Classrooms and teacher’s houses needed

During the recent teacher’s strike I am sure that many of you had sympathy for the wonderful people who educate our children. If you think that they are badly done to in this country, in Zambia, where the average monthly pay for a teacher is £75, teachers have to endure appalling living conditions. They have no choice of schools, a teacher can be sent anywhere throughout the country, and despite having lived in a town or city, they suddenly find themselves in the middle of the bush with no plumbing or electricity.

At Mukuni Village I see teachers living in leaking storerooms, tuck shops and classrooms, sharing a pit-latrine toilet and an ‘open air’ bathroom, using bowls of cold water to wash with. Sadly The Butterfly Tree receives very few donations to build teacher’s houses, despite the fact that teachers are the backbone of these remote schools. In one house where there are five male teachers, with only four rooms, one poor guy has to sleep in a cupboard. It is these teachers who are helping the orphans to overcome their hardships and find a way to better their lives.

As well as having poor living conditions the teachers are also battling with inadequate facilities. Many classrooms are in desparate need of restoration, books are in short supply and the sports facilities are virtually non-existant, with numerous schools having to use ‘bag and string’ footballs and the gymnasts training on the ‘dirt’ ground. Most rural schools have no plumbing or electricty, many are without even a bore hole, and some with no facilities at all, use using the shade of a mango tree to conduct their lessons.

The Butterfly Tree is seeking corporates and individuals to sponsor a teacher’s house or classroom, with a donation between £5000 - £20000 you could make a difference to an entire Zambian community.

Donate a mosquito net

A child dies of malaria every 30 seconds.
According to the World Health Organisation malaria epidemics kill more than 100,000 people of all ages every year; an estimated 10,000 of these women and 200,000 of their infants die as a result of malaria infection during pregnancy. “Malaria remains a major threat for 3.2 billion people in more than 107 countries throughout the world,” says Juan Manuel Suárez del Toro, president of the International Red Cross Federation.

Malaria is such a huge issue that it is difficult for a small charity such as The Butterfly Tree to get involved . However we already have a malaria project in place, as the Zambian communities we work in are badly affected by malaria. The disease can be treated but in some of the remote communites they are unable to get to a clinic or do not realise they have malaria through lack of education; mosquito nets are the answer. Although the government issues nets there is never enough for each member of a family, many sharing one net, which makes it impossible to get complete coverage.

We have provided malaria testing kits and TME’s edcuatioinal DVDs on ‘avoiding malaria’ and ‘bed nets’. Now we are appealing for donations to provide more children with mosquito nets.

Donate a mosquito net for £2.50

Helping Africa

For centuries African countries have been exploited, many prospering from the rich natural resources found in countries such as Congo, Zimbabwe and Zambia. These countries are now some of the poorest in the world decimated by war and poverty and the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Now it is time for the West to ‘give something back’ and help Africa overcome their numerous hardships. Earlier this year several countries in Eastern and Southern Africa suffered the worst flooding in decades; lives and livestock were lost, homes and crops destroyed, entire communities submerged in water. Is this a result of ‘global warming? There is no welfare available and the governments are so poor they have to appeal for international aid.

Where I am working in Zambia, as an NGO, close to the Victoria Falls area I see complete extremes of accomodation; from mud huts to luxurious hotels and lodges. The nation is experiencing a ‘boom’ in tourism and once again the hoteliers and tour operators are exploiting local communities. It isn’t enough just to offer employment to the people; they need health care, safe water and education. It is shameful to hear that hoteliers drain the local bore holes to water their golf courses, which is the case in some developing countries.

Read the rest of this entry »

Help reduce world poverty through travel

Having previously been involved in the travel industry, since travelled extensively around the globe and now working in one of the poorest countries in the world, I have observed a great deal. Now that experience can be put to use at the seminar hosted by The Butterfly Tree at the Europe 2008 Travel Distribution Summit being staged at the London Design Centre to encourage tour operators, hoteliers and tourists to be more aware of the needs of the communities they are operating in.

For the past two years we have partnered with Exquisite Safaris Philanthropic Travel Worldwide who have agreed to donate £125 for every one of their tourists who visit our projects at Mukuni Village. This also gives the traveller an opportunity to ‘get involved’ or give something back.

I am delighted that three other like-minded organizations have agreed to join me at this event. Tourism Concern, is the only UK organisation campaigning on exploitation in the global tourism industry; Charity Challenge, gaining an award for Best Tour Operator for Poverty Reduction at the World Travel Market and Everyclick, the search engine that gives 50% of its revenue to charity every month.

If you would like to join The Butterfly Tree at the seminar reserve your place and use the link for free registration for further information read our previous post Travel Distribution Summit  or contact Jane Kaye-Bailey jane@thebutterflytree.org.uk telephone 01926 843699 or Simon Carkeek simon@eyefortravel.com

The Butterfly Tree - nominated charity

I am delighted to announce that The Butterfly Tree is the nominated charity for Europe 2008 Travel Distribution Summit to be held on the 20-21 May at the Business Design Centre, London. Organised by Eye for Travel the summit is the world’s biggest event for marketing, pricing and technology experts.

Having spoken at last year’s World Travel Market I aim to get more people in the travel industry involved in corporate social responsibilty; sadly the industry is lagging behind.

The Butterfly Tree promotes responsible tourism and will be hosting a seminar at the event on 21st May at 11am:

Title - How to incorporate Philanthropic Travel and Responsible Tourism initiatives while substantially improving your overall business performance.

Travel companies can concretely benefit by improving the effectiveness of social responsibility. Supporting and promoting humanitarian and environmental causes, will enhance your reputation, add further appeal to your customers and attract better employees.

Speakers: 

• Jane Kaye-Bailey - Philanthropic Traveler & Founder of The Butterfly Tree
• Victoria Bolton - Charity Challenge - General Manager
• Guyonne James - Tourism Concern - Program Manager
• Mark Nall - Everyclick - Chief Executive

Photo: Providing safe water in third world tourist destinations

To learn more about the Travel Distribution Summit and the seminar contact: Jane Kaye-Bailey email - jane@thebutterflytree.org.uk or Simon Carkeek simon@eyefortravel.com

Too many pupils unable to attend school

Although there are over 100 orphans being sponsored by The Butterfly Tree, many more urgently need help. I was distressed to learn yesterday that out of 50 pupils who had past grade 9 to attend the new high school, only 20 had been able to afford to pay for the fees and uniform.

In October 2007 when I was driving through Livingstone, the teacher from Mukuni who was accompanying me, asked me to pull over after she spotted a pupil from her class. When she asked Victor Simango why he was not at school, he bowed his head and simply replied ‘I cannot’. I also questioned him and found that he had no father and a mother who could no longer afford to educate him. I asked him if he liked school and that if he got the chance of a sponsorship would be attend. The answer was yes to both questions.  I suggested he meet me at the Head Teacher’s office at 9am the following morning, he was early!

It is heartbreaking to see these children who’s education is the most important part of their life, having to drop out of school as one or both of their parents have died. Next week grade 9 pupils are due to sit their exams; twenty would have been unable to take them until The Butterfly Tree intervened; their grandparents or guardians could not find the £4.50 to pay for the examination fees.

£85 a year will cover the cost of school and exam fees, books, uniform, shoes and school bag. Our aim is to get the older children back into school as quickly as possible so that they do not miss any more valuable lessons.

Please consider sponsoring an orphan and make a difference to someone’s life!

Overcoming the hardships through education

The improvements in education made by The Butterfly Tree over the past two years at Mukuni Village is having a positive effect on the community.

With the addition of a high school, now in it’s second year, pupils are able to complete grades ten to twelve of their education with a far better prospect of finding employment and with the boom in the Zambian tourist industry more positions will be available to school leavers.

Photo: Pupils have made these bricks for the high school laboratory

The addition of a pre-school totally funded by The Butterfly Tree now has 198 children attending three classes throughout the day. With very little entertainment in these remote villages young children can learn to read and write and speak English at a much earlier age. Read the rest of this entry »

Vice President of Zambia visits Mukuni Village

I have just returned from an eventful trip to Zambia, which included meeting Vice-President Rupiah Banda during his visit to survey the areas devastated by the recent floods.

Chief Mukuni invited me to attend the meeting when the Vice-President came to Mukuni Village. The Chief explained The Butterfly Tree’s involvement in his Chiefdom and I was given the opportunity to voice my disappointment in Zambian customs failure to release our shipment to assist the flood victims. Mr. Banda told me that it would be looked into by his office.

I personally visited the areas around Maramba, where many people had been displaced during the torrential rains that caused such destruction. I met a new born baby living in one of the tents provided by Shelter Box and learnt of the shortages of food amongst the people. Much of the nation’s maize crops have been destroyed during the peak growing season with a famine predicted in many areas. Read the rest of this entry »

More funds needed for Siamasimbi School

Tomorrow I will be leaving for Zambia and I am looking forward to seeing just how much progress has been made since my last trip in September 2007. I recenty learnt from my NGO committee that this month the Ministry of Finance sent a delegation from Lusaka to visits our projects. Apparently they were extremely impressed and could not believe that so much had been achieved in just two years.

The water is now flowing freely in Mukuni Village after replacing the nine leaking tanks and pipework. There are seveteen pit-latrine toilets and a much better equipped health centre since our input. The HIV/AIDS program is underway and the additional malaria testings kits mean that more people can be tested and treated. We have built twenty houses for vulnerable people and set up three families in sustainable business ventures. Young children are healthier thanks to the feeding programs we are providing at both the clinic and Mukuni School.

Photo: Jane with pupils from the remote school in Siamasimbi Village

However more funds are needed. Although we are supporting three village schools, Siamasimbi a remote community, receives very little help from the outside world Read the rest of this entry »

The Butterfly Tree has gained a global audience.

Thanks to JuggleFrogs most generous donation of a new website we now have supporters from Hawaii to Australia. Miranda of JuggleFrogs has devoted weeks of her time to develop the website and we feel very priviliged to not only having such an advanced site but also to having her on our team.

The website has had hits from seventeen States in the US this month and recently I received an email from a group of people from Colorada who visited Mukuni Village and wanted to help. After searching google they came across The Butterfly Tree and have kindly offered to sponsor twelve orphans.

We are now able to raise funds through everyclick which works like every other major search engine with the added bonus that every time you ‘click’ you can raise money for The Butterfly Tree. It doesn’t cost you anything and all you have to do is register your support - click here.

Read the rest of this entry »