When I asked someone at Mukuni Village what they did for Christmas she simply answered ‘we go to church’. ‘What else would you do?’ she replied. How do you describe the presents, feasts, parties and manic shopping lasting for several weeks before Christmas to someone living on less than 50 pence a day? When I asked if they had anything special to eat she replied ’some people have a chicken if they can afford it’. So unless you have £3 which is the cost of a chicken in Zambia you have to contend with the daily diet of ground maize, vegetables and ground nuts for Christmas lunch.

Photo: Mother and child from Mukuni

Thanks to the generosity of all our donors, old and new, funds have been pouring into the charity this month with many people offering to sponsor an orphan instead of sending Christmas cards. We have been able to build several community houses for the elderly, restore an classroom at Ngandu School and thanks to Just a Drop we now have funding in place to add three bore holes at schools in the Mukuni Chiefdom.

I would like to thank everyone who has helped us to achieve such tremendous success this year. All our volunteers, donors and everyone who has given their time and support generously to assist The Butterfly Tree, giving thousands of people hope and a future. Wishing you a wonderful Christmas and a healthy and peaceful New Year.

I would like to thank everyone for your cards, email, letters, flowers and offers of support since my husband, Lawrence, was tragically killed last month. The Butterfly Tree has received over £5000 in donations in his memory, which will go a long way to improving the lives of the vulnerable people in the Mukuni Chiefdom.

Besides funding the feeding program through our company, Cunninghams, Lawrence loved the ‘housing project’. Many elderly people and widows live in appalling conditions and to be able to provide a new home for someone living in poverty is a very humbling experience. Mukuni Village preserves its tribal traditions by building mud huts, however some of the population are living in open shelters leaving them exposed to the elements, mosquitos and snakes. During this rainy period they have no protection and during the winter months the temperautres at night can drop to zero.

A young disabled wood carver was living in this shelter, which has now been replaced thanks to a donation from donors in Ilkeston. If the homes are substantially built with a conctrete floor, like the ones provided by The Butterfly Tree, they can last for years, only the straw roof needs replacing regularly. It only costs £350 to provide a home for a needy person and can transform someone’s life.

Education is the key to overcoming HIV and AIDS in Zambia. The Butterfly Tree is now supporting five schools in the Mukuni Cheifdom and hopes to offer assistance to many more in the future. Ngandu School built in 1939 by Roman Catholics, was taken over by the government in 1966. Sadly very little has been done since that year until The Butterfly Tree restored a classroom in 2007.

Ngandu has over 400 pupils and is a feeder school to Mukuni High, the pupils having to walk several miles each day. We have now commenced the work on another 1×2 classroom block, which is only partly in use due to the structure being deemed dangerous. The standard of teaching in these remote villages is extremely high but unfortunately the facilities are very basic. Government funding is minimal, they have no electricity and very little equipment.

Pupils at Ngandu School in the Mukuni Chiefdom

Like many of the rural schools Ngandu is very short of teacher’s accomodation and we are currently raising funds to built a new house, we have the foundations in place and a further £3000 is needed to complete the project. The school also has a number of orphans, many of which are being education through our orphan sponsorship program.

Your funds are vital helping to improve the lives of these vulnerable communities in the Mukuni Chiefdom. The more schools we can assist - the more children we can educate, then at least they have a chance in the future to reduce the number of orphans, as a result of this devastating desease. Please keep the funds flowing. The Butterfly Tree 2009 calendars are selling really well, each page has been sponsored enabling all the money to go directly to the cause.

Today is World AIDS Day 2008, 33 million people worldwide are living with HIV and the numbers are growing. Zambia has one of the highest statistics, with one in six adults infected and 710,00 children orphaned. At Mukuni Village alone there are over 400 orphans, without the help of The Butterfly Tree orphan sponsorship program many of them would not receive an education.

The Butterfly Tree has a number of projects running all of which play a vital role in overcoming this devasting disease. Our under fives feeding program, is the first to be intiated in Zambia. We provide formula to replace breastmilk in mothers who are HIV positive, preventing mother to child transmission and this has also encouraged more women to come forward to be tested.

Young girl from Mukuni

With a grant from Avert we support the Tusole Lwangunko Group who do amazing volunteer work, providing workshops, voluntary testing and sensitization programs. We have also partnered with a charity called TME who supply us with educational DVDS on four HIV/AIDS topics and have distributed them throughout the nation.

The Butterfly Tree believes that the only way to overcome the  pandemic of HIV and AIDS in Zambia is through education. We have four HIV/AIDS programs running in Zambia and your donations will help us to continue these vital programs, alternatively you purchase a 2009 charity calendar for only £4 plus postage.

ORPHAN SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM

UNDER FIVES FEEDING PROGRAM

HIV/AIDS WORKSHOPS

EDUCATIONAL DVDS

Please give your to support to one of these projects The Butterfly Tree is totally committed in helping to prevent the people from loosing the next generation, your generosity could help too!