FURTHER HEALTH AND EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT IN REMOTE ZAMBIA

Posted on February 21, 2023 by Jane Kaye-Bailey

As the rainy season in Zambia continues crops are growing and boreholes, rivers and streams are filling up. However, during this period some rural schools, clinics and villages become inacessible as tracks become flooded. This is why The Butterfly Tree continues to source remote areas in need of health and education facilities. The following feedback, received this weekend, from a nurse at Katondo health post, confirms how vital these projects are:

‘An elderly woman had collapsed with BP. In the past she would have been taken to Kauwe Health Centre a distance of 15km, but with the rains the roads are currently impassable. She was treated in Katondo and went home the following morning. The next day an expectant mother was in an emergency situation, nurses safely delivered the baby at the facility.’ These rural health posts are vital – this mother and elderly women would not have been unable to travel to Kauwe Health Centre due to the rains.

Thanks to the tremendous support from the Overseas Aid and Development Commission in Guernsey we have developed health posts at Sikaunzwe, Bunsanga and Katondo with one currently under construction at Boombwe. We have also built health posts at Mahalulu and Mambova and added maternity wards and mother’s shelters in ten other areas. With readily available access to medical care in the West it is diffilcult to comprehend the need for improved healthcare in countries like Zambia.

This month we were delighted to receive a substantial donation from one of our private donors to build more classrooms. We are still finding mud and pole schools built by the community, in the Kazungula District, and though it is better than having no school the buildings are totally inadequate especially when it is raining. The pictures below show Bunsanga before and after our support, it can now take pupils from grade one to seven. We aim to develop three more schools this year.

Education is the key to overcoming poverty and its related issues. Following the United Nations Development Goal 4 – ‘Quality Education’ thousands of children in rural areas are in education. We were delighted to learn that out of eleven pupils on sponsorship at Mukuni High School, ten have gained their final certificates. More orphans from Mukuni, Ng’andu, Kamwi and Senkobo have joined the orphan sponsorship programme this year, having recently lost one or both parents.

SPONSORED ORPHANS – NG’ANDU JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL

Further support has been received from the Blackpool Cup organisers after selecting The Butterfly Tree as their charity partner for 2023. Two of our trustees from The Butterfly Tree, Zambia have been invited to the Blackpool Cup, an International Youth Football Tournament. The organisers will host and accommodate the trustees, and footballs from the event will be donated to the charity. Teams are are also being asked to donate football strips for our youth football teams in Zambia.

ONE OF FOUR FOOTBALL TOURNAMENTS SPONSORED BY THE BLACKPOOL CUP

The Butterfly Tree has been shortlisted for the Water Air Food Awards in Denmark. Our comprehensive application was on Food Security and how we provided emergency relief for thousands of children and communities, suffering from severe hunger and famine, during the 2019-20 drought. We need votes and would be grateful if you would consider voting for our initiative, which will shortly be published on the WAFA Award website.

HEALTH, EDUCATION & FOOD SECURITY

Posted on January 17, 2023 by Jane Kaye-Bailey

The new school year in Zambia is now underway. I am pleased to report that most pupils on our orphan sponsorship programme have passed their grade 7 and 9 exams, with some gaining very good results. A further six pupils from Mukuni and three from River View completed high school in December. Their grade 12 results will be announced next month. Eight students are currently attending universities and college, while those who took skills courses last year, are doing work experience. The Murphy Family Foundation and the Mukuni Village Trust, Australia, have given considerable support to help orphans and vulnerable youths.

Thanks to a substantial donation from Nick Bousliman fifty rural schools received bags of seeds and fertilizer for their school gardens, to create sustainable feeding programmes. This generous donation also included 2,000 bags of ground maize for the elderly and vulnerable families, and five boreholes. In addition to this, donations from our successful Christmas Appeal enabled us to distribute more bags of ground maize in Mukuni, Sekute, Musokotwane and Nyawa. One grateful beneficiary from Nyawa sent the following message to The Butterfly Tree.

‘Food is scarce to us elderly especially at this time of year. I am a diabetic and having no food is a danger. Last week I collapsed and a good Samaritan took me to hospital where they put me on a drip of glucose. I didn’t have any food since the morning. Now that I have this bag of maize I will be moving with a bowl of nsima and eat whenever I feel weak. Thank you Butterfly Tree for saving lives.’

The second phase of the new health post at Boombwe is underway. The development, funded by the Overseas Aid and Development Commission, Guernsey, includes a clinic, two staff houses, toilets and biodigester. Mosquito nets were donated to Boombwe school children as there is a high prevalence of malaria. Blooms the Pharmacy, Australia continue to provide medical supplies for Bunsanga, Simonga and Mambova health posts.

The three women’s projects in partnership with Give a Hand, Canada are going well. Muyunda women are busy collecting honey from wild bees to earn an income by selling honey and beeswax. The Musokotwane ‘Mangoes of Hope’ women sold all the jam they made during the mango season and will again grow tomatoes until the next season. The ‘Hope for a Better Future’, which includes rearing chicken and growing vegetables for women in Sekute, is doing exceptionally well. The women have sought good markets for the chicken and vegetables’ sales, which are proving to be highly lucrative.

During the Christmas holidays three football tournaments took place for U-17 girls in Mukuni, Senkobo and Nyawa, and one for U-17 boys in Mukuni. The aim is to help prevent HIV, early pregnancies, alcohol and drug abuse by encouraging youths to engage in sport. All participants must attend The Butterfly Tree HIV prevention workshops. This was sponsored by Blackpool Cup who have chosen The Butterfly Tree as their charity partner for their 2023 tournament.

MUKUNI UNDER-SEVENTEEN’S FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT WINNERS

Jane Kaye-Bailey

Founder

THE BUTTERFLY TREE ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2021-2022

Posted on October 5, 2022 by Jane Kaye-Bailey

I am delighted to present The Butterfly Tree’s Annual Report and Accounts for 2021-22. This was our second best year since the founding of the charity in 2006. Our projects include water, food security, health, education, sustainable community projects, and an orphan support programme in Mukuni, Sekute, Musokotwane, Nyawa and Moomba Chiefdom – Kazungula District, Southern Province of Zambia.

Please scroll down the file to view the accounts, images and graphs or click on the link below to download the file.

Annual-Report-and-Accounts-2021-22

Chairman’s Report

Despite all the challenges and the increase in demand for charity donations, I am delighted to report that 2021-22 was the second-best year since the founding of The Butterfly Tree. The only other year when we raised more money was in 2019-20, though almost a quarter of the donations were to assist with emergency food relief when The Southern and Western Provinces suffered the worst drought in over 30 years. This past year has been exceptional in all sector with Water, Food, Health, Education, Community projects and of course our all-important orphan sponsorship programme being funded.

The Butterfly Tree was voted ‘Best Orphan Charity of the Year’ – Midlands Prestige Awards

Every donation, no matter how small, counts and is greatly appreciated. Whether it be from individuals, corporate, schools, clubs or from grant aid awards every donation goes directly into our vital grass root projects in Zambia. The Butterfly Tree is the biggest contributor to education in the Kazungula District, enabling more children access to basic and secondary education.

Our substantial contribution towards malaria prevention has made a significant impact in the global fight against malaria.

My sincere thanks to fellow trustees Ann and Jackie whose invaluable input, support and encouragement help to make the charity function efficiently. Many thanks to volunteers David, Carolyn, Leah, Valerie, Meg, and Mike for giving up their free time to help with fundraising, child protection and safeguarding, and youth projects which improve the lives of orphans and vulnerable people.

As always I cannot thank enough our incredible team in Zambia, their commitment and dedication is incomparable. Having our own locally registered NGO on the ground is what makes the charity sustainable. Mupotola Siloka (secretary), Rev. Presley Mulenga (education), Martin Mushabati (community projects/sport), Stain Musungaila (malaria prevention), Natasha Mufeya, (orphan sponsorship/peer education) and Sibeso Maseka (health) successfully manage and oversee all our projects.

We are extremely grateful to all our supporters from the UK, Republic of Ireland, Guernsey, USA, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Portugal and Hong Kong for helping to make 2021-22 such a successful and rewarding year!

A special thanks to our major donors. During this period their donations have funded the construction of classrooms, teacher’s and medical staff houses, health posts, borehole installation, orphan sponsorship, women’s and girls’ projects, and malaria and HIV prevention programmes.

Jane Kaye-Bailey

Founder