How charity started

A rural community in Zambia has become an important part of my life after visiting the area during a business incentive trip. The contrast of staying at the beautiful Royal Livingstone Hotel on the edge of the Zambezi River overlooking the magnificent Victoria Falls and visiting a rural village has opened my eyes to the world of Philanthropic Travel.

Zambian little girls who inspired The Butterfly Tree

Zambian little girls who inspired The Butterfly Tree

It’s hard to ignore a statistic like the one I was given when I visited the Mukuni Village School, that out of 1,000 pupils nearly half of them have lost one or more parents.

Being driven back to our luxury hotel I couldn’t get the orphans out of my mind and decided that I must do something about it. I rallied round the group we were with and by the end of my trip I had ‘bagged’ over £5,000.

On my return to the UK my husband pointed out that if you send the money out it may never get to the orphans. Three weeks later along with my son David, who was at the time having a ‘gap’ year, I returned to the area laden with medical supplies, stationary and clothing for the orphans. After being given a resounding welcome by the Chieftainess Bedyango, the Prime Minister, the Head Teacher and hundreds of children, it was a very emotional experience, I felt ‘at home’ with these warm and humble people. We had just given the largest donation the village had ever received!  

Butterfly Tree First Donations

Our first donation at Mukuni March 2006

It soon became apparent that this was a very poor community plighted by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, made worse by being close to the tourist area of Livingstone. After visiting Mukuni Health Centre, which was totally inadequate to cater for a population in excess of 7,000, I decided to donate a percentage of the funds to restore the clinic the remainder was given to the Mukuni Basic School.

Just over twelve months later and three more trips to Zambia I founded The Butterfly Tree charity followed by the Zambia NGO registration in March 2007. I am told that I am the epitome of a philanthropic traveller. Having been lucky enough to have travelled extensively around the world ‘giving back’ is one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.

Besides raising funds for The Butterfly Tree I give talks to organizations about my work and also to promote Philanthropic Travel. It can be a wonderful experience to spend a few hours visiting a local community and seeing what can be done, by either giving a donation or getting involved in a project such as the ones we are setting up.

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