Today we complete our 19th year supporting orphans and rural communities in Zambia and tomorrow brings hope for people in new districts. Since first visiting Zambia in 2006, with the exception of 2021 when I was unable to travel due the COVID-19 pandemic, I have been fortunate enough to have travelled to Zambia twice a year to oversee existing projects and to initiate new ones. What was so special about my recent trip was that everywhere was lush and green. Seeing the mighty Zambezi River once again cascading over the magnificent Victoria Falls was spectacular, especially after seeing only a trickle of water running down the rocks in October. To quote David Livingstone ‘scenes so lovely they must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight‘. The worst drought in Zambia’s history finally broke in November and it was wonderful to see crops flourishing and an abundance of fruit and vegetables growing in the villages. Thanks to the support of our generous donors, in addition to distributing emergency food relief, we donated food security projects with water systems, seeds, and fertilizer so that people could grow crops. We also donated 30 boreholes last year to schools and communities that had no source of water other than polluted shallow wells or had to walk long distances to obtain drinking water. Apart from malaria prevention programmes the majority of our work has been done in the Kazungula and Livingstone Districts in the Southern Province of Zambia. This year for the first time we are working in Kalomo and Mulobezi Districts, the latter is in the Western Province of Zambia. This area has a high prevalence of malaria and last year recorded one of the highest numbers of malaria cases in the nation. Thanks to the Angus Lawson Memorial Trust we are about to distribute almost 3,800 mosquito nets to school children and teachers with the aim of reducing new cases of malaria. This is a the first phase of a vitial three-year grant programme. While I was visiting Simonga Rural Health Centre, where we donated equipment as well as recently completing a facility for under-five clinics, family planning and HIV testing, I saw three children recovering from malaria. After identifying where the children lived the next day we visited their community and donated mosquito nets to all the children and teachers at their pre-school and primary. This will help to prevent further transmission. We have stepped up our HIV prevention workshops and the booklets we produced on Girls’ Empowerment and Boys’ Allyship are now being used in schools and football clubs all over Zambia. We continue to promote football as the main sport for young people to participate in to prevent the spread of HIV, and to reduce teenage pregnancies, early marriages, alcohol, and drug abuse. Thanks to two generous donors more girls’ football teams received kits, and 175 footballs have been given out to schools and community teams, to empower more young people. I visited several of the schools we have developed and it was wonderful to see so much progress especially at Riverview and Musokotwane Secondary schools. With the introduction of the new curriculum, whereby primary schools run from early learning to grade 6, secondary schools are overwhelmed with the increased enrolment. Grade 7 has is now form one and every school is in need of more classroom space and desks. Some of the schools were inaccessible after the rains but I managed to drive to Simukumbwa where two former sponsored orphans are building a 1×2 classroom block. Accompanied by three of our local trustees I drove to Kalomo where we were told by a headman that it was approximately 30 km drive to Simukumbwa from the main road. It was actually 70km! It took a further three hours but after receiving such a tremendous welcome from this community it made this arduous journey worthwhile. This project is funded by Victor Ubogu, a former England rugby player who is planning to visit the school in May. He intends to raise further funds for a teacher’s house, toilets, and desks by holding a fundraiser. If you are a rugby fan and would like to meet former Lions, please use this link to purchase tickets: Lions Preview Lunch 2025 Tickets held in London on the 11th June in aid of The Butterfly Tree.   The project entitled ‘Improving Education for Young People with Special Needs’ funded by Give a Hand, Canada, is progressing well. The last two teacher training sessions for Moomba and Bombwe will take place this week, followed by the publication of a training manual and the provision of further specialized equipment. We also donated art and craft materials, including a sewing machine, to the special education unit at Mukuni Primary this month. These are just some of the many projects we funded in the past year. Not forgetting the new orphans who joined our sponsorship programme from Nguba Secondary, and several other schools. The De Sylvia Foundation kindly funded uniforms for children who would not have been able to go to a secondary school in January without this support. As always, I am overwhelmed by the continual support we have received from existing and new donors and wish to thank everyone of you for your generosity. A special thanks must go to my fellow trustees in the UK and Zambia as well as our volunteers, without them none of this would have been possible. Jane Kaye-Bailey Founder Follow us on Facebook and Instagram