I have just returned from Zambia after a three-week trip to check on the orphans, the schools we are building, and to see first-hand the impact that the severe drought, caused by El Niño is having on rural communities. Our priority, as always, is to ensure that the orphans and vulnerable children on our orphan support programme have sufficient food, and to check on their progress.

The first trip was to visit Ngandu primary school where we have been focusing on reducing the number of teenage pregnancies and providing extra textbooks. Far too often I see pupils learning solely from a blackboard instead of having their own textbooks, which are essential for homework and exam revision. The testimonial below is from Edwin Sililo, Head Teacher, Ngandu Primary.

‘The pupil-book ratio has tremendously improved to 2 pupils to 1textbook. Self-research and discovery methods using new textbooks. Additionally, the books added to the value of quality education.’ ‘As regards pregnancies – Peer education workshops were conducted, the prevalence of teenage pregnancies among girls was high. With the peer lessons initiated by The Butterfly Tree among girl children, this year 2023, the school has only recorded one pregnancy. They also helped girls and boys from the risk of contracting sexual transmitted diseases.’ Make a Medic, a UK charity provided funds for the peer education workshops and for the provision of textbooks.

A new primary school at Bbombe Lyangoma will open at the start of the school year in January 2025. A 1×2 classroom block and toilets have been completed and the facility will shortly have a teacher’s house. A teacher’s flat at Singwamba Primary school is currently under construction, which is desperately needed as most teachers leave the school due to distance and lack of accommodation. I drove 360km, of which 120km was off-road, to reach the school where we received a wonderful welcome from pupils, the choir, and traditional dancers.

At Kamwi Primary school I caught up with Elvis and Vincent. Celebrating their 14th birthday last month, the ‘Kamwi twins’, they are now in grade 7. Sadly, their mother and sister died during childbirth. Since 2010 The Butterfly Tree has sponsored the welfare and education of these vulnerable boys who are looked after by their grandmother.

I also visited three of the secondary schools developed by the charity, Mukuni, Musokotwane and Riverview. Pupils are preparing for their examinations including grade 12, after which they will have completed their education. More schools have received boreholes (wells) this year due to the drought. These include Kamusiku, Katondo, Manono, Masmu Muyumu, Siamuya, Sianjangulu, Luwe, Muule, Service Centre and Mulindi Primary and Community schools, and the newly constructed secondary school at Nguba.

The impact of the severe drought was apparent everywhere I travelled, especially in the rural areas where communities are subsistence farmers, relying on home grown food and income-generation from selling crops and vegetables. I drove to four areas where we were distributing 25kg bags of ground maize in Musokotwane, Sekute and Mukuni Chiefdom. One of our local volunteers organised the distributions for Nyawa and Moomba.

In 2019 I saw the water and food shortages when Zambia was suffering from a drought, but nothing can compare with the one that is happening this year. I have never seen the Zambezi River so low, not the Victoria Falls so dry. In Livingstone people are hard-hit with the reduction of power but they have access to food and water. Whereas in the villages people have no food other than wild fruits and are having to walk long distances in search of water.

We have installed 27 boreholes this year with a further five scheduled for next week, including Mukamba village, in Nyawa where I stopped to take a look at a well where children and teenagers were getting water. I was horrified to see a girl precariously balancing on a log while filling a bucket with murky water. This is their only source of drinking water.

The good news is that El Niño, deemed to be the fifth worst in history, has now ended and with the rainy season imminent it is predicted that is will be plentiful!

The support we have received this year, especially from the Overseas Aid and Development Commission of Guernsey, Nick Bousliman, Give a Hand and the Murphy Family Foundation, has been truly amazing and has enabled us to reach out to more rural areas where there are orphans and vulnerable children, and to provide emergency food relief, food security and the provision of clean water.

Jane Kaye-Bailey

Founder

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram

No doubt many of you who live in areas that are affected by flooding due to the past week’s deluge of rain are wishing it would stop! In complete contrast Zambia’s severe drought, caused by El Niño, continues and people are desperately in need of rain. While hunger is widespread and reports of malnutrition in both children and adults has been shared with us, The Butterfly Tree is reaching out to people in outreach areas of Mukuni, Nyawa, Sekute, Musokotwane and most recently Moomba Chiefdom. Our local trustees and volunteers are working tirelessly to distribute bags of ground maize. To date we have distributed over 3,000 25kg bags with a further 1,000 allocated for this coming week. Over the weekend we reached Moomba, the most remote Chiefdom in the Kazungula District where we provide support for malaria prevention. The distance from our base in Livingstone to Moomba is almost 200km and much of the driving is off road. When I previously drove to this area it took several hours. Yesterday the community leaders told our volunteer that no other support is available and were overjoyed to receive 200 bags of ground maize. In addition to Moomba last week our local trustees distributed 200 bags in Mukuni, 200 in Sekute and 250 each in Musokowane and Nyawa. The latter two each have over 400 villages. All the orphans on sponsorship also received a 25kg bag each. Thanks to generous donations from The Murphy Family, Nick Bousliman, and numerous individuals thousands of people not only have food, but they now have hope! After hearing that only 20 out of 60 children were attending a class at Lumbo primary school our volunteers were in this region distributing maize in the dark. The following day the head teacher reported that 55 children were back in class. The rainy season should start next month, and people can soon start planting crops and vegetables. In addition to 10 food security projects for women and disabled young people, we are donating seeds and fertilizer to schools and communities to create sustainability. Instead of maize sorghum seeds will be given out as this crop is less rain dependent than maize and has a high protein content. By the end of this week we will have installed 28 boreholes this year and 10 water systems. Despite the drought we continue to make substantial progress with education projects. We will shortly have funds in place to develop another primary school thanks to former England rugby player, Victor Ubogu, who kindly asked his family, friends, and colleagues to donate for a classroom block instead of giving him presents. More orphans have been added to the orphan sponsorship programme. We will continue supporting a boy who completed grade 12 at Mukuni secondary school after being offered a place at university. For those of you who are waiting updates please accept my apologies for the delay. I will be going to Zambia next month and aim to get all the updates. Once again, my sincere thanks to everyone who has answered our appeals to emergency food relief and for all the other projects which are helping to transform the lives of children and young people. Jane Kaye-Bailey Founder Follow us on Facebook and Instagram Read More →

More Zambian children living in rural areas will shortly have access to primary and secondary education. A new secondary school at Nguba and a primary school at Bbombe Lyangoma will open next term.

Nguba primary school has 923 pupils from early learning to grade nine. Classrooms are crowded and there is a shortage of desks. The Butterfly Tree is about to complete a new secondary school in this remote area, which will reduce the burden for the primary school, as the advanced facility will cater for grades eight to twelve. The project includes a 1×3 classroom block, a teacher’s house, toilets, and a borehole with a solar-powered water system to enable the school to create a sustainable feeding programme.

Other secondary schools developed by The Butterfly Tree are at Mukuni, Riverview and Musokotwane. We have also provided funds to expand Nyawa and Kauwe secondary schools. Currently pupils at Bbombe Lyagoma primary school have lessons in a basic structure built by the community. The new 1×2 classroom block will improve the learning environment. A teacher’s house will shortly be added to accommodate trained teachers funded by the Ministry of Education.

Though education is fundamental in overcoming poverty children must also have clean drinking water, sufficient food and access to healthcare. As previously reported Zambia is suffering from a severe drought. Hunger is widespread and water sources are drying up. Three more boreholes are to be drilled this week for Kauwe Rural Health Centre, and for Siangula and Sichifulo communities. Sicifulo school has 923 pupils, their borehole is having to accommodate neighbouring villages with a total population of 2,692. If these drills are successful, The Butterfly Tree will have donated 26 boreholes so far this year.

We are receiving daily requests for food donations. As soon as funds are available we help as many people as possible, sharing it equally in Mukuni, Nyawa, Sekute and Musokotwane Chiefdom. One man, who has four children plus two nephews and four orphans to look after, told our volunteers that they had not eaten a proper meal for five days.

Our research and surveys have not found any other organisation donating food in these remote areas where people would normally grow sufficient food for their own consumption, and to earn a living. Schools in Kazungula tell us that they are not receiving enough support from World Food Programme, only a few say they received ground maize for one term this year. Consequently, some children are not attending school due to hunger.   

Thanks to substantial grant aid and donations received from the Overseas Aid and Development Commission of Guernsey, private individuals and the Murphy Family Foundation more food security projects are being initiated. The most recent ones are at Zalu, Kanchele, Sekute Central and Zwanga. Each group of women have been given a borehole, solar-powered water system, seeds and fertilizer. The next phase will be to construct workshops and to purchase grinding mills. Other food security projects in Musokotwane, Senkobo, Simabalele and Mukuni are progressing well.

A recent project to empower young people with mental health and physical challenges is underway after a delay due to the drought. Last week participants in Mukuni received training to learn all about chicken rearing. This will provide the group with food, and a sustainable income. Two more projects will be initiated this month for young people in Ngandu and Kamwi villages. We are grateful to our Canadian partner, Give a Hand for this generous donation. 

Our sincere thanks to Jackie, one of our trustees who held a fundraiser, to the Murphy Family Foundation, Kampango, Cosham Inner Wheel Club, and all the individuals who have donated money to provide bags of ground maize for families who are suffering from hunger. If you would like to make a donation, a 25kg bag of ground maize will feed a family of four for a month and costs just £10 ($13), please click on this link or contact jane@thebutterlytree.org.uk

100% WILL BE USED TO PROVIDE VITAL FOOD AND WATER FOR THOSE MOST IN NEED.

Jane Kaye-Bailey
Founder

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram

My belief has always been that children do not ask to be born nor do they choose where they are born. Being brought up in a Yorkshire Dales farming community I had access to clean water, readily available food, a nearby hospital, and primary and secondary schools.

If you are born in a poor community in Zambia, where you live in a mud and pole construction, do not have access to clean water, your crops have perished due drought, you must walk several kilometres to reach school and the nearest health facility is a distance of 20km, life can be tough. No more so than for orphans and vulnerable children.

Since 2006 The Butterfly Tree has provided sponsorship for orphans and vulnerable children living in extreme poverty, in the Kazungula District of Zambia. Many live with elderly grandparents or guardians who have little source of income. Some of you may have read on the BBC’s Africa News section about the Zambian government abolishing school fees in 2022. This was welcomed by everyone – however, money still needs to be found to pay for uniforms, shoes, books, school bags and sports kits. The article mentions increased number of pupils returning to school resulting in overcrowding and shortages of classrooms, desks and books.

I have seen this on numerous visits to Zambia where pupils are sitting on the floor and where there is only one textbook per class. The Butterfly Tree will shortly complete two new schools. A secondary school for pupils at Nguba includes a 1×3 classroom block, teacher’s house and toilets – this will provide an improved learning environment from grades 8 to 12. A community school at Bbombe Lyangoma will have a permanent 1×2 classroom block and toilets. Once completed we will hand these schools over to the Ministry of Education who will provide trained teachers and ongoing expenses.

On health matters – monthly donations from Blooms Chemist, Australia provide essential support to Bunsanga, Mambova and Simonga Health Posts. The company has also donated funds for a shelter at Simonga. We have built seven entire health posts and expanded a further six by adding maternity units and mother’s shelters. These rural facilities are crucial for providing maternity care, general practice, and HIV and malaria testing and treatment.

Thanks to a substantial donation from the Angus Lawson Memorial Trust 1,320 mosquito nets we given to pupils and teachers at Kauwe primary and secondary schools. A testimonial from Kauwe’s Environmental Health Technologist includes the following extract: ‘This year 2024, we are yet to record any malaria cases among pupils. This act of generosity will go a long way in saving lives and ensuring a reduction in Malaria within our catchment area.’ Schools in Mabwa zone also received mosquito nets this year as part of the grant from Guernsey Overseas Aid and Development Commission.

Heartbreakingly, the impact of the severe drought caused by El Niño and climate change is escalating. Our local volunteers and health workers are reporting distressing news: ‘A child dying from poisoning and two more hospitalized after eating wild roots. People fainting from hunger after going days without food.’ In one zone a health worker told me that 95% of the crops had perished, this is common in many areas. Every day our local team receive requests for food donations.

Since March we have been distributing bags of ground maize to the orphans and vulnerable children on sponsorship and to those with disabilities and to the elderly. We cannot feed everyone but your donations are providing vital support and helping to avert a famine. We are most grateful to the Murphy Family Foundation and Kampango for their generous support for the food crisis, and to all the individual people who have donated funds to buy bags of ground maize.

We have now installed 20 boreholes this year with four more scheduled in the coming days. Nine solar-powered water reticulation systems have added to provide food security with more to follow. Seeds and fertilizer will also be donated so that more people can grow their own food to relieve hunger and for sustainable income-generation.

With no rain expected before October we need to do much more. If you would like to donate a bag of ground maize which costs just £10 (US13) please click on this link or contact jane@thebutterflytree.org.uk

100% WILL BE USED TO PROVIDE EMERGENCY RELIEF FOR THOSE MOST IN NEED.

Jane Kaye-Bailey

Founder

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram

The Butterfly Tree built the first secondary school in the Kazungula District in Mukuni Village, which has enabled thousands of children to complete their education. Ten pupils under sponsorship are currently attending university, while others have sought employment. I am delighted to report that six young men and women, who were sponsored by the charity, have undergone extensive army training and graduate this month.

In addition to Mukuni Secondary school we have developed one for Musokotwane, completed in April. An extra 1×3 classroom block will advance River View Secondary school, and a new secondary school, including a 1×3 classroom block, teacher’s house and toilets, is under construction for Nguba. Prior to these facilities pupils had to drop out of school at the end of grade nine. These schools now run from grades eight to twelve.

The three special education classes we initiated at Mukuni, Katapazi and Simonga are to receive a boost thanks to a donation from St James’s Place Foundation. Another primary school is being built at Bbombe Lyangoma, a remote area of Nyawa, where pupils are currently being taught in an inadequate learning environment. A 1×2 classroom block and toilets will improve both education standards and sanitation. We also have funds in place to develop another primary school. These schools are handed over to the government for them to provide trained teachers and to fund ongoing costs.

Sadly, it is not all good news due to the severe drought which is causing widespread hunger. Declared as a National Disaster and Emergency in March, the situation is worsening and no rain is expected until October. People, especially in the remote villages, lost all their crops and are desperate for food. We are distributing bags of ground maize to the most vulnerable and getting support that can help many more people to grow food and access clean water.

I am delighted to announce that the Guernsey Overseas Aid and Development Commission has approved our application for another Grant Aid Award. This will enable us to establish food security and safe water projects for four groups of women. One each for Nyawa, Mukuni, Musokotwane, and Sekute Chiefdoms and will include storage buildings, solar-powered water reticulation systems, fencing, tools, seeds and grinding mills for maize.

So far this year we have installed sixteen boreholes with three more at Luwe, Muule and Service Centre community schools to be drilled this week. These will be shared with their communities to provide access to clean water for the maximum amount of people during this critical time and in future. In areas where the streams have run dry people can be found digging for water in river beds.

The Murphy Family Foundation has kindly offered a substantial donation to support our food and water projects so that more people can be helped during this dire situation. We are incredibly grateful for the support we have already received from our donors and want to thank everyone who has donated funds to give people access to clean water and to help prevent a famine. While we cannot help everyone we are reaching out to thousands of people in need.

If you would like to make a donation, a 25kg bag of maize costs £10, please click on this link or should you wish to donate to something else please contact jane@thebutterflytree.org.uk

100% WILL BE USED TO PROVIDE VITAL FOOD AND WATER FOR THOSE MOST IN NEED.

Jane Kaye-Bailey

Founder

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram