Virtually all the work of The Butterfly Tree revolves around the HIV and AIDS orphans. At Mukuni Village almost 50% of the school children have lost one or more parent putting a huge burden on elderly grandparents and guardians and its the same story in every village. We believe that the only way to make the change is to target the younger generation and teach them all about HIV and AIDS prevention. Last year we were delighted to welcome Mutsa Marau to our team as a volunteer from London. Mutsa has a BA in Anthropoly and Socialogy, a MBA in International Business Practice and is a trained youth worker. She has written her own HIV and AIDS prevention program to train peer educators amongst school children, for the past four and a half months has worked with pupils at Mukuni.

HIV and AIDS Prevention Co-ordinator – Mutsa Murau

Now these dedicated young people are ready to ‘spread the word’ and are reaching out to other rural schools. They are educating their peers on the dangers of HIV, how to prevent it, the importance of voluntary testing and how to live with it if you are unfortunate to have been born with the virus. Other issues include teenage pregnancy and other sexually transmitted diseases and surrounding issues. With our support their aim is to reach out to all the schools we are involved with and beyond. Several of these educators are from The Butterfly Tree orphan sponsorship program and it is wonderful to see the progress they have made as individuals and a group.

Natasha – Peer Educator and orphan sponsored by The Butterfly Tree

Another volunteer, Brendan Poynton, is currently raising funds to build a Music Centre at Mukuni. This will give these vulnerable HIV and AIDS orphans an opportunity to hold concerts and social activities to raise funds and awareness to help the fight against this devastating disease. Through several fundraising events Brendan has almost reached his target and has

now organised a charity auction, through MUSIC EARTH RISE, to complete his task. There are some amazing lots including a guitar signed by Eric Clapton and a print signed by Ronnie Wood. If you would like to bid for any of the items please use the following click on Music Earth Rise Auction.