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Greetings from Mukuni

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Christmas in Mukuni will be very different to what many of us will experience tomorrow. Apart for going to church it will be like any other day sharing a meal of n’shima, vegetables and gound nuts with family and friends. There with be no turkey, Christmas pudding or gifts under the Christmas tree nor has there been weeks of preparations to make everything perfect for the festive Day. So who has got it right? Do we really need to put ourselves under so much stress for just one day? The true meaning of Christmas has been overshadowed by the need to spend more and more money on food, drinks and gifts, often resulting in bank overdrafts and credit card debts.

Working in one of the poorest nations on the planet, where thousands of children have been orphaned through the HIV and AIDS in Zambia pandemic, makes me realise that we have got it wrong.   These desperately poor communities need food, water, health and education. Fortunately for many people in Mukuni Village life has improved considerably this year. The charity has built extra classrooms, more orphans have been sponsored and much has been done to improve the education and health facilities for Mukuni and several other outreach villages.

Greetings from Mukuni: Lillian Mweene with her daughter

2011 promises to be another successful year for The Butterfly Tree kicking off with substantial grant aid once again awarded by the Jersey Overseas Aid Commission. This grant will enable us to build three new schools in remote areas; one in Mukuni and two in the Musokotwane Chiefdom. Saga Charitable Trust has also ensured that our Africa malaria program continues with another generous donation for next year. Many of our supporters have sent Christmas donations and some sponsor an orphan, making it our most successful year to date.

Jane with children from Mandandi Village

On behalf of the team and Mukuni Village I would like to genuinely thank everyone for your bountiful support and wish you all a very happy Christmas and a peaceful and healthy New Year.

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Christmas Gifts

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For many of us choosing Christmas gifts can be quite an arduous task, wondering whether or not you have chosen correctly. Recently I heard on the radio that this year almost half a billion pounds of unwanted Christmas gifts will end up in the bin. Scandalous! That amount of money could be used to feed millions of starving people. What has happened to the true meaning of Christmas? What used to be a joyous occasion has turned into a manic marketing campaign with Christmas cards on sale at the end of summer, Christmas songs playing at the beginning of November and Advent calendars on sale for dogs! Where did we go wrong?

Christmas Gifts – donate a gift to help these vulnerable children

Christmas Day in developing countries, such as Zambia, means going to church to commemorate the birth of Jesus. No one eats special food; there are no gifts to open and no activities taking place. On the 25th December, like any other day, life is a struggle. Poverty, disease and hunger are hard to overcome. If you are struggling to find that perfect gift for someone special who has everything, perhaps you would like to consider the following:

Sponsor an orphan, donate a mosquito net, buy exercise books, build a house for a widow with orphans or buy a bicycle for a child who walks long distances to school. Whichever you choose 100% of your donation will go directly to the project, no fees or administrations costs will be deducted. If you would like to give someone a ‘stocking filler’ and help the charity at the same time our popular calendar is available to order for just £4 plus postage or our charity CD, ‘Change for The Better’ for just £3 plus postage.

Do something different this Christmas and donate your gift to a Zambian orphan, it will most certainly be put to good use and most definitely will not end up in the bin!

For more details on how to get involved or purchase a gift contact jane@thebutterflytree.org.uk or simply donate using our secure online page, your help however small will be greatly appreciated.

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WORLD AIDS DAY

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The latest figures show that there are over 33 million people living with HIV and over half of them will die of AIDS before they are 35 years of age. A staggering 2.3 million children under 15 are infected. Although advances in treatment and HIV and AIDS Prevention have been made I have seen first-hand the destruction caused in Zambia, where every family, if not infected, is affected in some way. It  is one the worst nations with one in six adults being HIV positive. There are 33,000 children infected with HIV and over 700,000 are orphaned as a result of the HIV and AIDS in Zambia pandemic.

World Aids Day: An HIV positive orphan sponsored by The Butterfly Tree

HIV and AIDS education is the key, particularly in developing countries. Providing educational workshops, helping to remove the stigma and voluntary testing is crucial. Unlike malaria HIV is slow to develop, therefore many do not take it seriously. Women are four times more likely to be infected then men, not only putting themselves at risk but also their unborm babies. For the past four years The Butterfly Tree has successfully run an under-fives feeding program in Zambia for HIV positvie mothers. This gives them the opportunity to replace breast milk with formula to prevent mother to child transmission of the virus. This method has proved to be very effective as all the children on this program since 2007 have been tested free of HIV. It also encourages more women to come forward and be tested.

Children free of HIV on the under-fives feeding program

In the UK there are over 90,000 reported cases of HIV, many more are undiagnosed. Understanding the facts of HIV, removing the stigma and knowing your status are essential motives to not only protecting your own health but to the well-being of those close to you. Today in recognition of World Aids Day our charity is funding a workshop in Mukuni Village.

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Charity Calender 2011

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The Butterfly Tree’s fourth edition of our charity calendar is available to order. It has been so popular that the twelve companies who each sponsor a page have generously continued to do so every year. Some of these companies also sponsor projects annually and have made an invaluable contribution to our work in Zambia.

The calendar pictures highlight some of our projects at Mukuni and other villages and of course at the forefront are the orphan orphan sponsorship program. Almost everything we do is for the benefit of these vulnerable children. Providing them with clean water, nutritional food, improved education and health facilities to help the fight against Africa malaria and HIV and AIDS in Zambia is paramount.

I would sincerely like to thank the following for sponsoring the calendar: Executive Futures, The Fell Group, Three Counties Insurance, LCR Systems, INTL Global Currencies Ltd., Gardiff, Casio, ListersVolkswagon Group, Tommee Tippee, DCA, Cunninghams and Saga Charitable Trust. A special thanks to Miranda at Juggle Frogs for helping me to produce the calendar.

These captivating pictures show just a few of the pages for 2011. The high quality desk top calendar measures 21cm x 16cm and can be bought for £4 plus postage, US$10 including postage.

Second class postal charges in the UK: 1 calendar; 80p 2-3 calendars £1.50;  3-4 calendars £1.95 4-5 £2.35

Postal charges for Europe: 1 calendar £1.60; 2 calendars £2.40

Rest of the World: 1 calendar £2.40; 2 calendars £3.70

100% of all sales will go directly to the cause. To place an order complete the form below:

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November Newsletter

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Education is the key and the only way to overcome poverty, hunger and disease. Thanks to a substantial grant from Jersey Overseas Aid Commission we have been able to advance the education in five schools in the Kazungula District of Zambia. All of these schools are in remote areas and receive very little assistant from the outside world. With the addition of a 1×2 classroom, teacher’s house and latrines Kamwi Basic School has been able to add extra grades, which means that children no longer have to walk several miles to Mukuni. Simasimbi Basic School has been given the same development as Kamwi; the school becomes inaccessible during the rainy season making it even more beneficial to have improved facilities.

  

Education advancement: new 1×3 classroom block for Mukuni Basic School

The children of Mandandi used a simple mud hut as a school, where they were taught by untrained teachers. The addition of a brand new school has been welcomed by the community, trained teachers will be provided by the government for the opening in the new year. A new pre-school classroom has been built for the children of Machenje Village, with the aim of being supported by the community through income-generating activities. The flagship of the all our constructions is the new 1×3 classroom block, complete with an office and storerooms at Mukuni Basic School. The Jersey Overseas Aid Commission funding also included a much needed staff house for the clinic at N’songwe Village. This is the third clinic we are supporting.

    

New pre-school for Machenje children & Special Education class & donated bicycles

The Besom funded a Special Education classroom, which has also attracted a number of donors including Stanley Safari Lodge and Fountaindale School. The 230 young children had totally outgrown the Mukuni pre-school funded by Gardiff and now has an additional classroom, built in memory of Sandra Challenger, a former Saga employee. Joining me on my recent trip to Zambia was Janice Lee, Director of Saga Charitable Trust who support our malaria and other health projects at Mukuni Health Centre. With the rainy season underway this funding is crucial in providing mosquito nets to support our Africa Malaria program.

A grant from the BFSS gave us an opportunity to supply six schools with much needed stationery and equipment. LSR Rotary Club in Leamington Spa selected The Butterfly Tree as their international charity for the second year running. Their fundraising efforts have paid for the construction of several new homes for widowns and orphans and bicycles for school children, making their journey to school much easier.

  

New home for a widow with six children – Mosquito nets donated to the community

Two volunteers, Margaret Bax and Casey Short from Oregon, have worked tirelessly, spending two months during 2009 and 2010 to set up sustainable income-generating activities for women. Using the funds raised amongst their friends and families the Acme Chicken project is in its second year and a goats’ milk project will soon be underway. These projects are a vital part of our work if the communities are to stand on their own feet and not rely entirely on international aid.

Our under-fives feeding program, now funded by Karen Lytle, is making a substantial difference, since its initiation in 2007. Every child who attended the program is free of HIV after receiving formula and fortified porridge; this replaces breastmilk in HIV positive mothers to prevent the transmission of the virus.

I had to deal with one of the most heartbreaking stories I have encountered in almost five years of working in Zambia. Elvis and Vincent were born two months’ premature after their mother went into labour at seven months and died in childbirth with a third baby. The Butterfly Tree has offered to support these helpless infants who need four tins of formula a week. Dealing with this case reconfirmed just how vulnerable these people are and how desperately they need our help. Advancing the health and education facilities will hopefully reduce the number of these distressing cases. The support we have received this year has been overwhelming, as you can see your donations have been used to make a difference to the lives of many people, please continue this vital support.

Jane Kaye-Bailey

Founder & Chairman

The Butterfly Tree charity calendar is now available to order.

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Healthcare in Zambia

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Many of us frequently complain about our National Health Service; after numerous visits to Zambia I really appreciate having this facility and no longer take it for granted. During my visitis to Mukuni Village I have come across countless situations where people are too sick to walk to a clinic, too poor to be able to afford transport to hospital or too broke to purchase a much needed perscription. Nothing however upset me more than the plight of two baby boys, Vincent and Elvis born last month.

The infants’ mother, from Kamwi Village, was seven months pregnant when she went for a routine check-up at Mukuni Maternity Clinic, funded by The Butterfly Tree. A simple test showed that she was suffering from anaemia and she was subsequently referred to Livingstone General Hospital. Two days later, having gone into premature labour, she died in child birth with one of the three triplets. Due to  the lack of scanning equipment no one knew that she was expecting three babies. The distraught grandmother left the hospital leaving the medical staff to care for the two remaining baby boys. For twenty-four hours they were given only water until their father’s mother arrived taking them under her wings. Relying on ‘well-wishers’ she set about nurturing the two boys, each weighing just over one kilogram.

Mukuni Babies – Vincent

The infants were to remain in hospital for two months, however there was no formula available and no support on offer from social services. They were too small be be taken to an orphange. After two and a half weeks the infants, weighing only 1.4 and 1.6 kgs, were discharged! Having previously sent blankets and clothing, kindly knitted by Solihull Inner Wheel and mosquito nets and baby products donated by Mellors Chemist in Warwick, I went to visit these new arrivals at their rural home in Kamwi Village, some seven kilometres from Mukuni and twenty-three from the hospital. I learnt that the father was unemployed and that they had sufficient funds for just one week’s supply of formula and only two feeding bottles. I was reduced to tears when I saw these helpless infants with no mother, lying on their grandmother’s bed; it was heartbreaking and impossible for someone from the West to comprehend how little these people have. Pieces of torn material were being used for nappies, Lifebouy soap for washing them and only a minute paraffin flame to assist the grandmother during the night for their three hourly feeds.

Three weeks old – Elvis

Hence my shopping mission in Livingstone – nappies, feeding bottles, formula, brushes, clothing, blankets, baby products and Milton; all the things that we take for granted and have readily available when caring for newborn babies. To give the father a chance to support his sons the charity has donated a bicycle so that he can collect charcoal to sell in the village and has also given seeds to grow maize. The grandmother accepted money for food to keep up her strength. For the first time in two weeks I saw the father smile having been in complete shock after his tragic loss. The rainy season is under way, which increases the risk of diarrhoea, pneumonia and Africa malaria, so it is crucial that they are well protected.

Before I left Zambia I took them for a review at the hospital – Vincent’s weight had remained the same and his brother Elvis had gained, both now weighing in at 1.6 kilograms, but no loss! The nurse was very happy with their progress. The baby boys will now be put on The Butterfly Tree under-fives’ feeding program and have weekly check-ups at Mukuni Health Centre. These infants have a long way to go before they are out of danger, but I have no doubt that the father and grandmother will do everything they can to help them to survive.

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Malaria season at Mukuni

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October in Zambia sees the temperatures soaring to over 40 degrees. After 6 months of parched earth and clear blue skies the clouds start to form as the rainy season approaches bringing a welcome relief for everything to come alive – seeds and crops can be sown, the dry streams fill up and the burden of walking long distances to draw water finally eases. For everyone this is a time to rejoice including the dreaded mosquitoes. With the rains comes a higher risk of catching Africa malaria, the biggest killer of man, over one million deaths occur each year. 75% of all deaths are children under the age of five in Sub-Sahara Africa and Mukuni is no exception.

Africa Malaria – help to prevent this young Mukuni boy from getting malaria

Mosquito nets should be provided by the government for all under fives and pregnant women, however this is not always the case. Working in rural villages I find that there is a huge shortfall with several children sleeping under one net. Equally as important are malaria testing kits as the disease is easily treated if caught in time. In the areas where we have distributed nets no new cases have been reported, however there were 65 new cases in an area where we were unale to reach. Mukuni Health Centre has not received any testing kits for three years from the health department and without our support the statistics would be much higher. Thanks to a generous annual donation from Saga Charitble Trust we are able to provide vital workshops, educating the communities on the dangers of Africa malaria and the importance of nets and testing kits.

Buy this song – it could save a child’s life

Earlier this year we launched a charity song called, ‘Change for the Better‘ to raise further awareness and funds for the global fight against malaria. Basement Entertainment are hosting an event, to celebrate Zambian Independence Day, in London on the 23rd October to further promote the cause. Their theme will be ‘Change for the Better’ and The Butterfly Tree with be the beneficiary of this event. The CD and download are available for purchase, with all profits going to our malaria program, via: www.changeforthebetter.bandcamp.com


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Annual Report 2009-2010

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‘Change for the Better’ is how I would describe this year, our most successful to date. We were awarded a substantial number of grants and received an increase in donations, which has enabled us to reach out to more rural schools and communities of the Mukuni Chiefdom of Zambia.

We have been asked many times, why after four years, are we still working in the same Chiefdom. The answer is simple, by doing this we can ‘make a difference’. Spreading ourselves too thinly on the ground would not have such a great impact. Concentrating on a specific area, providing the essentials in life – safe, clean water, feeding programs, improved health and education facilities leads to sustainability. Once this is in place, we can look further afield and spread our ‘wings’ to a new Chiefdom. Funds permitting, we are hoping that this will happen in the forthcoming year, though our base will remain at Mukuni Village.

All our projects have benefitted from these increased funds and many new ones have been introduced. Two additional bore holes have been put in place. Invaluable feeding programs at five more schools have commenced and each school has been given seeds to grow maize to supplement these programs. Vast amounts of stationery have been donated to six new schools in addition to the existing four we continually support. Bicycles have been purchased for pupils travelling long distances to school and donkeys have been offered to provide transport for disabled children. The classroom block and clinic at Katapazi, our biggest project this year, has been completed.

Despite the government’s efforts to curb the HIV/AIDS pandemic there are still far too many African children being orphaned. As always we continually seek new sponsors and many have offered support after visiting Mukuni Village, just seven kilometers from the Victoria Falls. We have put a substantial amount of funding into our health projects; one of the most rewarding, yet humbling results, is to learn that all the babies on our under-fives feeding program (part of our HIV and AIDS Prevention program) have recently been tested free of HIV. Diseases such as HIV, TB and malaria are prevalent in the region; malaria is the biggest killer of man.

Every forty seconds someone dies from malaria. 75% of deaths occur in children under the age of five in sub-Sahara Africa. The Butterfly Tree provides Malaria prevention; mosquito nets, malaria testing kits and educational workshops. This year to mark World Malaria Day we launched our own charity song, ‘Change for the Better’, to increase global awareness and raise funds for the fight against malaria. The song features three Zambian artists and a young woman from Mukuni, who has received sponsorship through The Butterfly Tree. I cannot stress enough how vital this program is. Our latest results have shown, that in areas of net distribution, no new cases of malaria have been reported, however many more areas need help.

Once again we have been able to fund several successful operations and treatment for children and the elderly. Nine community houses have been built for widows with orphans and a number of sustainable projects have been initiated, amongst them are poultry and goat rearing, vegetable growing and sewing.

With your continued support, 2010 is definitely going to be a ‘Change for the Better’.

Read more… Click for 2010 annual report and account

Jane Kaye-Bailey – Chairman

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Peace Day

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The UN International Day of Peace on 21 September is a day of global ceasefire and non-violence. It is not just asking aggressors in war-torn countries to disarm, but for everyone around the globe to refrain from violence – in the home, the work place, and school. It’s also about helping to save the lives of those less fortunate than we are. Although Zambia is a very peaceful country life for most people is an arduous challenge. With water shortages, incurable diseases and some of the worst poverty in the world for many life is certainly not peaceful.

In recognition of global Peace Day The Butterfly Tree is fundig a workshop at Mukuni to highlight the importance of our work in these remote communities.  HIV and AIDS in Zambia is a virus that can be caught at any age most especially for babies born to an HIV positive mother. One of our most successful projects is our under fives feeding program, which provides formulae to replace breastmilk. It has also encouraged more women to come forward to be tested. Today we will be inviting women and their families to participate in a workshop at Mukuni Village, further educating the people of the dangers of this devasting disease, helping to remove the stigma and to encourage more people to be tested.


Peace Day: Young children at Siamasimbi joining hands – a sign of love & peace

To enhance our work at Mukuni Brendan Mission is raising funds to build a music centre at Mukuni. This will be a great place  for the school children throughout the Chiefdom to perform music and drama to raise further awareness of HIV/AIDS. Concerts can be held to make the project sustainable and give the pupils a chance to ‘make change’ through music. Brendan is launching three songs and donating all the profits to The Butterfly Tree. On the 30th September Brendan will be doing a sponsored cycle ride from London to Devon where he will perform a gig. The songs can be pre-ordered for download on the 3rd October.

Two young American girls, Sammi Cohen and Madison Sacks have also been working hard to raise funds for The Butterfly Tree. Their initiative was to collect change from all their classmates and make it into a competition to see which class could raise they most money. They collected an amazing total of $3762. The staff at Natwest in Warwick completed a 10k walk on Sunday for the charity. Gordy Munro has been trying for two years to do a sponsored Skydive for the charity; after six cancellations due to bad weather he finally completed it on the seventh attempt. We are very grateful to all our supporters, the ones doing challenges and fundraising deserve a very special thanks for giving up their time to support our cause.

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Sponsor an orphan in Zambia

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Children don’t ask to be born and when you are born into a Zambian family the chances of losing your parents at an early sage are very high. The HIV and AIDS  in Zambia pandemic has infected or affected almost every family. One in six adults have the HIV virus and 710,000 children have been left orphaned. What happens to these orphans? The luckier ones have family members who look after them, others have guardians, while the unlucky ones who have lost everyone close to them, have to fend for themselves. Many of the have to drop out of school as they can no longer afford the school fees and need to earn money to buy food.

Sponsor an orphan: Elena Malala lives in Kamwi Village with her elderly grandmother

The Butterfly Tree orphan sponsorship program has given hope to almost 400 children and the numbers are rising. Last month an association in Australia – the Mukuni Village Inc. Generously offered to sponsor twenty orphans in addition to the 30 they sponsored last year. This has given the program a huge boost. We have many donors sponsoring between one and ten orphans, some have been with us since 2006 coming from several different countries. We are extremely grateful for this support and hope that this continues as we need many more people to sponsor an orphan.

One man who was so touched by the plight of the orphans after volunteering at Mukuni is doing a fundrasing event to build a music centre for the school. Brendan Poynton, a musician, will cycle from London to Devon to perform a gig to raise additional funds. Chiswick TV are filming the story and event which is to take place on 30th September.

Mukuni pupils on the orphan sponsorship program using the guitar donated by Brendan

Virtually all of our projects in health, education and community work are for the benefit of these vulnerable children. By offering them a chance to go to school, eat a nutritous meal and drink safe, clean water they have a chance in life. Education is the most important aspect of an orphan’s life. Our aim is to get as many of these orphans back into education as possible and to build classrooms in areas where there are no schools. Ten schools in the Mukuni Chiefdom are receiving our support and it is hoped, funds permitting, that we can develop schools in the Musokotwane Chiefdom in 2011.

Victor Simango securing a job after being sponsored by the charity

In December we had our first school leavers after completing their A levels at the high school built by the charity. Although umemployment is extermely high one young man who had been on ourorphan sponsorship program secured a job with Sun International. Victor Simango works as a security officer at the Zambezi Sun Hotel alongside the Victoria Falls and is very grateful to his sponsor who gave him the chance to improve his situation. Help us to help more of these vulnerable children.