Many of you kindly sponsored Paul last autumn as we tried to raise the final funds necessary to get the maternity unit in Tshimbundu up and running.
The maternity unit has now been active for over 6 months and on average around 50 women are giving birth their every month. Previously they would have had to give birth without access to any proper medical facilities.
Here are a couple of pictures of the maternity unit now that it is open. The facilities are clearly basic but nevertheless represent a significant step forward for the local community.
Our 2021 Christmas Cards are now on sale. They are £4.50 plus postage for a pack of ten (with envelopes). Please email your orders to paulevans@blueyonder.co.uk.
We also have cards from previous years available. If you want to order some of these, please let us know.
We have just released a report explaining what Butoke’s Justice Project 2020-2021 achieved. Please have a look at it and see how Butoke has helped make a real difference to the lives of ten women and girls over the last 12 months for just over $3000.
We explained at the beginning of the year how we hoped to be able to raise further funds so that the Justice Project could run again from 2021 to 2022. We have had discussions with several donors and hope to have something to announce about that soon.
Maternity Unit
We also explained at the beginning of the year that we hoped that work would begin on the Maternity Unit in Tshimbundu this year and, perhaps, even be concluded.
We are pleased to say that the building went up at quite a pace in spring this year as these pictures demonstrate:
In addition, thanks to the Methodist Women in Britain, Butoke has bought a significant part of the basic equipment it needs to get the Maternity Unit going.
However, further work needs to be done on the inside of the building before the Maternity Unit can open properly for business. Paul Evans, one of our trustees, will be running two sponsored half marathons in September and October to try and raise money to pay for this.
The Friends of Butoke Charity 