Christmas in Mukuni will be very different to what many of us will experience tomorrow. Apart for going to church it will be like any other day sharing a meal of n’shima, vegetables and gound nuts with family and friends. There with be no turkey, Christmas pudding or gifts under the Christmas tree nor has there been weeks of preparations to make everything perfect for the festive Day. So who has got it right? Do we really need to put ourselves under so much stress for just one day? The true meaning of Christmas has been overshadowed by the need to spend more and more money on food, drinks and gifts, often resulting in bank overdrafts and credit card debts.

Working in one of the poorest nations on the planet, where thousands of children have been orphaned through the HIV and AIDS in Zambia pandemic, makes me realise that we have got it wrong.   These desperately poor communities need food, water, health and education. Fortunately for many people in Mukuni Village life has improved considerably this year. The charity has built extra classrooms, more orphans have been sponsored and much has been done to improve the education and health facilities for Mukuni and several other outreach villages.

Greetings from Mukuni: Lillian Mweene with her daughter

2011 promises to be another successful year for The Butterfly Tree kicking off with substantial grant aid once again awarded by the Jersey Overseas Aid Commission. This grant will enable us to build three new schools in remote areas; one in Mukuni and two in the Musokotwane Chiefdom. Saga Charitable Trust has also ensured that our Africa malaria program continues with another generous donation for next year. Many of our supporters have sent Christmas donations and some sponsor an orphan, making it our most successful year to date.

Jane with children from Mandandi Village

On behalf of the team and Mukuni Village I would like to genuinely thank everyone for your bountiful support and wish you all a very happy Christmas and a peaceful and healthy New Year.

For many of us choosing Christmas gifts can be quite an arduous task, wondering whether or not you have chosen correctly. Recently I heard on the radio that this year almost half a billion pounds of unwanted Christmas gifts will end up in the bin. Scandalous! That amount of money could be used to feed millions of starving people. What has happened to the true meaning of Christmas? What used to be a joyous occasion has turned into a manic marketing campaign with Christmas cards on sale at the end of summer, Christmas songs playing at the beginning of November and Advent calendars on sale for dogs! Where did we go wrong?

Christmas Gifts – donate a gift to help these vulnerable children

Christmas Day in developing countries, such as Zambia, means going to church to commemorate the birth of Jesus. No one eats special food; there are no gifts to open and no activities taking place. On the 25th December, like any other day, life is a struggle. Poverty, disease and hunger are hard to overcome. If you are struggling to find that perfect gift for someone special who has everything, perhaps you would like to consider the following:

Sponsor an orphan, donate a mosquito net, buy exercise books, build a house for a widow with orphans or buy a bicycle for a child who walks long distances to school. Whichever you choose 100% of your donation will go directly to the project, no fees or administrations costs will be deducted. If you would like to give someone a ’stocking filler’ and help the charity at the same time our popular calendar is available to order for just £4 plus postage or our charity CD, ‘Change for The Better’ for just £3 plus postage.

Do something different this Christmas and donate your gift to a Zambian orphan, it will most certainly be put to good use and most definitely will not end up in the bin!

For more details on how to get involved or purchase a gift contact jane@thebutterflytree.org.uk or simply donate using our secure online page, your help however small will be greatly appreciated.

The latest figures show that there are over 33 million people living with HIV and over half of them will die of AIDS before they are 35 years of age. A staggering 2.3 million children under 15 are infected. Although advances in treatment and HIV and AIDS Prevention have been made I have seen first-hand the destruction caused in Zambia, where every family, if not infected, is affected in some way. It  is one the worst nations with one in six adults being HIV positive. There are 33,000 children infected with HIV and over 700,000 are orphaned as a result of the HIV and AIDS in Zambia pandemic.

World Aids Day: An HIV positive orphan sponsored by The Butterfly Tree

HIV and AIDS education is the key, particularly in developing countries. Providing educational workshops, helping to remove the stigma and voluntary testing is crucial. Unlike malaria HIV is slow to develop, therefore many do not take it seriously. Women are four times more likely to be infected then men, not only putting themselves at risk but also their unborm babies. For the past four years The Butterfly Tree has successfully run an under-fives feeding program in Zambia for HIV positvie mothers. This gives them the opportunity to replace breast milk with formula to prevent mother to child transmission of the virus. This method has proved to be very effective as all the children on this program since 2007 have been tested free of HIV. It also encourages more women to come forward and be tested.

Children free of HIV on the under-fives feeding program

In the UK there are over 90,000 reported cases of HIV, many more are undiagnosed. Understanding the facts of HIV, removing the stigma and knowing your status are essential motives to not only protecting your own health but to the well-being of those close to you. Today in recognition of World Aids Day our charity is funding a workshop in Mukuni Village.