The Butterfly Tree
1042. Jane Kaye-Bailey
Jane Kaye-Bailey, from Warwick, founded ‘The Butterfly Tree’ charity in 2006 after a trip to Zambia with her late husband, with the aim of helping orphans living in rural communities.
The charity has helped 10,000 people to access to safe water and developed wide-reaching sustainable feeding programmes for over 2,000 orphans and vulnerable children every day, providing seeds and fertiliser for vulnerable families. Jane also helped fund 35 schools, including developing four special educational needs units. For nearly a decade her charity has also funded a successful malaria prevention programme in Zambia, providing over 12,000 mosquito nets, sharing malaria testing kits and leading educational workshops.
In a personal letter to Jane, Prime Minister Theresa May said:
“Thanks to your leadership and determination, ‘The Butterfly Tree’ has supported thousands of orphans living in rural communities in Zambia through sustainable feeding programmes, special educational needs units in local schools, malaria prevention programmes and so much more. You should be tremendously proud of the impact your work is having transforming the lives of these vulnerable young people.”
Nadhim Zahawi, Jane’s local MP for Stratford on Avon, who presented Jane with her award, said:
“I had the pleasure of meeting Jane back in 2016 where I learnt about her charity, ‘The Butterfly Tree’, and its fantastic work on malaria prevention and supporting orphaned children in Zambia. For me, it is therefore beyond doubt that Jane is an extremely worthy recipient of this award and I pass on my warmest congratulations to her.
“As the Minister responsible for special educational needs provision here in the UK, I have a particular interest in and great admiration for ‘The Butterfly Tree’s work to fund 35 schools and develop four special educational needs units. These schools and units will have made an immeasurable contribution to the lives of some of the world’s most vulnerable children, so I want to thank Jane for all she has done and everything that she will continue to do in the future.”
Jane said:
“I am both delighted and humbled to receive this unexpected award from the Prime Minister. ‘The Butterfly Tree’s work revolves around the plight of the 1.2 million children left orphaned in Zambia, and to help the global fight against malaria.
“The charity was founded in 2006 to sponsor the education of orphans. I have been overwhelmed by the continual global support that has enabled us to build entire schools, health centres and homes, as well as providing safe clean water and sanitation.
“I would like to share this award with the orphans and all our volunteers, both in the UK and Zambia, who have worked tirelessly to reach out to vulnerable children in remote communities. Thank you so much for this honour, which has given a real boost to our grassroots charity!”