Orphan Education Support - Zambian Villages

We have just come to the end of another financial year and I am pleased to report that donations are well up on last year, which has enabled us to reach out to more orphans and vulnerable children. Over 30 schools are now benefitting from our support, most recently Sinsimuku, Bunsanga and Chaba Primary Schools.

For Sinsimuku, the school has two new classroom blocks, a teacher's house, latrines and a bore hole for the 270 pupils attending this school. Construction is now underway for Bunsanga Community School. In 2015, we added a bore hole, now the pupils are also going to have new classrooms, teachers' houses and latrines. The existing school, built by the community, was made from poles, mud and straw. Sadly, due to recent storms the roof had collapsed and the pupils are being taught in a church made from the same meterials. The new constructions will be permanent and should last for at least 50 years. Both schools are in Nyawa Chiefdom.

Chaba School, in Mukuni Chiefdom, has attempted to teach grades eight and nine as there is no other school within a radius of eight miles. However, due to insufficient classrooms the Ministry of Education has removed grade 8. 56 pupils of their pupils must now walk to Livingstone, which is 8 miles from the school. For pupils living in the opposite direction the distance increases to 12 to 15 miles each way. As a result, children have dropped out of school. The reason for the government’s decision is that three classes were being taught in one classroom and teaching time, which should be five and a half hours per day, was reduced to three hours. Consequently, the pupils were not completing the syllabus. Two feeder schools, Kamwi and Ndele, both previously developed and supported by The Butterfly Tree, feed into Chaba School.

Another major challenge for young pupils, mostly orphaned or vulnerable, is that they must walk through an unsafe compound, on the approach to Livingstone, putting the children at risk of being attacked or raped. Having the extra classrooms will enable the school to reintroduce grade 8 and continue with grade 9, instead of it being removed.

Providing adequate educational faclities for rural communities gives every child a right to educaton, something The Butterfly Tree strongly believes in. Besides buildings we supply a great deal of educational materials, most recently in the form of text books for Mukuni, River View and Kamwi Schools. There is a huge shortfall in all rural schools due to the Ministry of Education introducing a new curriculum in 2014. During the past year, your donations have helped to develop these schools and enabled us to purchase almost 800 text books. 

Links:

• Where We Work

It never rains but it pours – as the proverb goes! After two years of drought the rains in Zambia have come in abundance, though this is great news for the farmers and school feeding program but it comes with a price. Several schools and many mud huts have been damaged because of high winds and heavy rains.

As always working in Africa is challenging. Extreme poverty, Malaria, HIV and AIDS, and climate change are just some of the serious issues people living in countries like Zambia face daily. The work of The Butterfly Tree has helped to transform the lives of thousands of orphans and vulnerable children by providing improved education and health facilities, safe drinking water, feeding programmes and better housing.

An American supporter has donated two further houses and will raise their number of donations throughout the year. For the elderly living in villages life is tough. Many have lost their children as a result of the HIV and AIDS pandemic, left with orphaned grandchildren and no income. Our community house project has provided homes for over seventy families.

For the start of the new school year eighteen schools have been given seeds and fertiliser to grow food for their feeding programs. A considerable number of new orphans are being sponsored mainly at Mukuni, N’gandu, Kamwi, Ndele and River View Schools, and seven students are attending college.

We are increasig our work in HIV prevention, a UK volunteer will be spending two months, starting early February, further training our peer educators who hold regular workshops on HIV prevntion, teenage pregnancies and alcohol abuse. 

The orphan support program has enabled hundreds of orphans to receive a sound basic education. Some of the ones we started sponsoring back in 2006 have not only completed school, but have gained a college certificate and many others have sought employment. For just $15 a month an orphan is given hope and a chance for a better future. Thank to everyone of our donors for your invaluable support.

Links:

• The Butterfly Tree Projects