The Butterfly Tree Charity

Life in Zambia is tough for a school child, especially if you an orphan and have little financial support to pursue your education. Life is is even tougher if you are a child with physical or mental disabilities. The Butterfly Tree has been working on a number of ways that we can help these disadvanteged children. Now thanks to some amazing offers we are able to set up a Special Education department.

The Besom has generously donated funds to buy the materials for a classoom block to be built at Mukuni Basic School. The charity and community will supply the labour costs. We have also received a grant from St James Place Foundation Newbury Office, which will pay for materials and uniforms for the pupils. Fountaindale Special School in Mansfield, who caters for children with severe disabilities are offering on going support through fundraising and the provison of materials. They have held a number of events to raise funds for these African children who they believe to be worse off than they are. I am so touched by the genorosity of this school as their pupils need so much care and yet their selflessness will improve the lives of children who need special education in Mukuni Village.

Special Education for Mukuni: Siabajene has learning difficulties

This will be a great advancement for Mukuni education as very little is available from the government who will only provide a teacher. To further enhance this project you can donate a donkey to transport a disabled child to school or sponsor an orphan.

The British and Foreign School Society gave us a grant in 2007 to provide materials and equipment for the new high school we had built at Mukuni, without this we would not have been able to open. This grant also included funds to buy stationery and equipment for Mukuni, Ngandu and Kamwi Basic Schools and gave us a great start in developing these teaching facilities. At the end of last year we had school leavers who were the first to complete a full education within Mukuni Village. This generous support helped to advance the education in these remote villages, giving the pupils access to materials that are not normally provided by the government.

Once again the The British and Foreign School Society has generously given a grant to help six more basic schools. Katapazi, Siamasimbi, N’songwe, Libala, Manayemumyemu and Mulindi Basic Schools will each receive funding to purchase stationery and equipment. We are currently working in Katapazi, Siamasimbi and N’songwe, now this will give The Butterfly Tree an opportuntiy to assist three further schools, enabling us to expand our work within the chiefdom.

Education in Mukuni: Siamasimbi Pupils               N’gandu Basic School Pupils

Education is the key and the only way these vulnerable children have a chance of improving their circumstances. With 50 % of the pupils at Mukuni being orphaned through HIV/AIDS in Zambia it is crucial that these children are educated. All our projects revolve around orphan sponsorship and support aiming to enhance their health and education facilities. This month we have been able to extend our feeding programs, thanks to a very generous offer from a volunteer from Arizona who worked with me on the projects last September. Cunninghams continue to support the feeding program for the Mukuni schools; in addition we are providing food for N’gandu, Katapazi, Siamasimbi and Kamwi and the local community have provided the cooks. Another feeding program commenced at Mubiana Community School kindly funded by Placer Nature Centre.

To improve the education these schools need continued support as the government funding for basic schools is minimal. You too can help by giving a donation to one of our projects or you can sponsor an orphan for as little as £8 ($15) per month or £95 ($160) per annum.

Seeing the heartbreaking pictures coming out of Haiti confirms the importance of international aid work and the need for our support in developing countries. Life is a struggle on a daily basis but when something as catastrophic as an earthquake hits your community where do you turn for help? These people have not only lost everything but have little hope for the future. There is no social welfare or National Health Service and with the inevitable outbreaks of disease, shortages of water and food supplies life becomes unbearable for the survivors.

Working in a country such as Zambia I have seen devastating loss and I know how vital aid work is. However it is essential that the funding and supplies are administered through the correct channels, ensuring that it does not get into the wrong hands. Being registered as a charity in Zambia as well as the UK has given The Butterfly Tree the opportunity to have a reliable and trustworthy team on the ground. They are able to initiate and oversee all our projects giving us regular reports and asking advice when needed.

One of the biggest projects we will be tackling in the next couple of months is the development of Kamwi Basic School, which currently has an intake of 130 pupils. Kamwi is in a particularly poor area of Mukuni with virtually no employment for the people. The older children currently have to walk up to six miles to Mukuni Basic School, hence the addition of a 1×3 classroom block and a teacher’s house the school will be advanced to grades five, six and seven. Four pit-latrine toilets will also be built, this project is being funded by a grant from JOAC.

Twins from Kamwi Basic School

At present the pupils and teachers have to share the community bore hole, a twenty minute walk from the school; shortly they will have a new well thanks to a donation from Just a Drop. The school is now being run by Sylvia Mulenga, wife of Presley Mulenga, Head Teacher of Mukuni Basic School and we have every confidence that the development of Kamwi Basic School will give these children hope for a brighter future.

They may not receive gifts on Christmas Day at Mukuni but thanks to everyone around the globe who has supported The Butterfly Tree we are able to offer them the essentials in life - WATER, FOOD, HEALTH and EDUCATION.

We have had great success with our fundraising efforts this year. During the past few months we have increased our orphan sponsorship program, provided seeds for several school gardens and funded treatment for children. We have added five bore holes, built six community houses for widows and orphans, set up a sustainable chicken farm for a women’s group and provided essential funds for the HIV/AIDS in Zambia and malaria programs. Our biggest project, funded by JOAC, was to build a 1×3 classroom and extend the clinic at Katapazi Village, which is now complete.

Christmas: bore hole & classroom for Katapazi      Treatment funded for Kevin

Offering the chance for people to buy alternative Christmas presents has also been fruitful - donkeys, bicycles, chickens and even a house have been generously donated and the calendars as always have been very popular. Many people chose to donate instead of sending Christmas cards.

N’gandu boy takes his sisters to school A new home for a Mukuni widow and orphans

2010 will bring forth the most amazing grants we have ever received. JOAC has offered a huge amount of grant aid to enable us to do six building projects at Mukuni, Siamasimbi and Kamwi Schools, build a brand new school at Mandandi, open a pre-school at Machenje as well as the opportunity to improve a clinic at N’songwe. Just a Drop will fund a bore hole for Kamwi Basic School and Saga Charitable Trust have offered continual support for our health projects at Mukuni Village. The BFSS are giving us another generous grant to purchase stationery and materials for six more schools. All our schools will now receive a feeding program as World Bank are no longer providing porridge to these remote areas.

I would like to say a huge thank you to my fellow trustees, all the volunteers and fundraisers who have worked tirelessly to make this such a successful period and most especially to everyone who has generously donated to our cause and given hope to thousands of people in the Mukuni Chiefdom.

I am so grateful to everyone for helping me to achieve our goals and wish each and every one of you a very happy Christmas and a peacful and prosperous New Year.

Jane Kaye-Bailey

How many of you find it a struggle to know what to buy someone for Christmas, especially someone who appears to have everything? So how about giving something that will benefit someone who has nothing!

The children of Mukuni don’t receive Christmas presents, they don’t know about Father Christmas or the celebrations of the festive season. Apart from the joy of going to church on Christmas morning the rest of the day will just be as any other day at Mukuni Village. No stocking fillers nor treats just a plate of nsima (ground maize), vegetables and groundnuts and for the few lucky ones the addition of chicken or kapenta (dried fish) swilled down with water. Coke, Fanta and Lemonade are a luxury very few can afford and despite the constant heat ice-cream is unheard of.

Alternative Christmas presents could really help a child or community in need and give more satisfaction to the donor than the risk of purchasing an unwanted gift. From as little as £6 for a goat to building a house for a family your money will help to improve the life of someone less fortunate.

Presents for Mukuni: Donate a donkey

Life in these remote villages is tough - with daily challenges to meet these people strive to find food for their families, fresh water to drink and medicine to heal their sick. All things that we in the west take for granted. For the past seven months the rural clinics have received no government funding. Yesterday I was told that there is an outbreak  in the district and no money available to buy the neccessary insecticides. The Butterfly Tree will help to eradicate this issue, at least for Mukuni Village, in the forthcoming week. These are just some of the many problems these gentle people have to endure while we suffer from the pressures of our Christmas - what to eat and drink, what to wear and finding the perfect tree! 

The following can all be purchased through the charity as an alternative Christmas present to provide valuable funds to overcome these hardships:

Donate a goat - £6

Donate a football - £8

Donate 5 mosquito nets £20

Donate a donkey for a disabled child - £70

Donate a bicycle - £75

Sponsor an orphan - £95 per annum

Build a house for widows and orphans - £400

Buy a 2010 charity calendar - £4 plus postage

For more information email jane@thebutterflytree.org.uk or telephone 01926 843699