Seeds for Life in Zambia

Education is fundamental in overcoming poverty, but children must also have clean drinking water, sufficient food and access to healthcare. Zambia is suffering from a severe drought. Hunger is widespread and water sources are drying up. Three more boreholes are to be drilled this week for Kauwe Rural Health Centre, and for Siangula and Sichifulo communities. Sicifulo school has 923 pupils, their borehole is having to accommodate neighbouring villages with a total population of 2,692. If these drills are successful, The Butterfly Tree will have donated 26 boreholes so far this year.

We are receiving daily requests for food donations. As soon as funds are available, we help as many people as possible, sharing it equally in Mukuni, Nyawa, Sekute and Musokotwane Chiefdom. One man, who has four children plus two nephews and four orphans to look after, told our volunteers that they had not eaten a proper meal for five days.

Our research and surveys have not found any other organisation donating food in these remote areas where people would normally grow sufficient food for their own consumption, and to earn a living. Schools in Kazungula tell us that they are not receiving support from Food Programmes, only a few say they received ground maize for one term this year. Consequently, some children are not attending school due to hunger.

Thanks to substantial donations from a commission, private individuals, and organisations more food security projects are being initiated. The most recent ones are at Zalu, Kanchele, Sekute Central and Zwanga. Each group of women have been given a borehole, solar-powered water system, seeds and fertilizer. The next phase will be to construct workshops and to purchase grinding mills. Other food security projects in Musokotwane, Senkobo, Simabalele and Mukuni are progressing well.

A recent project to empower young people with mental health and physical challenges is underway after a delay due to the drought. Last week participants in Mukuni received training to learn all about chicken rearing. This will provide the group with food, and a sustainable income. Two more projects will be initiated this month for young people in Ngandu and Kamwi villages.

Our sincere thanks to Jackie, one of our trustees who held a fundraiser, and all the individuals who have donated money to provide bags of ground maize for families who are suffering from hunger. If you would like to make a donation, a 25kg bag of ground maize costs just £10 ($13).

Links:

• The Butterfly Tree - August Newsletter

The Butterfly Tree, founded in 2006, recently another successful year. In addition to developing more schools and a new health post, we installed boreholes (wells) and initiated sustainable income-generating projects for women and young people with disabilities, to provide food security.

Last month we successfully drilled three boreholes for Nguba Secondary school, and Kamusiku and Monono Primary schools to share with their surrounding villages. Kasiya community also received a borehole where a training centre is to be built from women and local communities to learn about the best practices in agriculture. The participants will be given free training from an agronomist at the centre.

This month we have drilled an additional four boreholes for Katado primary school, Siayamu and Masumu Muyumu community schools, for a new health post at Ndele, and for a women's community projects in Senkobo. Funding is in place to drill three more boreholes and for installation of solar-powered water reticulation systems. 

On the 1st March, the President, Hakainde Hichilema, declared the prolonged dry spells in Zambia as a National Disaster and Emergency. ‘Today, with heavy heart, we address you, as our beloved country faces a severe drought, the worst of its kind, caused by the El Niño weather conditions in the 2023/24 rain season and influenced by climate change.’

With no further rain expected until October food is in short supply in the villages where people depend on home grown food. In March vegetable seedlings failed to grow, despite communities having irrigation systems, because of the extreme heat. During my recent visit to Zambia, everywhere I drove I saw the crops that had perished due to lack of rain. I met elderly women whose only source of food were nuts and wild vegetables collected in the bush. 

We are currently developing and advancing more community projects to provide food security. Most of these will be managed by women at Senkobo, Musokotwane, Siambalele and Sekute. Each group will be growing fruit and vegetables for their own consumption and for the tourist market. Livingstone, the main town in the area, is the capital of tourism. In addition we have initiated chicken rearing and vegetable growing projects in Mukuni, Ngandu and Kamwi villages to empower young people with physical and mental health challenges.

We are appealing for donation to buy bags of ground maize to help vulnerable children and the elderly. A 25 kg bag of maize costs £10 ($13) and will feed a family of four for three weeks. All money raised will be used for this purpose only, nothing will be deducted for administration fees.

Thank you to all our donors who have provided funds for our food and water projects.

Links:

• The Butterfly Tree May Newsletter