World Malaria Day 2012

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Jane Kaye-Bailey

‘The theme for World Malaria Day 2012 – Sustain Gains, Save Lives: Invest in Malaria – marks a decisive juncture in the history of malaria control. Whether the malaria map will keep shrinking, as it has in the past decade, or be reclaimed by the malaria parasites, depends, to a great extent, on the resources that will be invested in control efforts over the next years. In Africa, malaria deaths have been cut by one third within the last decade’. This is what is stated by the World Malaria Organisation. It remains a very sensitive issue and will only continue to be successful with global funding. Malaria is still the biggest killer of man, with 75% of all deaths occurring in children under five in sub-Sahara Africa.

World Malaria Day: Distribution of mosquito nets – Mukuni Chiefdom

Sadly I do not see very little of this funding reaching rural communities where we work. During my recent trip to Zambia I came across more new cases of malaria than in previous years. The government are supposed to provide mosquito nets to all children under five and pregnant women. The Mukuni Chiefdom has a population of 20,000, since January 2011 the community has received only 100 nets from the Department of Health. Thanks to a generous annual donation from Saga Charitable Trust we run a malaria prevention program in the Chiefdom. In March we distributed 400 mosquito nets to outreach villages as well as purchasing malaria testing kits , which are equally important. Early testing is vital especially in this region where P. falciparum is prevalent and may result in death within hours or a few days of infection. It is also crucial that the people are educated about the dangers of malaria as early symptoms can appear to be flu-like making it imperative to seek immediate medical advice if there is a fever. If caught in time it can be easily treated.

Twin boys from Chibale contract malaria

Today I will be attending an event to mark World Malaria Day at the Commonwealth Secretariat. A number of key speakers will address and consult on global malaria. Topics will include malaria control, women and children’s vulnerability to malaria and most alarmingly the growing resistance to malaria medications. Until there is a cure prevention is essential, providing mosquito nets and malaria testing kits will continue to be one of our main priorities. You can help us! Donate a mosquito net for as little as £5, which could save the precious life of a child.

School Feeding Programmes

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Jane Kaye-Bailey

Alfred is not an orphan but his parents are seperated and have very little income. He attends school and makes clothes to generate some money. During my last visit to Mukuni Village I was horrified to learn that Alfred had attempted to commit suicide. When I was asked to counsel him I was unsure of how to approach the matter. I got a run down from his teacher and learnt that he was very intelligent and hard working. When I met this fine young man I let him explain what happened. He told me that he had helped with the housework, prepared supper for the family but had to go away for a couple of hours. When he returned, feeling very hungry after not eating since early morning, he was horrified to find that all the food had been eaten by his family. After an argument with his brother, feeling weak and deprived he went into the bushes and attempted to end his life. Miraculously he was found before it was too late.

School Feeding Programs: Albert earning a sustainable income

When we hear of a young person in the west taking a life it is most likely to be fuelled by drug or alcohol abuse or perhaps bullying at school, but not from hunger. For these rural communites in Zambia hunger goes hand in hand with poverty and our aim is to address the situation at all the schools we support. Sustainable feeding programs are a long-term solution. For the past five years Cunninghams have provided funds for 350 vulnerable children to receive a daily nutritional meal at Mukuni. Many of these children have to walk several miles to school to commence lessons at 7am followed by an afternoon of activities. This feeding programme has helped to improve the health, concentration and stamina of numerous school pupils.

Kamwi Basic School feeding programme

Without sponsorship we are unable to offer such programmes in other schools, though we do provide seeds for several schools to grow produce to supplement their diet. October to March is the rainy season in Zambia therefore it is vital to plant as much maize as possible to provide food for the dry season. The daily porridge from the World Food Program is intermittent and insufficient for three school terms. Education is the key to overcoming problems of hunger. As for Albert, though he is not an orphan he is vulnerable, and has been added to our orphan sponsorship programme and will be given funds to develop his sewing business to create sustainability for himself and his family.

Charity Calendar 2012

Posted on December 7, 2011 by Jane Kaye-Bailey

The Butterfly Tree’s 2012 charity calendar is available to order. The twelve companies who each sponsor a page have generously continued to do so this year. Some of these companies also sponsor projects annually and have made an invaluable contribution to our work in Zambia.

The calendar is designed to create awareness of our vital work in Zambia and to raise funds for the grassroots projects. The charity’s funds have helped thousands of children to improve their situation in life. Each £5 that is raised from the sale of this calendar can buy an impregnated mosquito net, medical supplies for one of the three clinics we are operating in, or much needed stationery for one of the fifteen schools we currently support.

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 Morphity for designing the calendar.

These captivating pictures show just a few of the pages for 2012. The high quality desk top calendar measures 21cm x 16cm and can be bought for £5 or 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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Children’s Health and Education

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Jane Kaye-Bailey

The Butterfly Tree is the beneficiary of a fundraising campaign initiated by Jim Cochrane, CEO of ENRC Marketing AG based in Zurich. When Jim suggested that one of his colleagues should grow a moustache to raise funds for charity, the flippant remark developed into a challenge to raise funds for an NGO working in one of the countries where ENRC operate. Unknown to The Butterfly Tree we were being strutinised along with hundreds of other charities that provide education, health and social care for disadvantaged children throughout Africa, Asia and South America.

The campaign had been organised by Marilena and Tatiana who worked tirelessly to coordinate the objective until they reached their target of 20,000 Swiss francs. Eventually three charities were selected and the employees had to vote on a winner. Amazingly The Butterfly Tree was chosen as the charity having the best records of proven transparency and for the fact that we are all volunteers both in the UK and Zambia. In just one month the employees at their Zurich office, helped with match funding from head office in London, raised a staggering $27,000 (over £16,000).

Funds for Children’s Health & Education: Jane with ENRC Marketing employees

I was invited to Zurich where I gave a presentation on our work in Zambia before receiving this generous cheque. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet all the participants and to see the collection of moustaches and beards. The perfect day ended with a summer party on board a boat which sailed across Lake Zurich. I felt very privileged to be with such an caring group of people and inspired after learning that The Butterfly Tree was their preferred charity.

Fundraising campaign for The Butterfly Tree

Fundraising campaign raise $27,000 for The Butterfly Tree

The funding will be used to build a teacher’s house at Mukuni Village, five community houses for orphans and the remainder will be used to boost our HIV/AIDS prevention projects for children, which will include peer education, worshops and feeding programmes.

Corporate Sponsorship

Posted on July 9, 2011 by Jane Kaye-Bailey

Over the last couple of months The Butterfly Tree has gained new donors through corporate sponsorship. The most recent is Brady Italia, which came about after a group visited Mukuni Village while on a business incentive trip to Victoria Falls. They donated blankets and educational material to the Mukuni Basic School. As a result of their humbling experience the company and its employees have kindly offered to donate a considerable amount of funds over the next two years in addition to sending shipment of clothing. Another generous offer has come from Canon Australia, again a group visited Mukuni and the team was so touched by the plight of the orphans that they are sending generous monthly shipments of stationery, sports equipment and funds toward one of The Butterfly Tree’s education programs.

Some of the comments made by their team include: ‘It was an amazing experience that changed our outlook on life’ – ‘We were touched by the importance the community placed on educating their youth’ – ‘It was a humbling expericence with a great team of people’.

Corporate Sponsorship: Cunninghams sponsors a feeding program – Mukuni Schools

You don’t have to visit Zambia to get involved. On September 15th The Butterfly Tree has been invited to participate in Cyclothon UK, a fundraising event which is taking place at Brands Hatch. The event, which is organised by Victor Umbugo , former England rugby prop, though his company VU Ltd (Sports & Hospitality Event Organisers) will gain a great deal of publicity. This gives us a further opportunity to raise funds and gain publicity for both ourselves and our sponsors. Hence we are seeking corporate sponsorship and asking for contributions. We would include your company nmae on all advertising material, our website updates and regular posts on Facebook and Twitter. A big thank you to CRB Solutions and Academy Leasing for their genrous sponsorship and getting us off the starting block!

Gardiff sponsors The Butterfly Tree Pre-school – Mukuni Village

We have recently been accepted to participate in the Big Give Christmas Challenge, whereby pledges made before October, though do not have to be paid unitl December can be doubled. This gives us a great opportuntiy to increase funding for the grassroots projects in Zambia. All our work is to benefit orphaned and vulnerable children, we are all volunteers therefore any funds raised through these intiatives will go directly to the cause. A big thank you to CRB Solutions and Academy Leasing for getting us off the starting block!

If you would like to learn more about how you can get involved or to become a corporate sponsor kindly contact jane@thbutterflytree.org.uk

Water is Life

Posted on June 9, 2010 by Jane Kaye-Bailey

June, the start of the British summer. A time when we embrace the warm sunshine, blue skies, light evenings and hope for rain-free days. A time for planting out the garden, barbecues and Pimms. During this period many of us will be pumping thousands of litres of water onto our precious gardens, wash our cars and fill our swimming pools, while children in Zambia will be drinking from crocodile infested rivers.

Zambia has a dry, wet and winter seasons. The rains abate at the end of March and can rarely be seen before the end of October. Six months without rain, when the lush green vegetation turns into a dry parched terrain. Life in villages such as Mukuni is challenging, life in remote villages like Siamasimbi is tough. Water is life, without it nothing can grow. In the west it is taken for granted, for African children it is a precious commodity. The Butterfly Tree’s aim is to provide safe, clean water to all the outreach communities in the areas of our work. To date we have provided seven bore holes in the Mukuni Chiefdom, two of them from private donors and five thanks to our partnership with Just a Drop. We have also added nine new water tanks in Mukuni Village thanks to a generous donation from Saga Charitable Trust.

Water is life: dry stream in Mukuni, a common scene in the month of September

African woman and children can be seen all over the continent walking long distances to obtain water. Streams are shared for bathing, washing clothes, drinking water and with animals, further increasing the risk of pollution. The difference a bore hole can provide is enormous. No longer are the children at risk from being attacked by crocodiles, the risk of infection is considerably reduced. Earlier this year seven babies died in one village due to a water-born bacterial infection.

Besides providing bore holes we set up a water committee to educate the community and to teach the people basic hygiene, maintenance skills and sustainablity. Five of the schools now have their own bore hole with Indian hand pumps and two with Playpumps, a wonderful concept whereby the children can pump their own water while playing on a merry-go-round. The schools are now able to have their own gardens to support the invaluable feeding programs.

Children happily pumping water safe, clean water for Kamwi Basic School

In conjunction with Small Charities Week 14th-18th June we are promoting awareness for the one billion people who do not have access to safe, clean water and raising funds to support our water projects in Zambia.

Feeding Programs at Mukuni

Posted on May 20, 2010 by Jane Kaye-Bailey

Although the area where The Butterfly Tree works is not an area of famine there is a great deal of hunger, particularly amongst the children who have to walk a considerable distance to school. Leaving home at 4am, covering a distance of ten miles to reach school for start of lessons at 7am is not an easy task. This is to be followed by a full morning of lessons so by noon their stomachs are rumbling ferociously. For the lucky ones they will have brought food to school or been given money to buy something at the Mukuni Village market; for the less fortunate no food is available until after the return journey to their village.

Since 2006 The Butterfly has provided a nutritional feeding program, generously sponsored by Cunninghams for almost 500 vulnerable pupils at Mukuni Village. This year thanks to the generosity of Karen Lytle, a philanthropic traveler from Arizona four other schools, N’gandu, Kamwi, Siamasimbi and Katapazi have their own feeding programs. Mubiana Community School has also received funds donated by Placer Nature Centre. All of these schools, along with Mukuni, have been given seeds to grow their own vegetables to add sustainability. This year most of them had good crops of maize, the staple diet of Zambia. The maize has been dried, ground and stored for use during the dry season, now they are planting vegetables to support the feeding programs.

Feeding programs: Katapazi and Mukuni – two of the schools that grow their own maize

These feeding programs are essential, without them both attendence and performance is poor. We are encouring all the schools to become sustainable, each of them has been given a bore hole to support this program, the last to be completed is at Kamwi Basic School. This is a great boost for the schools, especially during the dry season when it is normal to go six months without rain. Once again we are grateful to Just a Drop for providing the funds for our water projects. Seeing fresh, clean water pumping from underground gives much joy to the communities and a healthier option than using rivers and streams contaminated with bacteria.

New bore hole & Indian hand pump for Kamwi Basic School

Both the feeding programs and water projects have made a substantial ‘Change for the Better’.