Greetings from Mukuni

Posted on December 24, 2010 by Jane Kaye-Bailey

Christmas in Mukuni will be very different to what many of us will experience tomorrow. Apart for going to church it will be like any other day sharing a meal of n’shima, vegetables and gound nuts with family and friends. There with be no turkey, Christmas pudding or gifts under the Christmas tree nor has there been weeks of preparations to make everything perfect for the festive Day. So who has got it right? Do we really need to put ourselves under so much stress for just one day? The true meaning of Christmas has been overshadowed by the need to spend more and more money on food, drinks and gifts, often resulting in bank overdrafts and credit card debts.

Working in one of the poorest nations on the planet, where thousands of children have been orphaned through the HIV and AIDS in Zambia pandemic, makes me realise that we have got it wrong. These desperately poor communities need food, water, health and education. Fortunately for many people in Mukuni Village life has improved considerably this year. The charity has built extra classrooms, more orphans have been sponsored and much has been done to improve the education and health facilities for Mukuni and several other outreach villages.

Greetings from Mukuni: Lillian Mweene with her daughter

2011 promises to be another successful year for The Butterfly Tree kicking off with substantial grant aid once again awarded by the Jersey Overseas Aid Commission. This grant will enable us to build three new schools in remote areas; one in Mukuni and two in the Musokotwane Chiefdom. Saga Charitable Trust has also ensured that our Africa malaria program continues with another generous donation for next year. Many of our supporters have sent Christmas donations and some sponsor an orphan, making it our most successful year to date.

Jane with children from Mandandi Village

On behalf of the team and Mukuni Village I would like to genuinely thank everyone for your bountiful support and wish you all a very happy Christmas and a peaceful and healthy New Year.

Christmas Gifts

Posted on December 8, 2010 by Jane Kaye-Bailey

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.

2010 Charity Calendar

Posted on November 22, 2009 by Jane Kaye-Bailey

The Butterfly Tree calendar, showing images of Mukuni and other villages is ready to order and can be viewed on this page. This is our third year and already we have had numerous requests to buy them for gifts, offices and home use. The high quaility desk top calendar measures 21cm x 16cm and can be bought for £4 plus postage, US10 including postage.

If you would like to make a purchase please complete the form below.

I would like to thank all the companies who have each generously sponsored a page of this publication, enabling all proceeds on the sale of the calendar to go directly to the cause.