The last three months have been very eventful for The Butterfly Tree. In May we hosted a seminar on responsible tourism and Philanthropic Travel at the European Travel Distribution Summit; the organisers Eye for Travel named The Butterfly Tree as the summit’s official charity. This was a great networking opportunity especially as we are working so close to the Victoria Falls, a major tourist catchment area in Zambia.
We have had many people contacting us to do fundraising events and sponsorships, Mike Kaye with SWITCH raised a substantial amount of money at an event in Nottingham, where two Zambian DJs provided African music. This summer we have supporters participating in the ‘strong man’ competition, a sky dive and a marathon all offering to raise money for the charity. Also there are several volunteers from the UK and Norway going out to help at Mukuni Basic School and the Mukuni Health Centre all of them are self-funding.
At last the Mukuni Maternity Clinic, helped by a grant from KTCT is now complete with ante-natal, delivery room, toilets and showers. The Chieftainess performed a tribal blessing at the opening ceremony, attended by the department of health. We have been told that our successful under fives’ feeding program, supported by Avert, which replaces breastfeeding in HIV positive mothers, is the first in the entire nation. Our aim is raise funds for other areas, especially where many babies are suffering from malnutrition. The Mukuni Basic School feeding program, provided by The Butterfly Tree, is now supporting 230 vulnerable children; this number will increase in September.
Butterfly Tree maternity clinic | Jane opening Mukuni Maternity Clinic
Water is being pumped at Chise village thanks to the new bore hole we were able to provide with assistance from Just a Drop. The Butterfly Tree plans to build three further bole holes this year in other remote villages; this is one of our top priorities.
The Butterfly Tree is working with TME to distribute their educational DVDs, on key subjects such as malaria, HIV/AIDS, TB and safe water throughout the nation targeting schools, hotels and local communities. We have built two boarding houses to assist older pupils who walk long distances to get to school; they can now remain at Mukuni Village during the week.
Earlier this year Zambia experienced the worst flooding in decades. The Butterfly Tree answered the presidents’ flood appeal by air freighting over 1000 kilos of medical supplies, blankets and clothing to distribute amongst the victims. We are now assisting the 19 health clinics in Kazungula District with medical supplies and equipment, including much needed dentistry tools.
Bore hole and pump for Chise Village | Mukuni boarding house
We are still able to give 100% of all donations, which go directly to the cause and our team of dedicated helpers in Zambia are committed to assisting other districts as the charity expands. Many thanks to all our helpers both here and especially at Mukuni Village and our generous supporters, in the UK, the US and other areas of the globe; without your help, none of this would have been possible.
As always we need further funds to start additional feeding programs, build more classrooms and bores holes for communities still having to drink river water. We are supporting 116 orphans but urgently need more sponsors for the hundreds of children left orphaned due to the HIV and AIDS in Zambia. Your donations could make a huge difference to someone’s life.
We should shortly have in place a 501 (c) (3) facility to assist our US donors.
If you would like to read more about our work please take a look at other pages on this website or if you wish to offer further support you can contact me or 
Best regards,
Jane Kaye-Bailey
Founder of The Butterfly Tree