Education in Rural Schools

Posted on March 19, 2014 by Jane Kaye-Bailey

2014 has brought hope for thousands of orphaned and vulnerable rural children in the Southern Province of Zambia. We are now reaching out to twenty six schools in four Chiefdoms, spanning a radius of 200 kilometres from our base at Mukuni Village. Over ten thousand children have access to advanced education and many more have access to improved water and health facilities.

River View Basic School – Sikute Chiefdom

The latest development is taking place at Muchimbale Community School, in the Nyawa Chiefdom, thanks to a generous donor. The school is very remote and has little support from the outside world. Last year The Butterfly Tree installed a bore hole and latrines, completed a teacher’s house and initiated a feeding programme. This year a further donation will enable us to restore an old classroom, purchase books and equipment and introduce a sustainable income-generating activity at the school.

Muchimbale Community School – Nyawe Chiefdom

Further progress can be seen at Katapazi Basic School with the opening of a special education unit, another one is currently being constructed at Simango Basic School in the Musokotwane Chiefdom, making four in total. Rural children in Zambia, with special needs, have no access to education. Chunga Community School classroom will shortly be completed and our aim is to also build a second classroom at Ndele Community School.

Mukuni Special Education Unit – funded by The Besom

We have forthcoming visits from a number of volunteers and philanthropists, who have helped us to grow. These include a group from Attraction Tickets Direct, a donor of our partner Just a Drop, who last year funded a bore hole and latrines. Besides international supporters we have engaged a number of local donors and fundraisers.

The ‘Mukuni Shining Stars’ choir, with the help of Emma Kennedy, one of our UK volunteers, has produced a CD to raise funds to educate orphans. The music is performed A Cappella, which showcases the tremendous talent of these young performers. Several of them are on our orphan sponsorship programme and the choir has performed at some of the renowned hotels around the Victoria Falls.

The Mukuni Shining Stars

The album can be purchased for just £7 – all proceeds will go directly to the cause. Please use this link to place your order and help raise funds for orphans.

Charity Partners & Sponsors

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Jane Kaye-Bailey

Over the years The Butterfly Tree has acquired a number of partners and sponsors, which has helped us to expand our work in Zambia. This has enabled us to install bore holes, build schools and clinics, initiate feeding programmes and sustainable community projects. In addition our orphan sponsorship programme has paid for the education of hundreds of orphaned and vulnerable children. We have built up a reputation for having a sound record of transparency, being an all-volunteer organisation and for giving regular feedback to our donors.

Bore Hole and Hand Pump funded by Epsom College

With so much need around the world sadly the charity sector has become very competitive. When it comes to applying for grants, a small charity like ours has to compete against the likes of Red Cross, Oxfam and Save the Children. Therefore it is imperative that we engage both individuals and corporate partners to provide us with the vital funds needed for The Butterfly Tree’s projects. If you own a company, are involved with a school or club, or simply an individual, we can help you to find a project that you can become involved with. Corporate Social Responsibility cannot only be beneficial to a charity, it can also enhance your company by making it more appealing to potential new clients.

Feeding Programme at Mukuni sponsored by Cunninghams

Our most recent partnership is with Charity Flowers, who give 15% to charity for every order placed with them. Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, followed by Mother’s Day and Easter, when more flowers are sold than at any other time of the year. Follow this link and after choosing your flowers select The Butterfly Tree. Our Source Code is BT.

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Malaria Prevention

Posted on January 28, 2014 by Jane Kaye-Bailey

Despite our efforts to support the universal fight against malaria more needs to be done to overcome this destructive disease. Malaria is the biggest killer of man. According to the World Health Organisation an estimated 3.4 billion people are at risk on malaria, of which 1.2 billion are at high risk. 90% of all malaria deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa, which of course includes Zambia.

WHO estimates from 2012-13

207 million cases of malaria
627 000 deaths
77% occur in children under five

Malaria Prevention – early testing for malaria is vital

In recent years The Butterfly Tree’s malaria prevention programme has produced some great results. Now we need to increase the distribution of preventative methods to reach out to many more rural communities. Currently it is the rainy reason in Zambia and the rains are heavy and prolonged, which is great for the crops but not for malaria! To step up our work we have partnered with a SkintoSkin, the company has produced a t-shirt, impregnated with a WHO approved insect repellent. Through a crowd funding initiative a of target £50,000 has been set, which will provide us with invaluable t-shirts for our malaria prevention programme.

One t-shirt costs as little as £10 ($16) and and be bought using this link

Unprecedented rain in Zambia has caused an increase in malaria cases

On a happier note we are having great success with our education projects at Mukuni. Latest reports show that virtually all grade seven and nine pupils, many of which are on our orphan sponsorship programme, have passed their exams. Mukuni Basic School received the best result for the Kazungula District. Our supporters must take some of the credit for this due to the increase in text books donated to classes where previously one text book had to be shared between forty pupils. In addition a number of volunteers, two of which came through Saga Volunteer Travel, gave extra tuition to grade seven and nine pupils prior to their exams. A generous offer from Video4Books will provide the schools with further reading material.

Mukuni Basic School gets best exam results in the Kazungula District

This year we aim to increase our malaria prevention support, further expand Meet Mutsa’s peer education project for HIV prevention and open more special education units for children who are unable to attend school. As always we are very grateful for your support and hope that we can encourage more donors and volunteers to join The Butterfly Tree. Our entire team in both the UK and Zambia still consists of volunteers, most of them have been with us since 2006!

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Christmas 2013 – Newsletter

Posted on December 24, 2013 by Jane Kaye-Bailey

Christmas is almost upon us and thanks to the tremendous support from our donors, fundraisers and volunteers around the globe many rural children in Zambia have a better future ahead of them.

Malaria Prevention – distribution of mosquito nets

December has been an incredibly good month for fundraising, most especially thanks to The Big Give Christmas Challenge, when we raised £15,000 in pledges and donations, which will be be doubled through their Charity Champion Fund and The Reed Foundation. In addition we received donations from the US, Canada, Australia, Sweden, Germany, France, Ireland and Switzerland and of course the UK, showing how The Butterfly Tree has attracted donors from all over the world.

We now have funds in place for hundreds more mosquito nets for our malaria prevention program, a teacher’s house, classrooms, seeds for school gardens. stationery for schools and over twenty new orphans added to our orphan sponsorship programme. Providing the essentials in life is what these communities most need to enable them to have a healthier and happier life.

New teacher’s house coming for Muchimbale Community School

The Butterfly Tree team would like to thank everyone who has helped us reach out to thousands and orphaned children in the Southern Province of Zambia. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

The Big Give Christmas Challenge

Posted on December 5, 2013 by Jane Kaye-Bailey

December 7th: we have reached our target of £10.000 for The Big Give Challenge! This means that no further matching will be made. Thank you to everyone who has donated to the challenge through both the pledge stage and the on line donations. Our sincere apologies to the people who did not get their funds matched. If you would still like to make the donation please use our secure on line donation page.

December 6th: received further donations for the Big Give Christmas Challenge, taking our total to £7,840

December 5th – today at 10.00 GMT we managed to raise £6,015 of the £10,000 needed to reach our target . On Thursday and Friday we have more opportunities to double donations through the Big Give Christmas Challenge for our orphan support programme. Thank you to everyone who has offered to participate and to the donors who have already pledged money.

Pupils at Muchimbale Community School will receive support from the challange

Millions of pounds are on offer from the Big Give. This is an incredibly generous initiative and a huge opportunity for small charities like The Butterfly Tree to increase our funding.

The Big Give Christmas Callenge – an opportunity to support more orphans

Here again are the guidelines:

Between the 5th to 7th December we need to raise £10,000 via The Big Give – if we reach this amount during that period our donations will be doubled to £20,000 – please can you help us?

When – 10am (GMT) prompt on the 5th, 6th and 7th December – as the donations close once an amount is reached
If it says ‘your donation has not been matched’ please refresh and keep trying as more money may become available
Where – to The Butterfly Tree’s ‘Orphan Support’ project by clicking on this link to the Big Give website
How – on line using a credit or debit card on the Big Give website

If you are making your first donation through the Big Give, our simple guide is here to help. Before you begin, make sure you have the following to hand:

Your credit/debit card
A valid email address
Your 3D Secure password (if your card requires 3D Secure
More details are vbelow

Making your donation

Click on a bauble on the homepage or search by keyword.
Choose a project that you would like to support and click on the name of the project. In this case The Butterfly Tree Orphan Support project.
On your chosen project’s profile, click on the “Donate Online Now” button.
On this page, you will see whether there are currently funds available to double your donation – remember that this may have changed by the time you click ‘submit’ so this will be confirmed on the next page. If you would like to make a donation, enter the amount you wish to donate in the box provided.Remember to tick the ‘Yes’ box to claim Gift Aid if you are an eligible taxpayer. Then click ‘Submit’.
You will now either be shown a ‘reservation’ page which tells you that funds have been reserved to match your donation, or you will be shown a page which states that your donation will not be doubled and asks you to confirm that you understand this.
You will then be taken to the card payment page to finalise your donation. You will need your credit or debit card and must complete all boxes with a ‘*’ next to them. Please note you will be required to enter an email address.
Once you have completed all of the necessary boxes, click ‘Submit’ at the bottom of the page to process your donation.
You may now be taken to a 3D Secure site to complete your donation. Please see below for more information on 3D Secure.
You will then arrive at our ‘thank you’ page and will be emailed a receipt of your donation.

If you require any further details please send an email to jane@thebutterflytree.org.uk or telephone: + 44 (0) 1926 843699

Follow our challenge progress on Facebook or Twitter!

Orphan Support Needed

Posted on November 21, 2013 by Jane Kaye-Bailey

All the work of The Butterfly Tree is aimed at improving the lives of vulnerable and orphaned children. Since the charity started we have helped thousands of children in remote villages but many more are suffering as a result of the HIV and AIDS pandemic, poverty and malaria.

Orphan Support – River View Basic School Pupils

During the build up to Christmas we are increasing our efforts to raise further funds and there are two ways you can help:

Double your donation – Through the Big Give Challenge (5-7th Dec)
Buy a charity calendar – All funds go directly to the cause.

Double Your Donation

December is the time to donate to The Butterfly Tree as if you donate via The Big Give Challenge we can double your donation.

How does it work?

Between the 5th to 7th December we need to raise £10,000 via The Big Give – if we reach this amount during that period our donations will be doubled to £20,000 – so we need your help.

When – 10am or as close to 10am as possible on the 5th, 6th, 7th December – as the donations close once an amount is reached.
Where – to The Butterfly Tree’s ‘Orphan Support’ project on the Big Give website
How – on line using a credit or debit card on the Big Give website

If you would like us to keep you posted re The Big Give Challenge and when to donate drop us an email: jane@thebutterflytree.org.uk

Charity Calendar

To highlight our work during the year and raise funds once again we have produced our lovely desk top calendar – on sale at just £4 plus postage.

The calendar is designed by Morphity Ltd and each page is sponsored, enabling all printing costs to be covered and all proceeds raised from buying a calendar go directly to the cause.

Big thank you to the following companies for their generous sponsorship:

Cunninghams – Epos Cash Registers
Morphity – Website and Systems Development
Saga
LCR Systems – Epos and Pos Systems
Casio UK
Executive Futures – Recruitment Consultants
Accountax
The Fell Group
INTL Global Currencies
Debt Clear Assoc – Debt Recovery Specialist and Insolvency Consultant
Black and White Accounting
Traditional Conservatories – Conservatories, Orangeries and Bespoke Joinery

To purchase the calendar follow this link to buy online or email jane@thebutterflytree.org.uk

Orphans Update

Joshua Muumba was so young when he lost his parents that he cannot remember them. Sent to Mukuni from the Western Province Joshua lives with his grandmother who struggled to pay his schools fees. For the past few years Joshua has been on the orphan sponsorship programme and is presently sitting grade nine exams for entry to Mukuni High School. Though Joshua is not highly academic he has excelled in music and leads the Mukuni Basic Choir as a skilled singer, songwriter and conductor. Providing these orphans with an education gives them hope for a better future.

Orphan Sponsorship – Joshua Muumba sponsored by The Butterfly Tree

Currently volunteering in Zambia to help with the orphans are Emma Kennedy and Jess Varley, who recently completed a 50 kilometres sponsored walk from Mukuni to Zwanga Village and back. This is a route that children walk daily to receive an education. Doing this challenging walk in the Zambian heat Emma and Jess have raised substantial funds for our projects.

Last week one of our main volunteers, Mutsa Marau, arrived in Zambia to continue her ‘Catch me I’m a Butterfly Tree” project which provides peer education for HIV prevention – an invaluable part of our work with orphans. In addition Mutsa will be holding sex education workshops in an attempt to reduce the number of teenage pregnancies.

an Emma and Jess after completing their 50 kilometres walk

There are lots of ways to help The ButterflyTree and every pound donated makes a difference to the lives of those in need in Zambia.

October Newsletter

Posted on October 30, 2013 by Jane Kaye-Bailey

I recently returned home after another rewarding visit to Zambia. It is hard to believe the progress we have made. What started off as helping a handful of orphans has now expanded to over twenty schools, seven clinics and more than 100 villages in four Chiefdoms, throughout the Southern Province of Zambia. The distance we are covering is a radius of 200 kilometres from base and thousands more orphaned and vulnerable children are receiving a sound education, improved healthcare and drinking safe, clean water.

Jane with Kamwi twins, Elvis and Vincent now three years old

Bore holes have been installed at Kauwe and Muchimbala schools with a third one about to be completed at Kanimbwa. Not only do the pupils have access to safe drinking water, but the bore holes will be used to irrigate crops for much needed feeding programmes. I was horrified to learn that some of the food, provided by the World Food Programme, is rotten by the time it reaches the schools.

One Head teacher reported that this year the food provision had been delivered for term one, the second term the maize was stale and the beans were mouldy. When the Head complained he was told by the distributors ‘beggars cannot be choosers – they can eat it!’ Nothing was received for term three. It is heartbreaking, knowing that young school children have no food during the day. Many of them leaving home as early as 4am to return twelve hours later, on any empty stomach. Next month we will increase the number of donated seeds to support this project.

New bore hole and Indian hand pump for Kauwe Basic School

As the rainy season approaches so does the increased risk of contracting malaria. Though prevalent all year, malaria cases increase between November and March. I spent two days distributing mosquito nets to outreach communities. Due to the remoteness of these villages the government do not spray the mud huts putting the people at great risk. Our malaria prevention programmed is vital. Thanks to Saga’s generous funding and most recently Health Express we have been able to cover much of the Mukuni Chiefdom and beyond. Since January no new cases of malaria have been reported in under fives and zero deaths caused by malaria.

Malaria prevention – Ndele children receive mosquito nets

While I was in Zambia I was invited by Sky News to give a ‘live’ interview on the much anticipated malaria vaccination, which could be available as soon as 2015. Glaxo,SmithKline has developed the first ever vaccine and I was asked to comment on how effective this could be for our malaria prevention programme.

Malaria remains the biggest killer of man. Every year around 660,000 people, mostly children under the age of five in sub-Sahara Africa, die from this mosquito-borne parasitic disease.

Malaria prevention – mosquito nets donated to Siachalwa Village

On another serious matter sadly the HIV and AIDS statistics remain far too high, at 27%, in the Mukuni and Livingstone areas. We are continuing our support for children with HIV, increasing our funding for workshops, specifically targeting school children. Mutsa Marau, our HIV prevention coordinator, will return to Zambia next month to offer peer education for HIV prevention. As always I was presented with a long list of orphans who need help. Our sponsor an orphan programme has supported hundreds of individual children in education.

Orphan sponsorship – Enoch to be sponsored by The Butterfly Tree

Now it is back to raising funds for mosquito nets, classrooms, bore holes and orphan sponsorship through a number of planned initiatives. Our popular desk top calendar will shortly be available to order. In December we have the opportunity to get donations matched thanks through our partner the Big Give, through their Christmas Challenge initiative. Already we have £5000 in pledges, now we need to raise a further £10,000 in donations from 5th December. If we are successful, the £15,000 will be turned into a massive £30,000. Anyone who would like to help us reach our goal please contact jane@thebutterflytree.org.uk

Charity Annual Report 2012-13

Posted on August 5, 2013 by Jane Kaye-Bailey

As always it is a pleasure to report on the progress The Butterfly Tree is making amongst the rural communities in the Southern Province of Zambia. I am delighted to say that our fundraising efforts topped the one million pound mark during this financial year. In addition we have donated thousands of pounds worth of medical supplies, equipment, educational material, books, sports apparatus, clothing and blankets to areas of most need.

Please follow the link to view the full Annual Report and Accounts including photos of the Royal Visit: Annual Report 2012-13

In June 2012 we were contacted by the British High Commission in Lusaka, informing us that we were to receive a visit from The Princess Royal. HRH was to represent her Majesty the Queen during a tour of Zambia, as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations. It was such a boost for our small charity to hear this tremendous news. All the hard work of our volunteers, both in the UK and Zambia, had been acknowledged. The team and the Mukuni people spent weeks tirelessly preparing for the occasion. We funded the restoration of the schools and health centre, adorned the buildings with flags and beautiful murals painted by a local artist and school pupils provided the entertainment.

Jane with Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal

When the morning finally arrived I waited at the school to welcome Her Royal Highness. I was so moved by the site of more than 1000 children lining the track as the Royal party approached the entrance. All our work revolves around orphaned and vulnerable children and I felt a huge sense of pride as I related the story of The Butterfly Tree to HRH. I highlighted the orphan sponsorship program, the special education class and the maternity clinic, all of which the Princess had chosen to see. It was a truly memorable day for everyone concerned. At the end of the visit I received a wonderful compliment when HRH turned to me and said ‘Working with orphans is difficult, but you seem to have got it right.’

Special Education project – HRH The Princess Royal pays a visit

After all the excitement it was back to work as usual. During the year we opened a fifth school and started construction of a new health centre. This was thanks to the Jersey Overseas Aid Commission, our major donor, who has helped us to advance the health and education for literally hundreds of orphans and vulnerable children in outreach villages. We are also grateful to donors who offer sponsor an orphan, this eases the burden for families who are living below the poverty line. It also prevents the children from having to leave their friends and go into an orphanage. For the first time we offered some assistance to Lubasi Orphanage in Livingstone.

We continue to seek schools that are in desperate need of support. Two of main priorities are to ensure that they each school has a supply of safe, clean water and seeds to enable them to provide sustainable feeding programs. At Mukuni Village over 400 pupils are fed daily At Mukuni Village over 400 pupils are fed daily and over 500 are being individually sponsored. There are now two boarding shelters housing almost forty pupils – before these facilities were added most of them were walking up to ten miles each way to get to school. We have funding in place for two further special education units for children with special needs who cannot attend school as there are no facilities.

Water project – new bore hole for Chuunga Community School

In the health sector The Butterfly Tree received increased funding for malaria prevention and distributed vast quantities of mosquito nets in the Mukuni and Sikute Chiefdoms. We continue to provide on going support for HIV problems, which persistently ravage the communities. This is done through the funding of workshops, particularly amongst the school children. What I find so distressing is dealing with infants who are HIV positive and sick children who are unable to seek medical attention because of the costs involved. We assist as many as possible and no doubt having the new clinic at Mahalulu will help a great deal.

Health project – medical staff houses at Mahalulu Rural Health Centre

The amount of need can be overwhelming at times, but what is encouraging is the tremendous global support we are now receiving. Thanks to Miranda’s amazing optimization skills and the images and stories portrayed on our website, the charity has attracted people from all over the planet. I meet many visitors in Zambia and take them to see our projects at Mukuni whenever the opportunity arises. This has great results and encourages people to donate – some have funded bore holes while others offer to support orphans. We have extensively promoted travel philanthropy and volunteering to attract more visitors. The charity was short listed for the best Responsible Tourism website for the Travel Mole 2012 web awards. The website has attracted donors from the US, Canada, Australia, Asia and Europe as well as the UK. What appeals most to donors is the fact that we have no administration costs and that all members both here and in Zambia are volunteers.

Community housing project – new home for Kamwi widow and her children

I am amazed and extremely grateful that I have had the same team working with me since 2006. I would like to thank David and Miranda, my fellow trustees, Ann, Mary, Mutsa, Wendy, and Oscar for giving up their spare time to help the charity. I cannot thank enough my wonderful team in Zambia – working alongside them I have seen each member’s commitment in helping their people to have a better future. Some of the areas we support are incredibly remote with limited access and prove at times to be exceptionally challenging. This does not deter Mupotola, Presley and Martin who never give up! Rosemary, Sweso, Stain, Jacob, the ten women who oversee the orphan sponsorship program, teachers and four cooks who daily feed over 400 children each does a remarkable job. Without their dedication The Butterfly Tree would not have been able to achieve so much. I would also like to thank Chief Mukuni for his counsel and the local tour operators, hotels and lodges, namely Sun International who supports our work in Zambia.

Sponsor an Orphan program – beneficaries at Mukuni High School

We now have so many donors around the world that it is impossible to list them all. However I wish to express my gratitude to our major sponsor, the Jersey Overseas Aid Commission, who for four years gave us the opportunity to build entire new schools and clinics in these outreach areas. Our other major donors Saga Charitable Trust, Just a Drop, the British and Foreign School Society and The Besom have also given us substantial funds over several years. Through grant aid their support has funded bore holes, malaria prevention, classrooms, vocational courses and health facilities. Corporate sponsors Cunninghams, Brady Italia, ENRC Marketing AG and Black and White Accounting continue to generously support our cause. A special thanks to the BigGive, who doubled our donations through their Christmas Challenge. We are grateful to all the schools, clubs, churches and individuals who donate ongoing funds and the abundance of fundraisers who have climbed Mt Blanc, cycled round Brands Hatch and ran around Premier League rugby pitches! We very much appreciate your trust and incredible generosity that has helped to provide vital funds for our water, food, health and education projects in Zambia.

Jane Kaye-Bailey

Chairman

Charity Newsletter – July 2013

Posted on July 16, 2013 by Jane Kaye-Bailey

After a somewhat challenging year I am pleased to report on the completion of several projects that will benefit the orphans and rural communities. All of them are hugely beneficial, but none more so than those providing improved water and health facilities. Two new bore holes have been added at Kauwe and Muchambila schools in the Nyawe Chiefdom. A generous donation was received from Epsom College for the Kauwe bore hole as well as two latrines and a sluice for Mukuni Health Centre. Attraction Tickets Direct has donated a bore hole at Kaminbwa school and two double latrines at Kamwi school. These were initiated through Just a Drop, one of our partner organisations.

Charity Newsletter – new latrines for Mukuni Health Centre

The new health centre at Mahalulu in the Mukuni Chiefdom is now complete. The government had taken three years to construct a clinic building in this outreach area – in just over a year we have added a maternity clinic, a women’s shelter, three medical staff houses and latrines in addition to a bore hole. This was achieved through a significant grant from the Jersey Overseas Aid Commission. The facility will cater for people who previously had to walk over thirty kilometres to reach the nearest health centre. A further women’s shelter has been added to Mambova Clinic in the Sikute Chiefdom using generous funding from The Besom.

Three staff houses for Mahalulu Health Centre

Patients come to the clinics with numerous illnesses including HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria, diarrhoeal diseases besides burns, snake bites and anti-natal and post natal clinics. In addition to skilled staff local people are trained to assist with childbirth and home care. The HIV and AIDS statistics in the area are the highest in the nation, with as many as 30% of the population being infected with the HIV virus. Livingstone is a border town and the capital of tourism. I was horrified to learn that one of my team had overheard some European female students saying that they only come to Africa for sex! Using funding from Brady Italia we are increasing the number of educational workshops on HIV and AIDS prevention and teenage pregnancies, but it appears the visitors also need to be educated!

Mother and infant receiving post-natal care at Mukuni Health Centre

A new Special Education unit at River View School has just been completed thanks to substantial funding from ENRC Marketing employees in Zurich. A further unit, funded by Saga, is currently being constructed at Katapazi Basic School. The BFSS 1×2 classroom block is in full use and a school shop will shortly be built with the assistance of students from Thomas Mills High School in Suffolk who have paid for the building materials. Some of these projects are two hundred kilometres from our base at Mukuni and up to sixty kilometres off road. All kind of problems arose, including poor access, vehicles getting stuck, dry bore holes and increase in fuel costs. Mupotola, Martin and Presley, three of The Butterfly Tree volunteers in Zambia, deserve most of the credit for their hard work, sheer determination and dedication in helping these vulnerable communities.

Mupotola driving through the bush to reach Sibbulo Village

As always it was great to meet up with the orphans. Many of them participated in the Kazungula District schools’ events, with Mukuni hosting it at the new Music Centre, donated by MUSIC EARTH RISE. Mukuni won the best choir, poetry and traditional dancing competitions and went on to compete in the Southern Province finals where they came runners up in all categories. I managed to catch up with the Kamwi twins who lost their mother in childbirth, both are happy and healthy and will be three years old in October. Sadly more children have been orphaned and need our support. Today I was delighted to hear that the Mukuni Village Fund in Australia has agreed to sponsor fifty orphans for a further year. Many thanks to all our donors, most especially to Midge Steuber, Thore Larsgard and Black and White Accounting – each of them are supporting ten orphans.

Jane with Vincent and Elvis, the Kamwi twins

If you would like to sponsor an orphan please contact jane@thebutterflytree.org.uk and for daily updates you can follow us on Facebook. Without your support none of these developments could have been achieved.

Jane Kaye-Bailey

Mukuni Schools

Posted on June 13, 2013 by Jane Kaye-Bailey

Mukuni Village is close to Livingstone, the tourist capital of Zambia and it is here where The Butterfly Tree is based. Since 2006 we have helped to advance the education in Mukuni, which has made it quite possibly the best and most certainly one of the biggest rural schools in Zambia. Much of this success has not only been due to our input, but also to Reverend Presley Mulenga, Head Teacher of Mukuni Basic School and the members of The Butterfly Tree in Zambia.

Mukuni Schools range from pre-school to high school

Rural schools face many challenges – lack of classrooms, insufficient teachers, shortage of materials and stationery and most especially lacks of funds to educate the many children left orphaned as a result of the HIV and AIDS pandemic. At Mukuni alone the charity has funded two 1×3 classroom blocks, five teachers’ houses, numerous latrines and a bore hole. In 2007 here we opened the first high school in the Kazungula District. A pre-school commenced in 2008, which is totally funded by the charity and attended by over 200 youngsters. A 1×2 classroom block has recently been completed thanks to a generous donation from the British and Foreign School Society, who has also provided several grants to help improve and advance the education at Mukuni.

Mukuni Basic School – new 1 x2 classroom block

Education is the key, but many of these children have to walk long distances to get to school – some leave at 4am, covering a distance of 15 kilometres to start lessons at 7am. Hunger is another major challenge, which can affect both the performance and attendance of school children. A daily feeding programme, kindly sponsored by Cunninghams, provides a nutritional meal for over 400 orphaned and vulnerable children, including ones from outreach villages. We have recently constructed two boarding shelters for older children who live far away, thanks to Saga who offer ongoing support to both our health and education programmes.

Daily feeding programme for over 400 vulnerable children

We have sponsored over 500 individual orphans and helped hundreds more with school and exam fees. In total there are over 1500 children attending the schools in Mukuni Village. This is just one of the twelve schools in the Mukuni Chiefdom that we have reached out to. Our work has now expanded to three further Chiefdoms – Musokotwane, Sikute and Nyawa. If you would like to help us with our education programmes we are currently seeking donations to purchase desks, at a cost of £45 each, for the new classroom block at Mukuni and as always we need more of people to sponsor an orphan.