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 and desperately needs assitance. It took us two hours driving through very rough terrain to reach the village. I met the school’s dedicated Head Teacher and the two other staff who have to look after 230 pupils, many are orphaned and have to drop out of school due to lack of funds. In a country where two thirds of the population live on less than fifty pence a day it is virtually impossible for these rural people to find the money to educate their children. This year we are hoping to include Siamasimbi in our projects.
We have many exciting opportunities for future funding prospects; The Butterfly Tree is continually gaining supporters and corporate interest. Our aim is to get more orphans educated, provide further classrooms and teacher’s houses, introduce more feeding programs and continue supplying the clinics with medical needs. Next week I will be meeting a group of widows in view of setting up a sustainable ‘cottage industry’ to sell curios to the tourists visiting the Victoria Falls.