The Butterfly Tree Charity

World Malaria Day is on the 25th April and The Butterfly Tree is helping to promote malaria awareness and appealing to everyone to donate just £1 ($1.50) to buy a malaria testing kit, which could save a child’s life. According to the World Health Organization half of the world’s population is at risk of malaria, and an estimated 247 million cases led to nearly 881,000 deaths in 2006. The World malaria report 2008 describes the global distribution of cases and deaths from malaria, how WHO-recommended control strategies have been adopted and implemented in malaria endemic countries, sources of funding for malaria control, and recent evidence that malaria prevention and treatment can alleviate the burden of disease.

 Africa malaria: A baby recovering from Malaria at Mukuni Health Centre

Zambia has a population of less than 12 million people and yet there were 4.7 million cases of malaria reported in 2006. Malaria in Africa is the biggest killer and 75% of people worldwide who die as a result of malaria are children under the age of five mostly in sub-Sahara Africa. The latest report from WHO announced today states that Zambia has achieved a major reduction in malaria mortality by 66% and will be promoted for other countries to follow.

While there are four types of parasites that can cause malaria in humans, Plasmodium falciparum is by far the most deadly and common, particularly in Zambia. Once a person is bitten by a P. falciparum-carrying mosquito, the parasite grows, multiplies, and undergoes a series of complex life cycle changes that allow it to evade the immune system and infect the liver and red blood cells. Malaria disease caused by P. falciparum may result in death within hours or a few days of infection especially in those with low immunity such as children, pregnant women, people with AIDS (not necessarily HIV carriers), and travelers from areas with little or no malaria. Malaria can also result in miscarriage in pregnant women, low birth-weight infants, developmental disabilities, and other complications.

Africa Malaria Prevention

Team preparing to spray every mud hut in Mukuni - October 2008

The Zambian government has a strategy in place to control malaria and aimed to ensure that at least 80% sleep under Insecticide-treated nets by the end of 2008. They are doing a tremendous job but working in African remote villages I often learn that at least three children have to fit under one net. The other problem is that there are never enough testing kits, early diagnosis is crucial, each time I visit Mukuni Health Centre their supply has depleted. The Butterfly Tree raises awareness and funds to assist this vital progam by providing malaria testing kits and mosquito nets. Saga Charitable Trust have given generously to our efforts. World Malaria Day is April 25th please donate a £1 and save someone’s life and help the Africa Malaria prevention and treatment efforts.

The Butterfly Tree has been working closely with their partner Exquisite Safaris pioneers in Philanthropic Travel, through them we are delighted to have a mention in an article featured in Conde Nast Traveler magazine. Last June I took the Donlins from New York up to Mukuni Village to show them around the school and The Butterfly Tree projects, they were very impressed with our work, donated virtually all their clothes to a poor community at Dumwa and have recently given a $2500 donation in addition to the $1000 from Exquisite Safaris. They have since said that it was the most memorable moment of  their trip.

Another family who I took to Mukuni during the same month gave a donation to the health centre, funded a bore hole, sponsor five orphans and offering on going support to the charity. All the visitors to Mukuni are touched by the people and their enduring hardships and are endeared to see that they still manage to smile. The importance of giving back to a community is invaluable, sitting round the pool of a five star hotel or playing on a golf course gives employment to local people but donating a bore hole gives their families safe clean water, a chance to improve their health, grow vegetables and gives them a chance to become sustainable.

In March we had great fun distributing the 2000 t-shirts and shorts donated by a group of tourists, through Nakker International, who visited Mukuni earlier in the year.

New T-shirts for Mukuni children

It is a mutual benefit for both the traveller and the people in these developing countries. Anyone visiting the Victoria Falls can visit Mukuni Village and see The Buttefly Tree at work, many have said it was the highlight of their travels to Southern Africa. Philanthropic travel can make a difference to someone’s life, through our orphan sponsorship program you can make a difference to their entire community.

Two weeks ago Paul from Blackpool contacted me to say that he was going out to Zambia for a holiday and that he’d like to get involved with a charity working at Mukuni Village; by the end of the conversation Paul generously offered to fund a bore hole. Little did I realise that this was just his first donation. After several subsequent phone calls Paul told me that he was so inspired by the work of The Butterfly Tree that he would like to donate further funds.

Lillian Mwandila has lost both her parents and is eleven years old. She lives with her grandmother and four other orphans in a tiny mud hut in the middle of Mukuni Village. She was on our orphan sponsorship list awaiting a donor along with 59 orphans who I met last month. Now she has been offered an amazing opportunity thanks to Paul who will shortly be visiting Zambia, to not only obtain a full education at Mukuni but the rare opportunity to go on to University. Why was Lillian selected from such a long list when they are all vulnerable? The Butterfly Tree team in Zambia spent two days talking to teachers, visiting homes and scrutinising the orphans before they made their selection. Lillian proved to be the most needy with a clever mind, someone who hopefully will prosper from this wonderful offer and gain knowledge to assist her community in the future.

Lillian Mwandila from Mukuni Village

My new donor didn’t stop there after further conversations Paul wanted to fund five community houses, one of which I suggested went to Lillian’s family and he also offered extra funds for the other orphans living with her. After talking about the shortage of food and our successful feeding program at Mukuni Paul has also offered to start one at Siamasimbi School. Overnight Paul realised the importance of philanthropic travel, giving something back to the community he is visiting.

In the midst of all our doom and gloom due to the global crisis, do we stop and think just how much all the developing countries are suffering? Now one man’s kindness has given a boost to the charity funds and hope for a young Zambian girl. You too can get involved with our orphan sponsorship program and help Zambian children like Lillian.

Whether it’s a school meal or a packed lunch all our children receive something to get them through the school day. When you have to leave home at 4am for a three hour walk to school to start lessons at 7am by mid morning the hunger pains begin. There is no morning porridge because the supplies have run out and your family are too poor to provide a packed lunch or fund something from the tuck shop, by noon you become tired and lethargic. The afternoon activities are a struggle, exams are even tougher, it becomes difficult to concentrate. The walk back home takes longer as the hunger increases.

This is what happens in Mukuni and many areas that have been affected by HIV and Aids in Zambia. People are so poor that a great number only eat one meal a day, comprising of ground maize, vegetables and ground nuts. Chicken, bread, rice, eggs and milk are all luxuries. To help overcome this problem The Butterfly Tree provides a daily feeding program for Mukuni schools sponsored by Cunninghams. Over 500 children receive a daily nutritional meal, vital for the growth and development of any child.

Sweets a rare treat for Mukuni children

Now we need sponsors for the other schools in the Mukuni Chiefdom: Kamwi, Ngandu, Siamasimbi and Katapazi. Not only are the school children hungry, during my last visit I met a young woman from Machenje Village, she had brought her twins to Mukuni Health Centre to be weighed having walked the three miles from her home. The infants were fourteen months old, both suffering from malnutrition, the mother had no milk to feed her babies. She told me she hadn’t eaten since the day before.

The Butterfly Tree funds an under fives feeding program to replace breast milk in mothers who are HIV positive, transmission of the disease is then prevented. Unfortuantely formula in Zambia is very costly therefore we are introducing goats milk, a high source of nutrition and a way of providing a sustainable income to the milk produces. Women who have benefited from the program have voluntered to help with the running of this. These feeding programs are essential for the develpoment of children who are the future of Zambia.

During my visit to Mukuni I was fortunate to have Professor Doug Saunders from Sydney University acccompany for four days. After a brief encounter at Livingstone airport in May 2007 Doug was interested in my work, came to the UK to see me and this February funded a trip to Zambia to assist the charity. He is setting up a program to allow medical students from the University to do their internship at Mukuni Health Centre and Livingstone Hospital, giving the students experience and tropical medicine and in return the students will bring a wealth of knowledge for new treatments.

I took Doug to the morning clinics at Mukuni Health Centre, run by Mr. Mwewa, the clinical officer and Mrs Mukuni the midwife. From a medical experience he was fasinated but equally appalled by the lack of facilities, equipment and medicines. In fifty years in medicine, specialising in gynaecology and obstetrics, he had never seen cases of malaria, leprosy, TB in HIV positve women, severe pre-ecampsia or juvenile cataract.

Chaton Siloka awaiting an operation at Mukuni Health Centre

Doug offered to help with diagnosis and treatment. Two boys who had been suffering from ailments for several years; one had continual urinary infections and the other an enlarged spleen, neither could not be treated in hospital due to lack funds. They had been unable to attend school for much of the year and suffered pain and discomfort. Another boy, Martin Siloka had accidently been hit by a small stone, resulting in loss of sight in one eye as a a cataract had formed. The Butterfly Tree is funding treatment for these three children.

I have set up a program to fund four children a month who need hospital treatment. Although Mukuni Health Centre has some excellent staff it has not got the facilities to operate or treat certain cases. Idrin Ghani who The Butterfly Tree has been funding since last October had her final operation last month and has recovered from the osteomylitis that could have taken her life.

We all complain about our medical care, in the UK it is a free service and we have very good facilites; these rural people cannot evern afford the transport to take them to hospital, where they have to pay for their medication and often the operation as well. Our Gallery shows photos of the Mukuni Health Centre.

Today marks World Water Day. Despite the UN’s International Decade for Action ‘Water for Life 2005–2015′, there are still over a billion people who have not got access to safe, clean water. Water is life, a commodity that we take for granted in the west, but when you have to drink the water from crocodile infested rivers and carry it for several kilometres it is very precious. Millions of children die each year from preventable water-borne diseases, hunger and poverty are a result of water shortage. Women spend many hours of their day fetching water. In a country such as Zambia when the dry season lasts for six months it is crucial to have an adequate source of safe, clean water.

This stagnant water is used for drinking and washing

Earlier this month we were able to provide four new bore holes for the Mukuni Cheifdom. We are working with two other water charites, Just a Drop and W Charitable Foundation who have donated three of the bore holes. WCF are funding London’s University’s SOAS to research water problems in Africa and we are delighted that they have chose The Butterfly Tree for some of their field work studies.

Mukuni, Siamasimbi and Katapazi schools will all benefit. Previously they had to share a well with the community, which depletes the supply and in some cases the water is only available for a few hours a day. Not only is there insufficient water for drinking but also for washing and sanitation. The school will now be able to grow their own vegetables reducing hunger amongst the pupils and making them more sustainable.

The fourth is from a very generous family from the US who I met in Zambia last June. The village of Kafekwa and their neighbours had to rely on river water, highly contaminated, diarrhoa is a common ailment amongst these people. It is a fertile growing area, the income comes from farming and now with the addition of the new well and pump more food can be grown.  

New bore hole and pump for Kafekwa Village

We insist that the communities receiving our donated bore holes have their own water committee, must maintain the hand pumps and teach the people basic hygiene.

It is now three years since I first went to Mukuni Village, which resulted in the founding of The Butterfly Tree. Having just spent three weeks in Zambia overseeing our programs and sourcing new projects it is very difficult to prioritize when there is so much need. However two of the most crucial issues are health and water and I am very grateful to Professor Doug Saunders from Sydney University’s medical school for assisting me at the clinic and Rachel Hemingway from W Charitable Foundation who spent a week with me giving advice on water and sanitation problems. The charity has funded three bore holes for schools through our partners Just a Drop. We put in a fourth bore hole at Kafekwa Village kindly donated by toursits from the US. This month starts the development of Katapazi from a grant received to improve their clinic, build a classroom and 4 pit-latrine toilets in addition to the new well for the school.

Our efforts have much improved the health facilities at the Mukuni Health Centre though there are many patients who are referred to Livingstone hospital and cannot afford the transport. We have started a new program to assist four children a month who need hospital care. Idrin Gani had ostemyelitis when she was just two years old; leaving her limping and disabled. Nine years later the infection flared up again and when I found her the leg was covered in sores. Since October 2008 we have provided funds for an operation in Lusaka, weeks of treatment and physiotherapy. Now Idrin is back home in Chise happily enjoying school and life with her family.

 
Jane with Idrin and her mother                           Bore hole and pump for Siamasimbi School

The Butterfly Tree received donations amounting to £7000 in memory of my late husband Lawrence. His favourite project was the community houses for the elderly and vulnerable; these funds have been used to built six homes as well as purchasing beds for the maternity clinic and the restoration of a classroom at Ngandu School. The school has been able to upgrade to grades eight and nine, particularly beneficial for children who previously had to walk long distances to Mukuni.

  
Community House in Mukuni Village                    International Women’s Day celebrations

Tourists from the US have generously donated 2000 t-shirts and shorts through The Butterfly Tree for the children of the Mukuni Cheifdom. We are providing sewing machines and materials for the orphans to make school uniforms, enabling the school to be more sustainable. It was heartbreaking to see so many new orphans; sixty more children from the Mukuni school are desperately seeking sponsors to pay for their education. We are currently supporting over 150 orphans, working to provide them with a future and teaching them the dangers of HIV/AIDS, how to avoid getting pregnant and health and hygiene. Please continue this vital funding for the orphan sponsorship program ,your help is greatly appreciated by both the charity and the orphans. We are currently raising funds for a Science lab at Mukuni High School to complete our project, until this is build the pupils have to sit costly external examinations - any contritbutions would be most welcome!

On the 8th March I hosted a day at Mukuni Village to celebrate International Women’s Day. Twelve groups came from all the surrounding villages walking some walking for over two hours; lunch and drinks were provided by us and the women sang songs, performed dances and drama. It was a rare treat for these hard-working people, many of which are widowed and have several orphaned grandchildren to care for. These women have a very tough life, especially when ther husbands have died and in many cases their children as well leaving them to be the sole provider. We are setting up a project for women to produce goat’s milk, a good source of nutrition and can be used to replace breastmilk in HIV positive women. We are currently providing formula but this is very costly and not always available in Zambia. Just another of the problems they have to overcome. Our under five’s feeding program is vital to prevent the transmission of HIV from mother to infant.

I am delighted to say that in three years we have achieved a great deal and much more than any other charity working in the Mukuni Cheifdom. As always a special thank you to everyone who has supported The Butterfly Tree and enabled us to carry out these worthwhile projects. The photos from this trip can be seen in our Gallery.

Warmest regards,

Jane Kaye-Bailey

Today I am leaving for Zambia to oversee on The Butterfly Tree projects, catch up with all the children on our orphan sponsorship program and source new projects. It an exciting time for the Mukuni Cheifdom; thanks to generous donations from W Charitable Foundation through Just a Drop and a family from the US we are putting in four bore holes this month. Three of them will be for the schools of Mukuni, Siamasimbi and Katapazi. In the past these schools have had to share a bore hole with the community reducing the flow of water particularly through the dry season. The fourth is at the village of Kafekwa, where the community have to get there water form crocodile infested rivers. October to March is the rainy season, the rivers will be rapidly flowing and millions of tons of water will be cascading over the Victoria Falls as the mighty Zambezi River fills up.

Woman at Kakekwa drawing water from a stagnant pool

As always there are so many more villages needing help. Next month we will be starting a new project to expand both the clinic and school at Katapazi, a remote village some two hours drive most of it through the bush, from Mukuni. We are being given substantial funding to build four pit-latrine toliets and a new classroom to enable the school to upgrade so that children to not have to walk great distances to obtain a higher grade. At the clinic we are adding a new ward, beds, solar power and a fridge. The community will be freely providing labour to assist with these projects. The clinic is solely run by a midwife who has trained community workers to help her, once these improvements are made the government will offer additional medical staff. There are 5000 people who have access to this rural clinic.

The Butterfly Tree feeding program at Kafekwa Village

Once this is complete we need to source funds for an under five’s feeding program; during my last visit I learnt that many babies were suffering from malnutrition, several of them were critical. For mothers who are HIV positive is is essential that we provide formula to replace breastfeeding. By educating the women at Mukuni an increasing number are coming forward to be tested, more babies can be saved and to date no more infants are suffering from malnutrition. 

The Butterfly Tree has partnered with Buy One Give Twice, the UK’s premier charity auction site. If you have any unwanted Christmas presents, having an annual Spring clean or want to donate event tickets or holiday accomodation to raise money for The Butterfly Tree contact us and we will sell them through this secure charity auction site.

When I go out to Zambia and visit Mukuni Village and see how little the people have I feel ashamed when I think about all the material things that I have in my home. I am ‘decluttering’, which is good for the mind and soul and The Butterfly Tree and local charity shops are benefitting. Now you can sell your unwanted items and raise money for The Butterfly Tree. All you have to do is donate the item to the charity, it will then be auctioned and the proceeds with help our projects at Mukuni.

Just a small amount could provide stationary or education for one of the many orphans. As little as £10 can buy 40 tablets of soap. Schools in Zambia receive very little government funding and rely on donations from charities and visitors. We provide edcuational material and sports equipment as well as classrooms, teacher’s houses and toilets. £400 can build a community house for a widow or an elderly person living in appalling conditions or £650 can provide a pit-latrine toilet for a school. £95 can sponsor a childs education for an entire year.

Pit-latrine toilets at Mukuni Village

Lack of hygiene is one of the major problems and infant diarrhoea is common in these remote villages. Having no access to clean, safe water and soap creates many health issues. We are raising funds for the Mukuni Cheifdom to provide more bore holes, improve the sanitation and provide basic hygiene education using workshops and edcuational DVDs.