With just four days left before my departure to Zambia there are many details to finalise. My sons have achieved an amazing result raising funds to build a home for a widow and orphans receiving enough donations to build three homes. They will physically help with the construction to cut down on labour costs.

Joining me are two volunteers from Australia, Professor Doug Saunders and his wife who will be working at Mukuni Health Centre for two weeks besides setting up a program to send medical students to assist at the clinic and Livingstone Hopital. Casey Short and Margaret Bax from Oregon State will be volunteering their professionsal skills to help Mukuni Basic School and The Butterfly Tree community projects. We now have a representative in the US, Frank Maiolo who visited Mukuni some years ago has been sponsoring a number of orphans through the charity.

Young girl from Mukuni

With so much need it is often hard to prioritise, the basis of our work is for the benefit of the orphans and vulnerable children ensuring that they receive an education, safe water and food. Besides Mukuni Village we are working in several other schools and supporting 210 children in education. Currently we building a new classroom at Katapazi thanks to JOAC we are also upgrading their clinic. In the forhtcoming year we aim to upgrade Kamwi Basic and Simamsimbi Basic Schools. With the generous offer of a bore hole at Kamwi, to be donated by Just a Drop we have managed to provide safe, clean water for all the schools we are supporting.

No doubt when I arrive at Mukuni there will be more children who have been orphaned in the past few months. Education is the only way these vulnerable people will overcome the devastation caused by the HIV/AIDS in Zambia pandemic. You can sponsor an orphan for just £8 per month or £95 (US150) per annum and make a difference to someone’s life.

Unicef’s statistics state that there are 143 million orphans worldwide, many of them are AIDS children. In Zambia alone there are 710,000 orphans. Heartbreaking data for children who don’t ask to be born. With one in six adults living with the virus, HIV and AIDS in Zambia is a mammouth problem and education is the key to overcoming the pandemic. Being one of the poorest and least developed nations on earth Zambia sadly has one of the highest statistics in the world.

AIDS children at Kamwi Village                   Orphan sponsorship at Mukuni

The Butterfly Tree’s aim is to assist these AIDS children by providing improved education and health facilities and safe, clean drinking water. Without these essentials in place there is little hope for the future of these vulnerable children. It is not only the poor that have been affected but many in the public sector and agriculture, causing a weakening in the economy. Young women and children are most at risk, prior to the HIV/AIDS pandemic ’street children’ were virtually unheard of in Zambia now there are thousands of AIDS children roaming the street, begging for food and shelter. Widows are also at high risk, having no source of income leads them to using sex to earn money to feed their children. “AIDS may kill me in months or years, but hunger will kill me and my family tomorrow” is believed to be said by women in Zambia.

How can we help? The Butterfly Tree is working at grass root levels with the local health and education authorities and raising awareness both in the UK and globally to help the world fight against HIV/AIDS. We have a number of projects including workshops and voluntary testing, feeding programs to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS from mother to child replacing breastmilk with formula and an orphan sponsorship program.

HIV/AIDS support group & under fives feeding program - sponsored by The Butterfly Tree

How can you help? Sponsor an orphan can give a child an edcuation and a chance to make a difference. Donating to one of our projects in water, education or health improvements is invaluable. We are currently doing an appeal to fund community houses for widows and orphans in Mukuni Village; my two sons are joining me in Zambia next month to build these homes. No doubt there will be many more orphans in need of support since my last visit. Your generosity can give these AIDS children the chance in life they are worthy of.

With the school holidays under way and the children enjoying their summer break, surprisingly African children actually prefer to be at school. Staying at home in a rural village holds very little appeal. There are no televisions, computer games or toys to occupy them nor theme parks and cinemas to visit; most children do not leave their villages, the cost and distance too great to venture away from their community. Sadly the majority of these children have not seen the Victoria Falls despite this spectacular site lying just seven kilometers from Mukuni Village.

Life for an orphan is tough, having to depend on a guardian or an elderly grandparent to provide accomodation and food is particularly difficult. These children have mainly been orphaned as a result of the HIV/AIDS in Zambia pandemic. School is their only hope, providing an education for these vulnerable children gives them a chance in life. Attending school is much more preferable than staying at home where there is nothing to do other than helping with the daily chores, fetching water, carrying wood and caring for their younger siblings.

Sponsor an Orphan: young children from Mukuni Village

The Butterfly Tree urges everyone to sponsor an orphan; whether you are an individual, company or school - for just £95 per annum or £8 per month a child can receive an educaton. We believe that every child has a right to education, something we take for granted in the west; there are thousands of African children who do not have this privilege. Our orphan sponsorship program is overseen by a group of female volunteers who source the most vulnerable children and oversee their welfare, we are currently sponsoring over 200 orphans who are benefitting from this program. To sponsor an orphan complete the form and donate using our secure online donation page.

My sons, Mike and David have volunteered to go to Zambia to build homes for Mukuni, but first they have to raise the funds for the materials. They will work with the local builders, in temperatures reaching 35 degrees to provide at least one home for a widow and orphans during their stay. The cost per house is £400 to build a sturdy, substantial structure with a concrete floor and they will also include the mattresses.

A dwelling in Mukuni Village

Accomodation, in remote communities such as Mukuni Village, is primitive. A mud-hut dwelling for most, three huts for the more prosperous families - one a sleeping quarter for men, the other for women and young children and one for the kitchen. Sadly there are thousands of widows and orphans who have no income to repair or build new homes. The thatching, which should be done every five years, becomes neglected causing leaks during the rainy season, holes appear creating drafts in the winter months when the temperatures drop to below 4 degrees.

Homes for Mukuni: A new house built by The Butterfly Tree

Mike and David are appealing for everyone to donate just £3, the cost of one less pint of beer on a Saturday night! All the money will be used for the project, no deductions will be made. The result - secure, spacious and comfortable accommodation for a vulnerable family, which will last for many years. To make a donation Mike has created a page, ‘The Kayes get Physcial’, on Just Giving; alternatively you can make a donation on The Butterfly Tree website.