As if malaria, HIV/AIDS and poverty are not enough problems to contend with; now much of Zambia has been devastated by severe floods. Several weeks of continuous heavy rain has resulted in thousands of homes, livestock and agricultural products being submerged under water. Although it is the ‘rainy’ season the rainfall has been unusually high and this is the time of year when their summer crops are flourishing

Having visited Zambia several times in the past two years I have seen the hardships the people have to endure on a daily basis now with the Zambia Floods they have a natural disaster to overcome. I cannot imagine how they will survive without financial aid from the Western World; President Mwanawasa has appealed for $13 million in international aid. Although we are experiencing severe flooding in the UK we do have insurances, government aid and social services to assist; many Zambian people have lost everything with little hope of recovery.

Zambia floods

Due to the Zambia floods the authorities have closed schools, converting them into shelters for displaced families. More then 40 have died; many drowned or killed by crocodiles as they attempted to cross rivers for higher ground. Read More →

The Butterfly Tree would like to wish everyone a very Happy Christmas.

The words ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’ echo in my ears every time I here the music playing. If only there were more people like Sir Bob Geldof and Midge Ure the world would be a better place and the wealth would be more evenly distributed.

Christmas, for me brings feelings of mixed emotions, I look forward to the time spent with family and friends. However Christmas shopping has never been the same since I founded the charity almost two years ago. I find it hard to cope with the ‘glut’ and the ‘greed’ of the western world during this festive season, everyone in state of frenzy; shops laden with merchandise; panic buying; people giving unwanted gifts; women stressed with the work load; couples arguing; children complaining that Santa didn’t bring the latest technical gadget. Is it all necessary?

So do they know it’s Christmas? Read More →

The Butterfly Tree is appealing to everyone to join World Aids Day and the fight against this incurable disease.

2 million people die every year from Aids

Leaving thousands of children without any parents. 40 million people are living with HIV/AIDS, including 17.5 million women and 2.3 million children under the age of 15.  

Zambia is one of the poorest nations on earth where two thirds of the population live on less than 50 pence a day. It has one of the worst pandemics of HIV/AIDS with one in every six adults living with HIV; life expectancy has reduced to around 34 years of age resulting in 710,000 AIDS orphans – see article: HIV and AIDS in Zambia.

Photo: The importance of being testing for HIV cannot be stressed enough; by ‘knowing you status’ treatment and counselling can be obtained. The Butterfly Tree is funding this HIV workshop.

During my many visits to Zambia I have learnt a great deal about this devastating illness and I have seen first hand the suffering and heartbreak AIDs causes. Too many elderly people have been left with no children to care for them and the added burden of having several grandchildren to support. Read More →

Last September David and I were photographed by local UK media as the parcels we had so carefully packaged were sent on their way to Zambia. Little did we know that they would take eleven months, all but two days, to finally reach their destination.  

It took us many weeks to collate all the items, much needed medical supplies consisting of bandages, syringes, saline solution, surgical gloves and fifteen pairs of crutches, all of which can be readily purchased in this country. On my last visit to Mukuni Village, the health centre had no syringes to vaccinate the babies and have no option other than to use saline provided in large bottles as the saline files are not available in Zambia, thus causing a risk of contamination once the bottles have been opened. Most medical supplies are urgently needed.  

Photo: Children in Ngandu village wearing tattered clothing

Contained in the boxes were a number of sports items most especially footballs. At the Mukuni Village they only had one football to share between the school and the community. These are expensive in Zambia and can cost as much as £20 each, which is a vast amount of money considering many people only earn £50 per month and over 60 per cent of the population live on less than fifty pence a day.   Read More →

The only way to overcome HIV and AIDS in Zambia, causing thousands upon thousands of children to be orphaned, is through education. I have visited the Mukuni Village five times in the past eighteen months and each time I find it more difficult to comprehend the scale of decimation caused as a result of this harrowing disease.  

On every new visit I learn of more children becoming orphans and during my last trip 25 pupils, aged between 13 and 15 were diagnosed as HIV positive, it was heartbreaking. Although The Butterfly Tree is currently sponsoring 66 children in education, there are nearly 400 pupils at Mukuni Basic School who still need sponsors. We are also supporting Ngandu School and Kamwi Basic Schools and the list is growing.  

Photo: Some of the orphans being sponsored at Mukuni

I have met most of the children we are sponsoring and without exception they are all benefiting enormously from their education. Having lost one or both parents they now have something to focus on. Sadly too many children have to drop out of education due to lack of funds, their guardians pushed below the poverty line having extended their family, which is common practice in African communities. On a positive note none of these children have had to go into orphanages as a result of the generosity of family members, friends and teachers.   Read More →

In a few days time I leave for Zambia. I am really looking forward to seeing all my friends, visiting the remote villages and seeing the progress that has been made since my last visit in May.  

I believe the pre-school is now complete, the maternity block is being built and the new houses for the homeless are underway. However there is still much more to be done and in the past few weeks the fundraising has gone amazingly well and there are good prospects for the future of The Butterfly Tree.  

HIV and AIDS in Zambia

One of the most difficult problems to tackle is the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Zambia and during this trip I hope to be able to look into ways where we can help. One of the concepts is to offer education through interactive DVDS lessons, produce by charity TME, on crucial topics that affect these communities on a daily basis, using portable DVD players.

Photo: David with Barbara Hauma teacher and Presley Mulenga Head Teacher. Mukuni Village School has signs everywhere advertising the dangers of HIV/AIDS

These lessons are in English which is Zambia’s national language but we aim to get them translated to enable the people who only speak tribal languages to understand them.  Read More →

The Victoria Falls, one of the seven natural wonders of the world, is a World Heritage Site and a must for anyone visiting Zambia. This major tourist attraction has a history that connects the Victoria Falls with Mukuni Village.

Victoria Falls – September 2009 before the rainy season. It is possible to walk the width of the river bed during the dry season

To the western world the Victoria Falls were discovered by David Livingstone in 1855, who named them after Queen Victoria, but long before this date his Makolola escorts and the Leya people called them Mosi-Oa-Tunya interpreted as The Smoke that Thunders.

Read More →