I am just about to leave for Zambia and could not go without posting our exciting news. I am delighted to announce that for this financial year our fundraising efforts have passed the quarter of a million pounds (US400,000) mark – our most successful year to date! This has mainly been achieved by the enormous grant awarded from Jersey Overseas Aid Commission to build three new schools in Matengu, Silelo and Malima villages – all some fifty miles from Mukuni.

A further donation from Just a Drop will enable us to build a bore hole at Libala Basic School which was was closed last year, by the education authorities, due to lack of safe drinking water. It is sad to think that these pupils have been deprived of education for almost six months. Water is an essential part of life, one of our aims is to provide safe clean drinking water for all the schools and villages we operate in. This donation also includes two additional double pit-latrines for Mukuni Basic School. Sanitation is a huge problem in rual communities where many people rely on the bushes. Schools that have insufficient latrines can be closed down.

Fundraising: Water is life - dried stream Mukuni Chiefdom

We  have a number of current fundraisers who deserve recognition: Brendan Mission is raising £10,000 to build a music centre at Mukuni to create awareness of  orphans and HIV/AIDS prevention which will be used for concerts, drama and worshops. On the 1st March Brendan is hosting a Music Earth Rise event in London; if you live in the area please go along. Margaret and Casey from Oregon have raised funds for a goats’ milk project to support our under fives’ feeding program, which replaces breastmilk in HIV positive mothers. Next month will see University College London supporting our orphan sponsorship and malaria prevention  programs. Members of their Global Development Initiatives Society have selected The Butterfly Tree to be recipients of their annual ‘One World Week’ fundraiser. 

Recipient of the orphan sponosrship program – Mukuni Village

We are delighted that so many people are giving up their time to provide vital funds for our work in Zambia and are grateful to everyone for donating time and funds to help us. Without this support we could not have achieved so much. Thousands of orphaned and vulnerable children are now receiving an education, have access to safe clean drinking water and improved health facilites. If you would like to get involved, sponsor an orphan or fundraise for The Butterfly Tree all the details are on the website or for further information contact jane@thebutterflytree.org.uk Last year Facebook featured ‘our story’ to go out to their 500,000 million users – please join The Butterfly Tree community page so that we can get further recognition from Facebook.

This past week we have had the pleasure of two visitors from Mukuni – Reverend Presley Mulenga, Head Teacher of Mukuni Basic School and member of The Butterfly Tree and Thomas Chanda, their Special Education teacher. Hosted by Fountaindale Special Education School in Nottinghamshire the teachers attended classes, church meetings and social events. The school obtained a local grant to fund an exchange with the two schools and gave them an insight to education in the UK. Presley said ‘everything is so much more advanced than Zambian education’.

Mukuni teachers - Thomas & Presley visiting the Tower of London

Last year thanks to a grant from The Besom we were able to build a classroom for children needing Special Education. Prior to this there was very little hope for these vulnerable children. Stanley Safari Lodge have donated equipment, learning materials, furniture and toys to assist with the development of this class. Children with learning difficulties, ones who are partially sighted and ones with impaired hearing can now be taught in a happy and colourful enviroment. Thomas is an excellent teacher dedicated to improving the lives of these special pupils.

The charity funded physiotherapy for Joseph who has cerebral palcy

The last two days of Thomas and Presley’s visit were spent in Warwickshire and London. A whirlwind sight-seeing trip to the capitol, where my sons and I took them to virtually every major attraction, gave them an insight to a very different world to that of village life in Mukuni. It was a humbling experience for us most especially seeing them enjoy a variety of food so very different to the three meals of ground maize which is all their meagre salaries can afford.

Next month the two Fountaindale teachers are to visit Mukuni Village. Fountaindale also donated many items for the classroon and have vowed to set up an ongoing project to benefit both schools. We are very grateful for this support and found it an absolute pleasure having Presely and Thomas visit us.