Education is key to the HIV/AIDS fight in Zambia

Although the HIV/AIDS in Zambia situation is not getting any worse it is not improving fast enough. Education is the key factor to fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic. A quote from Avert, ‘as of 2005, although almost all adult Zambians know that HIV/AIDS exists, still 8.8% of the population do not know that it can be avoided. Over 25% of adults think that mosquitos can transmit HIV, 22% think they can be infected by withchraft; and 15% believe that sharing a meal with an infected person puts them at risk. The level of understanding is lower in towns, and women are less knowledgeable than men’.

The Butterfly Tree aims to built more pre-schools in Zambia; almost half of the population is between 5 and 14 years old, very few have HIV. and by educating these young Zambians at an early age the HIV/AIDS statistics can be reduced. There is little else to occupy these children, living in poor rural communites, unless they can go to school.

 
Mukuni Village pre school children

The Mukuni Village pre-school built by The Butterfly Tree, thanks to a generous donation by Gardiff, who are also supporting two teachers and a classroom helper, is a huge success. Over 200 children attend three classes throughout the day, learning English and Maths skills, preparing them for the basic school at the age of five. Read the rest of this entry »

Tourists give generously to Mukuni Village

During my talks at the travel exhibitions I always state that if tourists were made more aware, by their tour operators, of the poverty surrounding their luxury resorts, then they would be more inclined to give a donation.

One tour company, Exquisite Safaris and one of our partners insists on sending their clients to visit a humantarian project as an essentail part of their itinerary. Exquisite Safaris is the pioneer in luxury philanthropic travel and donates $US250 for every client who visits an NGO project and The Butterfly Tree is fortunate to be operating in a catchment area, being so close to the Victoria Falls, where tourists can make daily visits to Mukuni Village.

This year we have received many offers of visitors wishing to sponsor an orphan or give a donation to this rural community and just as I was so touched on my first visit, others have felt the same. I am delighted to say that several of these people have come ‘on board’ to raise further funds and awareness for The Butterfly Tree.

Zambia is experiencing a ‘boom’ in tourism and as an NGO I am dedicated to getting more tour operators, lodges, hotels and tourists involved in ‘giving something back’. Just a small donation could make a difference to someone’s life and a more substantial one could built a bore hole, providing safe, clean water for hundreds of people.

No more babies suffering from malnutrition

Twelve months ago, during one of my visits to Mukuni Village, I was saddened to hear that a baby had died from malnutrion. The infants father had passed away only a few days earlier, suffering from TB and her older brother was one of our sponsored orphans. I immediately set up a feeeding program at the Mukuni Health Centre.

Mothers who are HIV positive are discouraged to breatfeed babies over six months, in order to prevent the transmission of HIV from mother to infant. This is virtually impossible when you are so poor that you cannot find the money to pay for  nutritional food; resulting in a child being prone to illness and subsequently malnutrition.

Within six months The Butterfly Tree’s feeding program has greatly improved Read the rest of this entry »