Boost for Water, Health and Education

Posted on June 22, 2016 by Jane Kaye-Bailey

The new financial year has got off to a great start! Since April 1st I am delighted to say that we have received a substantial amount of funding to add more bore holes, to provide extra support for Malaria and HIV prevention, and to construct new educational facilities.

Using donations from a private donor, Cayman Islands Rotary Club and Kampango we are about to install two bore holes at Singwamba Health Centre, which has a catchment of 7,500 and for River View School, attended by 1,100 pupils. At present both areas rely on river water, which is full of bacteria and in the case of River View, teeming with crocodiles.

The 1,100 pupils at River View School are to receive a new bore hole

This year in Zambia there has been a serious outbreak in malaria, which is some areas has turned into an emergency. The environmental officers believe it is due to the unseasonable heavy rain which fell in March, leaving a considerable amount of stagnant water in rural areas. I am pleased to say that the areas in Mukuni, where we applied the new intervention, have not been affected. This is an extract from a letter sent to us from the Ministry of Health:

‘The application of the products in eight communities in the Mukuni Chiefdom has contributed to the reduction of malaria in Mukuni area. This is because the chemicals are very effective in fighting the malaria vector.’

One of the 1,000 plus households to receive protection from malaria

In other areas Singwamba Health Centre recorded 3,245 cases of malaria and the tragic deaths of twelve children aged between one and thirteen years. After putting out an appeal on Facebook, amazingly donors instantly responded and a considerable amount of money was raised. We have since applied the safe granules in mosquito breeding grounds, in the worst affected areas, to prevent the larva from developing into mosquito.

Stagnant water – breeding ground for mosquito

On the education front we received substantial funding from Jersey Overseas Aid Commission to add two 1×3 classroom blocks and a solar system to N’gandu School. This is being done through their Community Works Project and once again we will host volunteers from Jersey to help with the construction. Arnewood School has raised funds for a boarding shelter at Mukuni, a group of their students will shortly travel to Zambia to volunteer.

Further development for N’gandu Junior Secondary School

Sinsimuku Community School is currently being developed with the construction of two classrooms, latrines and a teacher’s house, thanks to a further donation from Attraction Tickets Direct. In addition a recent donation from a US volunteer will enable our young peer educators to carry out more workshops in HIV prevention. More orphans are to be sponsored and our partner, the Mukuni Village Trust in South Australia, has offered to continue supporting forty orphans.

Florence – one of the 40 orphans sponsored by the Australian group

We have a brand ‘new look’ website, kindly donated by Miranda de Freston, one of our trustees and owner of Morphity.

These generous offers of support and funds help to sustain our on going projects as well as allowing us to reach out to more remote communities in in the Southern Province of Zambia.

Orphans Give Back

Posted on May 10, 2016 by Jane Kaye-Bailey

Coming from remote villages in Zambia the majority of children have to walk daily, from one to ten miles each way, to seek an education. The facility may only be a mud hut with an untrained teacher, but the eagerness to learn, shown by these vulnerable children, never seizes to amaze me. Education is everything to them.

Bunsanga Community School in need of a Permanent classroom

Since 2006 The Butterfly Tree has run an orphan sponsorship programme for children who have lost one or both parents. Several hundred children have received a sound basic education, now many of the original beneficiaries have completed school.

Josias Muuba now a trained pre-school teacher

Over the past ten years we have build a considerable number of schools and teachers houses, installed bore hole and latrines, improved the health facilities, all for the benefit of the orphans. In addition we have provided vast amounts of educational material, sports and classroom equipment and much needed boarding shelters to enable older children to attend High School.

Singwamba Primary School development funded by Attraction Tickets Direct

What has impressed me most is the desire for these educated orphans to give back to their community. Jacob, when he completed grade 12, thanked me and added ‘What can I do to help The Butterfly Tree?’ He has since been a volunteer at Mukuni Health Centre, helped us with the orphan and malaria prevention programmes, and is about to start his final year at agricultural college.

Jacob helping with the malaria prevention programme – Chuunga Village

Others like Josias, Edwin, Natasha, Joe, Sammy, Florence, Mufiani, and Etkin have followed suit by volunteering for the charity. Most importantly many of them have become trained peer educators in HIV prevention, a programme that was written especially for these young Zambians by Mutsa Marau, one of our UK volunteers. Natasha and Bridget are full time volunteers at the clinic.

Former sponsored orphans turned peer educators

‘Catch me I’m a Butterfly Tree’ teaches school children about the dangers of HIV and AIDS, early teenage pregnancies, STI’s and drug and alcohol abuse. I spent several days in March observing and working with these young peer educators, it was truly inspirational. They are motivated role models and the ones that will make the change for their peers and families to lead healthier lives.

Bridget, Natasha and Florence conducting an HIV prevention workshop – Mukuni

When funds are available we sponsor orphans to go to college. The courses include hotel management, teaching, engineering and computing to name but a few. The British and Foreign School Society sponsored 20 students, out of these 18 have sought employment. Our aim is to source funds to provide further education opportunities for the orphans, and to create a training centre for young entrepreneurs.

Petronella employed as a maid at Avani Hotel, saving for teacher’s training college

A message from Petronella:

‘I would like to thank you for the sponsorship you gave me towards my education. I believe that for me I am where I am today because of you and can’t imagine how I would have ended up if I hadn’t been offered the chance to get an education.’

We are so grateful to everyone of our sponsors, most especially the Mukuni Village Trust in Australia, who have sponsored between 40 and 50 orphans for the past several years and the Callaways who have annually sponsored 15 orphans since 2008.

If you would like to sponsor an orphan to go to school or a student to go to college, please contact jane@thebutterflytree.org.uk

Fundraising for Education

Posted on April 28, 2016 by Jane Kaye-Bailey

Last month I was delighted to learn from Gumtree that The Butterfly Tree was to be the beneficiary for a fundraising activity, taking place in April. The aim was to upcycle an old and unrepairable Beetle and turn it into a number of unique pieces of furniture and household items.

Max McMurdo ready for action

To achieve this Gumtree engaged TV personality Max McMurdo of Reestore and a team of designers, upcyclers and bloggers to report on all the action. They had just six days to complete the task, and then the items would go on sale.

Max and some of the designers

Several of the team, including Max, worked tirelessly throughout the week, with volunteers increasing over the weekend. I was invited over to Bedford to observe the production line and meet the team, it was so exciting that I returned on the Saturday to see the items taking shape. A bed, a dressing table, chairs, lamps and wall clocks were just some of the ingenious designs unfolding.

Garden seat in the making

Gumtree are now selling the items on their Beetlemania site. All proceeds, including an incredibly generous offer from the company to match the funds raised, with be donated to The Butterfly Tree. 100% of the money raised will go to to building a much needed classroom block for the 1,050 children at River View School, where there are as many as 80 pupils per class.

Beetlemania Table Lamb

On behalf of the charity I would like to thank Gumtree, Max McMurdo and all the dedicated volunteers who generously offered their expertise and gave up their time to support our cause in Zambia.

World Malaria Day 2016

Posted on April 25, 2016 by Jane Kaye-Bailey

The Butterfly Tree in partnership with Vectorcide International introduces safe innovative malaria prevention method for World Malaria Day 2016

Malaria is the biggest killer of man – every 60 seconds a child dies from malaria. People all over the globe come together to mark this significant day.

In 2015, there were 214 million cases, and 438 000 deaths from Malaria
3.2 billion (half the world’s population) are at risk
In 2015, 97 countries had on-going malaria transmission
The global malaria mortality rate was reduced by 60% in 2000 – 15, and an estimated 6.2 million lives were saved as a result of a scale-up of malaria interventions

Young children need protection from malaria

We are the first charity is the world to use Vectorcide’s safe insecticidal coating and Larvicide granules to help eradicate malaria in Zambia. Both these products are highly effective, with no new cases of malaria being reported in areas of application. The products are harmless to humans, animals and the environment.

Vectorcide coating is harmless to humans and animals

To mark this day The Butterfly Tree is hosting an event, to showcase our work in malaria prevention, at Kamwi Village in the Mukuni Chiefdom. Members of the Ministry of Health and local communities will be in attendance. Two of our team Mrs Maseka, a government Environmental Officer and Stain Musungaila will be the presenters. Stain has lost five family members to this devastating disease.

Children in Kamwi are at risk of malaria

For the past eight years we have donated a vast number of mosquito nets in the Mukuni, Sekute and Nyawa Chiefdoms adding extra protection. A substantial donation will be offered to mark World Malaria Day.

Donation of mosquito nets – Mukuni Chiefdom

The Butterfly Tree is appealing for donations to distribute more of these life-saving products in Zambia, and other areas where there is a high prevalence of malaria. Thank you to Saga, Medisave, Inner Wheel Clubs District 6, Karmakarma and all the individual donors who have already supported our malaria prevention programme.

Please DONATE Just £5 ($8) will protect a family home or buy a mosquito net.

March 2016 Newsletter

Posted on March 31, 2016 by Jane Kaye-Bailey

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

Jane with the Kamwi Twins

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

Newly opened clinic at Mambova

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

Malaria is prevalent in many areas in Zambia

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

HIV PREVENTION GROUP

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

School in a Bag donation – River View School

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

Jane Kaye-Bailey

Ten Year Anniversary

Posted on March 3, 2016 by Jane Kaye-Bailey

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

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

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

February 2007 – Mukuni Village Ceremony

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

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

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

2008 – First bore hole installed at Chise Village

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

2009 – Mukun Secondary School 3 classroom block

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

Some of the first orphans to be sponsored by the charity

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

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

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

The home of these children has been coated to prevent malaria

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

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

With much appreciation,

Jane Kaye-Bailey

Water Crisis

Posted on February 22, 2016 by Jane Kaye-Bailey

For many of us the constant rainy days this winter have become tiresome. The ground is saturated, which restricts us being able to play sport, do the gardening or hang out the washing. Imagine what it would be like if you had no fresh water to drink, no rain to irrigate the crops and no streams to wash your clothes in.

Dry River – Southern Province

While some areas of the globe are experiencing excessive rain and flooding caused by El Niño, many countries in Eastern and Southern Africa are suffering from drought. Zambia is no exception. Though substantial rain has helped parts of the nation, areas between Zimba to Livingstone, in Southern Province, have been hit for the second consecutive year. The Chiefdoms where we work are in this region.

Dry Stream – Mukuni Chiefdom

Reports are coming in of dry streams, failed crops and food shortages. Children are drinking from shallow wells. At River View School, which is close to the Zambezi River, water is generally pumped from the river using an electric pump, but when there is no electricity, water has to be drawn from the river. Last week, a fourteen year old boy had a narrow escape. As he was drawing the water a friend noticed a crocodile heading towards him and thankfully alerted the boy in time!

Failed Maize Crop

Over one third of Zambia’s 15.5 million population do no have access to safe clean drinking water and 25% of all schools to not have a safe supply of water.

Shallow Wells used in Schools

We have successfully installed a number of bore holes and Indian hand pumps in schools, clinics and rural communities. This facility not only provides safe drinking water, but also a source of irrigation for school gardens to create sustainable feeding programmes. As maize is rain dependent we have introduced sorghum seeds for schools, the crop requires less water, along with vegetable seeds.

Safe Drinking Water for Sinsimuku Pupils

Our priority over the next few months will be to source funds to provide more remote schools and clinics with bore holes. If you are interested in supporting our water projects please contact jane@thebutterflytree.org.uk or DONATE on line using our secure facilitator.

Orphan Sponsorship

Posted on February 7, 2016 by Jane Kaye-Bailey

It is almost ten years since The Butterfly Tree started its orphan sponsorship programme in Zambia, to date around 1,000 individual orphans have received a sound basic education. Many pupils have since completed high school, others are attending college, while a number have sought employment.

Peter Liyungu – first sponsored orphan in final year at teachers training college

In the early days it was fairly simple to get to know each individual orphan and give regular feedback to the sponsors, especially as they were all attending Mukuni Basic School. The programme has grown considerably and we now offer sponsorship to orphans in other schools, including N’gandu, Kamwi, N’dele and Mahalulu.

Happy New Year

Posted on January 1, 2016 by Jane Kaye-Bailey

2015 has been a year of considerable development for The Butterfly Tree and our rural communities in Zambia, most especially the national launch of the new malaria prevention project. Below are images showing some of this years achievements.

New Malaria Prevention initiative for Zambia

One of two women’s shelters – Singwamba

Ndele Primary School – 1×2 classroom block

N’gandu Junior School – 3 classrooms, 2 teacher’s houses and latrines

Singwamba School – 2 classrooms and latrines

Muchambile School – further educational development

82 global volunteers – including World Challenge and JOAC

School Bore Holes – Bunsanga, Siachakubi and Simsimuku

School in a Bag Partnership – River View School

Sustainable feeding programmes for 15 schools

Manchester United donate 500 football shirts to N’gandu School

5 Houses for elderly and widows looking after orphans

One of two sponsored students to complete teacher’s training courses

Kamwi Twins reach their 5th birthday

Thank you to everyone who has helped to make these developments possible. Wishing you all a very happy and healthy New Year!

Christmas Newsletter

Posted on December 24, 2015 by Jane Kaye-Bailey

Many of you will be enjoying this magical time of the year, in many parts of the world. Christmas is a time for giving and for being with families. Please remember all the children who are not as fortunate as ours, ones who will spend Christmas feeling hungry and no doubt lonely, after losing their parents as a result of disease, such as HIV/AIDS or malaria.

Mukuni Girls

This year we have been able to increase our support to help the fight against these devastating diseases. In November we started distributing the first of the new Vectorcide products in the Mukuni and Sekute Chiefdoms, providing improved protection against malaria. To date over 1,000 households have been coated with Mozzimort, a safe insecticidal paint.

children now have advanced protection from malaria

In addition we are using Larvicide granules, in known breeding areas, to prevent larva developing into mosquito. Our aim is to raise funds and awareness in order to distribute these products throughout Zambia.

Larvicide uses in breeding ground for msquito

Other recent improvements in healthcare include a clinic at Muchambile and two women’s shelters at Kasiya and Singwamba, funded by a private donor and The Besom. Over the Christmas period we have engaged school leavers, who were sponsored by The Butterfly Tree, and having been trained as peer educators, to run HIV prevention workshops.

Women’s Shelter – Singwamba

We are having a very productive year thanks to the support of on our going donors, volunteers and fundraisers. Since 2006 The Butterfly Tree has advanced some 30 schools, installed 16 bore holes and developed 10 rural clinics. Thousands of orphans and vulnerable children, throughout the Kazungula and Livingstone Districts, now have access to improved water supplies, feeding programmes, better education and healthcare.

New bore hole for Simsimuku School

Thank you to everyone for being part of our global following and for helping children in Zambia to have a better future. Wishing you all the very best for Christmas and good health and happiness in the New Year.

Jane Kaye-Bailey and the teams both in Zambia and the UK