Tag Archives: change for the better

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Christmas Gifts

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For many of us choosing Christmas gifts can be quite an arduous task, wondering whether or not you have chosen correctly. Recently I heard on the radio that this year almost half a billion pounds of unwanted Christmas gifts will end up in the bin. Scandalous! That amount of money could be used to feed millions of starving people. What has happened to the true meaning of Christmas? What used to be a joyous occasion has turned into a manic marketing campaign with Christmas cards on sale at the end of summer, Christmas songs playing at the beginning of November and Advent calendars on sale for dogs! Where did we go wrong?

Christmas Gifts – donate a gift to help these vulnerable children

Christmas Day in developing countries, such as Zambia, means going to church to commemorate the birth of Jesus. No one eats special food; there are no gifts to open and no activities taking place. On the 25th December, like any other day, life is a struggle. Poverty, disease and hunger are hard to overcome. If you are struggling to find that perfect gift for someone special who has everything, perhaps you would like to consider the following:

Sponsor an orphan, donate a mosquito net, buy exercise books, build a house for a widow with orphans or buy a bicycle for a child who walks long distances to school. Whichever you choose 100% of your donation will go directly to the project, no fees or administrations costs will be deducted. If you would like to give someone a ‘stocking filler’ and help the charity at the same time our popular calendar is available to order for just £4 plus postage or our charity CD, ‘Change for The Better’ for just £3 plus postage.

Do something different this Christmas and donate your gift to a Zambian orphan, it will most certainly be put to good use and most definitely will not end up in the bin!

For more details on how to get involved or purchase a gift contact jane@thebutterflytree.org.uk or simply donate using our secure online page, your help however small will be greatly appreciated.

November Newsletter

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Education is the key and the only way to overcome poverty, hunger and disease. Thanks to a substantial grant from Jersey Overseas Aid Commission we have been able to advance the education in five schools in the Kazungula District of Zambia. All of these schools are in remote areas and receive very little assistant from the outside world. With the addition of a 1×2 classroom, teacher’s house and latrines Kamwi Basic School has been able to add extra grades, which means that children no longer have to walk several miles to Mukuni. Simasimbi Basic School has been given the same development as Kamwi; the school becomes inaccessible during the rainy season making it even more beneficial to have improved facilities.

  

Education advancement: new 1×3 classroom block for Mukuni Basic School

The children of Mandandi used a simple mud hut as a school, where they were taught by untrained teachers. The addition of a brand new school has been welcomed by the community, trained teachers will be provided by the government for the opening in the new year. A new pre-school classroom has been built for the children of Machenje Village, with the aim of being supported by the community through income-generating activities. The flagship of the all our constructions is the new 1×3 classroom block, complete with an office and storerooms at Mukuni Basic School. The Jersey Overseas Aid Commission funding also included a much needed staff house for the clinic at N’songwe Village. This is the third clinic we are supporting.

    

New pre-school for Machenje children & Special Education class & donated bicycles

The Besom funded a Special Education classroom, which has also attracted a number of donors including Stanley Safari Lodge and Fountaindale School. The 230 young children had totally outgrown the Mukuni pre-school funded by Gardiff and now has an additional classroom, built in memory of Sandra Challenger, a former Saga employee. Joining me on my recent trip to Zambia was Janice Lee, Director of Saga Charitable Trust who support our malaria and other health projects at Mukuni Health Centre. With the rainy season underway this funding is crucial in providing mosquito nets to support our Africa Malaria program.

A grant from the BFSS gave us an opportunity to supply six schools with much needed stationery and equipment. LSR Rotary Club in Leamington Spa selected The Butterfly Tree as their international charity for the second year running. Their fundraising efforts have paid for the construction of several new homes for widowns and orphans and bicycles for school children, making their journey to school much easier.

  

New home for a widow with six children – Mosquito nets donated to the community

Two volunteers, Margaret Bax and Casey Short from Oregon, have worked tirelessly, spending two months during 2009 and 2010 to set up sustainable income-generating activities for women. Using the funds raised amongst their friends and families the Acme Chicken project is in its second year and a goats’ milk project will soon be underway. These projects are a vital part of our work if the communities are to stand on their own feet and not rely entirely on international aid.

Our under-fives feeding program, now funded by Karen Lytle, is making a substantial difference, since its initiation in 2007. Every child who attended the program is free of HIV after receiving formula and fortified porridge; this replaces breastmilk in HIV positive mothers to prevent the transmission of the virus.

I had to deal with one of the most heartbreaking stories I have encountered in almost five years of working in Zambia. Elvis and Vincent were born two months’ premature after their mother went into labour at seven months and died in childbirth with a third baby. The Butterfly Tree has offered to support these helpless infants who need four tins of formula a week. Dealing with this case reconfirmed just how vulnerable these people are and how desperately they need our help. Advancing the health and education facilities will hopefully reduce the number of these distressing cases. The support we have received this year has been overwhelming, as you can see your donations have been used to make a difference to the lives of many people, please continue this vital support.

Jane Kaye-Bailey

Founder & Chairman

The Butterfly Tree charity calendar is now available to order.

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Malaria season at Mukuni

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October in Zambia sees the temperatures soaring to over 40 degrees. After 6 months of parched earth and clear blue skies the clouds start to form as the rainy season approaches bringing a welcome relief for everything to come alive – seeds and crops can be sown, the dry streams fill up and the burden of walking long distances to draw water finally eases. For everyone this is a time to rejoice including the dreaded mosquitoes. With the rains comes a higher risk of catching Africa malaria, the biggest killer of man, over one million deaths occur each year. 75% of all deaths are children under the age of five in Sub-Sahara Africa and Mukuni is no exception.

Africa Malaria – help to prevent this young Mukuni boy from getting malaria

Mosquito nets should be provided by the government for all under fives and pregnant women, however this is not always the case. Working in rural villages I find that there is a huge shortfall with several children sleeping under one net. Equally as important are malaria testing kits as the disease is easily treated if caught in time. In the areas where we have distributed nets no new cases have been reported, however there were 65 new cases in an area where we were unale to reach. Mukuni Health Centre has not received any testing kits for three years from the health department and without our support the statistics would be much higher. Thanks to a generous annual donation from Saga Charitble Trust we are able to provide vital workshops, educating the communities on the dangers of Africa malaria and the importance of nets and testing kits.

Buy this song – it could save a child’s life

Earlier this year we launched a charity song called, ‘Change for the Better‘ to raise further awareness and funds for the global fight against malaria. Basement Entertainment are hosting an event, to celebrate Zambian Independence Day, in London on the 23rd October to further promote the cause. Their theme will be ‘Change for the Better’ and The Butterfly Tree with be the beneficiary of this event. The CD and download are available for purchase, with all profits going to our malaria program, via: www.changeforthebetter.bandcamp.com


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Annual Report 2009-2010

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‘Change for the Better’ is how I would describe this year, our most successful to date. We were awarded a substantial number of grants and received an increase in donations, which has enabled us to reach out to more rural schools and communities of the Mukuni Chiefdom of Zambia.

We have been asked many times, why after four years, are we still working in the same Chiefdom. The answer is simple, by doing this we can ‘make a difference’. Spreading ourselves too thinly on the ground would not have such a great impact. Concentrating on a specific area, providing the essentials in life – safe, clean water, feeding programs, improved health and education facilities leads to sustainability. Once this is in place, we can look further afield and spread our ‘wings’ to a new Chiefdom. Funds permitting, we are hoping that this will happen in the forthcoming year, though our base will remain at Mukuni Village.

All our projects have benefitted from these increased funds and many new ones have been introduced. Two additional bore holes have been put in place. Invaluable feeding programs at five more schools have commenced and each school has been given seeds to grow maize to supplement these programs. Vast amounts of stationery have been donated to six new schools in addition to the existing four we continually support. Bicycles have been purchased for pupils travelling long distances to school and donkeys have been offered to provide transport for disabled children. The classroom block and clinic at Katapazi, our biggest project this year, has been completed.

Despite the government’s efforts to curb the HIV/AIDS pandemic there are still far too many African children being orphaned. As always we continually seek new sponsors and many have offered support after visiting Mukuni Village, just seven kilometers from the Victoria Falls. We have put a substantial amount of funding into our health projects; one of the most rewarding, yet humbling results, is to learn that all the babies on our under-fives feeding program (part of our HIV and AIDS Prevention program) have recently been tested free of HIV. Diseases such as HIV, TB and malaria are prevalent in the region; malaria is the biggest killer of man.

Every forty seconds someone dies from malaria. 75% of deaths occur in children under the age of five in sub-Sahara Africa. The Butterfly Tree provides Malaria prevention; mosquito nets, malaria testing kits and educational workshops. This year to mark World Malaria Day we launched our own charity song, ‘Change for the Better’, to increase global awareness and raise funds for the fight against malaria. The song features three Zambian artists and a young woman from Mukuni, who has received sponsorship through The Butterfly Tree. I cannot stress enough how vital this program is. Our latest results have shown, that in areas of net distribution, no new cases of malaria have been reported, however many more areas need help.

Once again we have been able to fund several successful operations and treatment for children and the elderly. Nine community houses have been built for widows with orphans and a number of sustainable projects have been initiated, amongst them are poultry and goat rearing, vegetable growing and sewing.

With your continued support, 2010 is definitely going to be a ‘Change for the Better’.

Read more… Click for 2010 annual report and account

Jane Kaye-Bailey – Chairman

August Newsletter

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August is usually a quiet month for charities and fundraising, not so for The Butterfly Tree and Mukuni. I have just returned from a visit to Zambia and the development taking place in several of the schools is amazing. My first stop was to Kamwi, a village just five kilometres from Mukuni Village, but so underdeveloped that it could be fifty. As soon as I pulled up in my 4×4 Sylvia, the deputy head teacher said ‘Come quickly Jane your children are waiting for you’. As we turned the corner of our newly built classroom, the entire school members were waiting, holding banners – then the pupils broke into songs especially written to praise and thank The Butterfly Tree for the bore hole, the 1×2 classroom, the teacher’s house and the feeding program. I was overcome with emotion, tears filled my eyes as I listened to the children singing, knowing that this long awaited project was now complete, which will enable the school to upgrade, shortening the distance many pupils have to walk.

Pupils at Kamwi Basic School                 Classroom for Special Education

Driving some fifty kilometres north west of Mukuni took me to Siamasimbi, a very remote village, which gets cut off during the rainy season when the rivers are too full to cross. The main bridge was destroyed through flooding and sadly has not been repaired by the local authorities. Numerous members of the community were providing unskilled labour to help with the construction of a new classroom and teacher’s house we have funded; here these African children finish their education around fourteen years of age, soon they will have an extra two grades along with the feeding program we are have introduced. Mandandi, half way between Siamasimbi and Mukuni has no such luxury, there is no school! This month the construction of our first entirely new school is taking place, it should be completed for the start of the new term in September, along with the teacher’s house. To improve sanitation all these projects will have pit-latrines added.

Siamasimbi Community Participation           Mandandi eagerly await new school

Machenje Village, another particularly poor village will have a new pre-school. Not leaving out Mukuni a 1×3 classroom block has been added for the over-crowded grades 8& 9 who currently have four pupils sharing a desk. This will also have two offices and storerooms. All these building projects have been made possible thanks to the grant aid from the Jersey Overseas Aid Commission. In addition to this is a classroom for Special Education, kindly donated by The Besom. Children with physical disabilities can go into mainstrean school, now children with mental health problems or impaired vision and hearing can also go to school.  The Butterfly Tree pre-school will also have an additional classroom to cope with the ever-increasing number of attendees, which has now reached over 250. This has kindly been donated in memory of Sandra Challenger, a former employee of Saga, whose charitable trust support our African malaria program.  There are also six community houses being built for widows and orphans.

As always funds are needed for the Mukuni Health Centre for the HIV/AIDS in Zambia and malaria programs we support. A number of children have been sent to hospital for treatment and physiotherapy. We have just added a new water pump and paid for new pipework at the clinic. N’songwe Village will be able to open their community built clinic once the staff house we are funding has been constructed. With so few supplies from the government we have also sent out a shipment of medical supplies, some eighty boxes contain dressings, autoclaves and other equipment, besides clothes for the orphans and books and stationery for the schools.

Girls’ 100 metre sprint Jane presenting ‘Change for The Better’ CD

Mukuni Basic School played hosts for the Kazungula District Sports held over three days at the end of term. The Butterfly Tree provided food for the competitors and transport for pupils from outreach schools. Sport is an essential part of the schools’ curriculum; unfortunately the facilities are very poor with most of the playing fields being dirt tracks. I was shocked to learn that the volley ball that we purchased in Livingstone cost £23 ($34), the only one available locally. All the children ran in bare feet and very few had team shirts for the athletics or ball games. I saw several children collapse at the end of a race, possibly due to lack of food and fluid before they took part. Energy drinks, so commonly used for sporting activities in the west are rarely seen. Despite all the problems the standard was excellent and many Mukuni pupils will go through to represent the Kazungula District in the Southern Province’s competition. I am delighted to say that some of the competitors on on our orphan sponsorship program, proving once again the importance of being able to receive an all round education.

Jane Kaye-Bailey

Listen to the Mukuni children singing on YouTube

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Buy our charity CD ‘Change for the Better ‘

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Music Supporting Charity in Africa

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Africans are born with rhythm, so it is not surprising to come across many talented people during my trips to Mukuni; song and dance play an influential role in their culture. The forthcoming Lwiindi Ceremony, the ‘Cutlural Feast of the Spray Ceremony of the Victoria Falls’ scheduled for the 2nd August. This is a great spectacle of colour showing many aspects of tribal life, most especially through music. Today marks the 25th anniversary of the Live Aid, the famous Fundraising Concert for the famine in Ethiopia. I recently watched a biography of Bob Geldof and a recording of Live Aid, this shows the power and lure of music from every corner of the world. I have always been inspired by the incredible fete acheived by the organisers of this event and believe that music is a great media for fundraising.

Charity Music: Crystal Shaun & TY2 & Leya Tribal Dancing at Mukuni Village

This year we launched a charity single, called ‘Change for the Better’ on World Malaria Day to increase global awareness and raise funds for Malaria Prevention and the fight against Africa malaria. Although Zambia is not a famine area, there is hunger, poverty and sickness and the continual battle against malaria and HIV and AIDS Prevention, lack of safe, clean water and medical supplies. The Butterfly Tree has concentrated its work in the Mukuni Chiefdom to improve all aspects of life and not just walk away after putting up a new classroom. It is vital to improve the water and health facilities along with advancing the edcuation to really make a difference, after which Mukuni Village can attempt to be more sustainable.

HIV/AIDS in Zambia  under fives’s feeding program     outreach clinics in Mukuni

A student from North Carolina recently visited our projects on behalf of GlobalGving US. Troy Smith has written a wonderful report highlighting our work and the difference we are making to the lives of the orphans and our programs for HIV/AIDS in Zambia. A volunteer from the UK, Brendan Poynton, recently spent some time at Mukuni, Ngandu and Kamwi Schools holding music workshops for the pupils. He was so inspired by our work and the response from the children that he has offered to raise funds to build a Music Centre at Mukuni. With this in place we can hold events in Zambia and who knows we may even be able to host our own mini ‘Live Aid’ concert.

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Feeding Programs at Mukuni

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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.

CIMG4286  CIMG4473

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’.

Fundraising for Mukuni

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One of the great things about running a charity to help orphans is the enormous amount of interest and support it attracts. Now that we have been operating for over four year and have been able to achieve a great deal, we are getting a considerable amount of offers from individuals, schools and churches who genuinely want to help us make a difference. Besides collecting donations, they are doing their own fundraising activities to assit our programs in communities such as Mukuni.

On the 2nd May Mike Kaye and Nigel Birch set off at 06.00, from London’s Trafalgar Square, to cycle 165 miles to Nottingham. Much of their journey was cycling in torrential rain, facing north-easterly winds with temperatures barely reaching eight degrees. An arduous challenge to complete in one day. At 22.10 they finally arrived at Escucha in Nottingham to down a few well deserved pints! Mike is now on his way to Zambia with Lucy Machin to volunteer at Mukuni Village, the funds raised will be used for sport and educational materials. Later this month Jake Wilson-Gunn and Andrew Mottram will be cycling from Lands End to John O’ Groats. Others have done sponsored walks, swims and the iron-man challenge. Several schools have raised funds to sponsor an orphan and supplied bicyles for children in outreach villages to travel to Mukuni schools. Several churches have donated their collections to buy educational materials as well as supporting the orphan sponsorship program.

Fundraising for Mukuni: Mike & Nige cycled 165 miles from London to Nottingham

The local Rotary and Inner Wheel Clubs have also been a great support, particulary building hokmes for the vulnerable. This month Basement Entertainment and the UK Zambian community held a fundraising event in London, where our charity song ‘Change for the Better’ was launched to increase global awareness and raise funds for our malaria program. One new fundrasing initiative we have started is to collect empty ink cartridges and old mobile phones for recycling. Empty Cartridges will provide a pre-paid envelope with The Butterfly Tree logo for you to send to them for recycling; in return they will donate to the charity for every item received. Any amount, however small or whichever way you chose to help, can improve the health and education of the those less fortunate in Zambia.

Donated bicycles for long distance travel         New home for widow with orphans

If anyone is interested in doing a challenge or an event, it need not be as strenous as a marathon or a cycle ride, a sponsored walk or simply making cakes as Lucy did and raised almost £100 by selling them to her office colleagues! We can provide you with advertising material, sponsorship forms and suggest ideas.  The Butterfly Tree team is very grateful to all those generous people who have already participated and especially to the ones who are offering on going support.

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World Malaria Day – 2010

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World Malaria Day marks the unified commemoration of the global effort to provide effective control of malaria throughout the world. Africa malaria is the biggest killer of man, with 75% of deaths occuring in children under the age of five in Sub-Sahara Africa. There are almost one million new cases recorded every year.

According to the World Health Organization half of the world’s population are at risk of malaria. While there are four parasites that can cause malaria in humans, Plasmodium falciparum is by far the most deadly and common, this strain is prevelant in Zambia. Once a person is bitten by a P. falciparum carrying mosquito, the parasite grows, multiplies, and undergoes a series of complex life cycle changes that allow it to invade the immune system and infect the liver and red blood cells. Malaria disease caused by P. falciparum may result in death within hours or a few days of infection especially in those with a low immunity such as children, pregnant women, people with AIDS and travelers with little or no malaria. It can also result in the miscarriage in pregnant women, low birth-weight infants, developmental disabilities and other complications.

The Butterfly Tree provides mosquito nets, malaria testing kits and educational workshops for remote villages, such as Mukuni, in Zambia. The long-lasting insecticide treated nets provide nightly protection, the most vulnerable time is between 10pm and 5am when most bites occur. The result of last year’s distribution of nets is that no new cases of malaria have been reported. Providing malaria testing kits is equally important, though malaria cannot be cured it can easily be treated if caught in time. Education is the key; workshops in the communities teach them the dangers of malaria, the importance of nets and the need to be tested.

‘Change for the Better’

Lillian Mweene from Mukuni Village, having completed her education after being on our orphan sponsorship program, told me she wanted to be a musician. I then listened to her sing and contacted Basement Entertainment UK, who put me in touch with TY2, one of Zambians top male artists. Ty2 called me and offered his help, I suggested that it would be great to have our own charity song. He then met me Livingstone, bringing fellow artist Crystal Shaun and Kaufela from Zambezi Fm to record a song. Lillian was invited to join them, the words were written by the artsits themselves and recorded at Raising Sounds Studio with a bonus track from Lillian. Change for the Better was completed in less than two days. We are grateful to the following who have also donated their services: the artists, Raising Sounds Studio, Zambezi Fm, Hiltongrove Mastering, Basement Entertainment UK, PSW Printers and Xpresscds. No less tha 80% of the sale to be used for The Butterfly Tree Malaria Program, sponsored by Saga Charitable Trust with support from Viking River Cruises. The song is available to purchase, on this website, as a CD for £5 or download for £2 and in shops throughout Zambia from May.

Buy the CD or download via: www.changeforthebetter.bandcamp.com

Please buy this song and save a child’s life

Roll Back Malaria World Malaria Day 2009