maiolo, our US representative. Our Trustees in Zambia are the ones who implement, manage and monitor all our projects on the ground. Mupotola Siloka (secretary), Rev. Presley Mulenga (education), Martin Mushabati (project management/sport) and Stain Musungaila (malaria prevention and community projects). Each of them has volunteered for the charity prior to and since the registration of the NGO in 2007. Also, thanks to our Zambian volunteers who manage a variety of programmes. Natasha Mufeya, (orphan sponsorship/peer education/girls’ empowerment), Mafian Sitali (orphan sponsorship) and Lloyd Kasela (community projects, Nyawa). All our members both in the UK and Zambia are volunteers and are committed to helping young people to change their lives for the better.

Jane Kaye-Bailey

Founder

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