With the successful Beijing Olympics, costing over £20 billion to stage, finally over, it is truly amazing to see the likes of Kenya and Jamaica in thirteenth and fifteenth place respectively on the medal table. Both extremely poor countries and yet they have produced many of the finest and fastest record-breaking runners on earth. 

During my last trip to Zambia I was lucky enough to experience the annual Sports Events for the Mukuni Chiefdom. Knowing how much is spent on sport in the west it is hard to believe that only four out of the twelve schools in the chiefdom turned up. The reason being that most of the schools could not afford the £25 affiliation fee and out of the four that attended The Butterfly Tree paid for Mukuni and Ngandu School who had failed to raise the funds. 

Photo: Mukuni Olympians

Sport is such an important part of a school’s curriculum and when I saw the effort these children had made to hold this event it was a very humbling experience. Despite the charity funding two mini buses and paying for food supplies many pupils still had to walk ten miles to the grounds, camping out on the floor of a classroom. Zanox kindly donated over 30 footballs which I distributed amongst the local teams. When I visit these remote villages of the Mukuni chiefdom and see the school teams using ‘bag and string’ footballs I am horrified to think of how much is spent on football in the UK. No expensive Nike or Addidas football boots; just bare feet, a patch of dirt and a couple of stakes at each end of the pitch.

With your funds we can provide improved sporting facilities, hard-wearing footballs and netballs complete with HIV/AIDS and malaria awareness logos for as little as £8.

President Mwanawasa passed away today in a Paris hospital, aged 59. Vice-President Rupiah Banda, who I personally met in February, is expected to be announced as the acting leader. He is a close friend of Chief Mukuni and I was invited to meet him during his visit to Mukuni Village. President Mwanawasa was renowned for his integrity and his fight against corruption and most recently for strongly criticizing Zimbabwe’s violent election campaign. This is a great loss to the people of Zambia.

President Mwanawasa (photo courtesy of Daylife)

When I first visited Mukuni Village in March 2006 as a tourist wanting to gain a cultural experience I never dreamed that the village and its people would become such an important part of my life. Now Mukuni is like a second home to me and the friends I have made are more like family. 

I am not the only person to be touched by these warm and gently people, who always manage to have a smile on their face and a welcome greeting for visitors, despite living in such extreme poverty. Every week now I am being contacted by tourists who have visited Mukuni and want to give something back, either in the form of a donation, getting involved with a project or sponsoring an orphan. The Butterfly Tree is fortunate to have this website, donated by Juggle Frogs, which has drawn an audience from many parts of the globe and enabled these philanthropic travellers to track us down.

Along with our partner Exquisite Safaris, who have promoted the charity in the US, we encourage tourists to take time out and visit our projects at Mukuni. Many of these trips have resulted in generous donations of gifts, books, stationary and clothing for the orphans. Although going on safari is an exhilarating and memorable experience, travellers who have been to Mukuni say it is a touching and unforgetable highlight of their trip.

 
Alex from UK volunteering at Mukuni / Kelly from US donated clothes to orphans

In addition to these philanthropic travellers we have had a number of volunteers, who have generously donated their time and skills to work at Mukuni. Funding all their own expenses, they have helped at the Mukuni Schools and Mukuni Health Centre passing on their invaluable experience in both health and education.

Any visitors to Mukuni who are unsure about giving a donation to a local community member can donate securely through The Butterfly Tree. We will give 100% to the cause and no administration fees will be deducted. If you are interested in volunteering at the Mukuni school or Mukuni Health Centre please contact jane@thebutterflytree.org.uk

The Butterfly Tree charity believes that every child has a right to education and by introducing an orphan sponsorship program we have given 120 children a chance to be educated through our charity. There are over 710,000 children orphaned in Zambia, primarily as a result of Aids and in the area where I am working the statistics are particularly high; with one in six adults being HIV positive. Every visit I make to Mukuni I hear of more children loosing their parents and having to drop out of school due to lack of funds. There are over 450 orphans in Mukuni Village living with grandparents, guardians and teachers. This puts a huge burden on the extended family; when you sponsor a child this can ease the situation and give a child hope. Education is the most important thing in their life as Annastasia Matengu Mutongo writes:

“Informing you that I am a girl, aged 15 years and was born on the 18th April 1993. My father died when I was one year and six months old and my mother died when I was three years old. Am a person who likes going to school and I like playing netball, singing and dancing. I live in Zambia’s Southern Province in Mukuni Village. At Mukuni I live with my grandmother. At school I am doing grade nine and my hobby is singing gospel music.

When I was in grade six life was very miserable but since I came under The Butterfly Tree sponsorship life is now better. I wish to complete my education and be a better person in future. I like joking with people who encourage me about life and education. In November I will have my final examination. My hope is just based on education and I hope I will be fine at the end of the day.”

Sponsored orphan: Annastasia with Victor Simango

These children at Mukuni and other rural villages need an education to overcome the hardships they have to endure. We desperately need your help to give these children a chance. To sponsor a child it costs only £85 (US$170) a year or £7.50 (US$15) per month. If you would care to sponsor a child like Annastasia please email The Butterfly Tree now: jane@thebutterflytree.org.uk

Olbert Kamungondo was born in 1986 and when he was just five months old his mother and all other passengers were killed in a bus accident, where Olbert was the only survivor. His father took his old brother and moved away from the Mukuni chiefdom, leaving Olbert with his grandparents. At a later stage his uncle took him to Kamwi village primary school to start his education. Unfortunately when his uncle remarried Olbert was no longer made welcome, so he then went to live with a teacher at Mukuni Basic School, who looked after Olbert until he completed grade 9, after which he had to fend for himself.

In January 2007, at the age of 20, Olbert was sponsored by The Butterfly Tree and was allowed to live in one of the shelters we built for pupils who live long distances from the school. They were having to sleep on the ground with only a thin blanket each. During the day he was entitled to The Butterfly Tree’s feeding program and was expected to provide supper for himself and his younger cousin. However the only way he could make money to buy food was by selling curios; sadly his grades began to fall. We believe that Olbert is a survivor and has great potential so in addition we bought him two matresses, warm blankets and have agreed to provide a monthly income to cover his expenses.

Photo: Olbert in Mukuni Village, on the right, with mattress

Kevin Sabata was just seven years old when he needed a sponsor to educate him at Mukuni Basic School. His father had been diagnosed with TB and both his parents were HIV positive. On hearing this information, The Butterfly Tree provided support for the family, though sadly it came too late as shortly after Kevin’s father died, followed a week later by his baby sister, who died of malnutrition.

Photo: Kevin, aged 8 from Mukuni Village

This set the motions in place for the founder to immediately start a feeding program for under five’s at Mukuni Health Centre. The charity is also providing a feeding program at Mukuni Basic School for vulnerable children, of which Kevin is a participant.

Mukuni’s Katapazi Clinic has three clinics to assist the people living in these rural villages. For the past two and a half years The Butterfly Tree has raised funds to support the Mukuni Health Centre improving the facilities, building a maternity clinic and providing vast amounts of medical supplies, which have been donated to the charity.

During my last two trips to Zambia I visited Katapazi village, a remote community in the Mukuni Chiefdom, some 48 kilometers from Livingstone, much of it driving through the bush. The community depend on gardening, fishing and small scale farming, which has suffered badly due to the January floods. They have only one bore hole; the school children have to fetch water and carry it to school. The Katapazi clinic, run by a dedicated midwife with the few staff she has trained from the community, is totally understaffed and lacking in equipment and medical supplies. The catchment population is over 5000 and many people have to walk long distances, consequently most women deliver their babies at home because it is too far to get to the clinic.

Medical staff and community members at Katapazi clinic

When I drove to the clinic in June to take them some medical supplies I was shocked when the midwife told me that 135 babies were underweight, 9 of them critical. Knowing how successful our feeding program is at Mukuni Village I am seeking a sponsor to start one at Katapazi, in the meantime we have supplied formulae to help the crisis. The clinic is in dire need of improvement and requires an extention; there are only two wards with four beds; the staff do outreach visits four times a month using bicycles. Immunizations, antenatal and voluntary councelling and testing for HIV are all done at the clinic, which is an invaluable facility for these vulnerable people.