Just £300 to build a new home

The Butterfly Tree has a new project underway. One of the most noticeable problems I spot when walking around the villages, is that despite having an abundance of land many people are living in over crowded conditions. This is due to the fact that these communities are too poor to build new homes and too many are living in one house, especially families taking in orphans due to the HIV/AIDS pandemic.  

Photo: Angela, Cynthia and Esnat outside Cynthia’s home. Five people have to share this one house. The Butterfly Tree are helping to give this family a sustainable income

Traditionally every rural Zambian homestead should have 3 houses; sleeping quarters for both the males and the females and a kitchen. However I have visited a number of families where there is only one house and as many as six people sleeping in it! Read the rest of this entry »

School in desperate need of restoration

Last October I visited the remote village of  Ngandu, also in the Mukuni Chiefdom and a ‘feeder’ school to Mukuni Basic and High Schools.

Their school was founded by the Roman Catholics in 1939. The first pupils were taught under a tree, there were no books or boards so they used to write on the ground with their fingers.

• In 1940 a small hut was erected to accommodate one class while the other remained under the tree.

• By 1944 a classroom block was made of grass to cater for both classes. The teachers were accommodated by the Headman before two huts were eventually built for them.

• By 1947 a further classroom block and two teachers’ huts were added and a weekly boarding system was introduced for pupils walking great distances.

• In 1948-1953 permanent buildings constructed and boarding facilities were provided, with the addition of two classrooms blocks for standards five and six in 1954.

After the government took over the running of the school in 1966, changing the standards to grades, very little has been done to improve the infrastructure.

Photo: Ngandu classroom before restoration work

The school has produced notable people including Ministers, Directors and Chiefs and catered for both the Southern and Western Provinces of Zambia. Sadly they all seem to have forgotten about their rural routes as the school is in desperate need of restoration and funding. Read the rest of this entry »