Olbert Kamungondo was born in 1986 and when he was just five months old his mother and all other passengers were killed in a bus accident, where Olbert was the only survivor. His father took his old brother and moved away from the Mukuni chiefdom, leaving Olbert with his grandparents. At a later stage his uncle took him to Kamwi village primary school to start his education. Unfortunately when his uncle remarried Olbert was no longer made welcome, so he then went to live with a teacher at Mukuni Basic School, who looked after Olbert until he completed grade 9, after which he had to fend for himself.
In January 2007, at the age of 20, Olbert was sponsored by The Butterfly Tree and was allowed to live in one of the shelters we built for pupils who live long distances from the school. They were having to sleep on the ground with only a thin blanket each. During the day he was entitled to The Butterfly Tree’s feeding program and was expected to provide supper for himself and his younger cousin. However the only way he could make money to buy food was by selling curios; sadly his grades began to fall. We believe that Olbert is a survivor and has great potential so in addition we bought him two matresses, warm blankets and have agreed to provide a monthly income to cover his expenses.
Photo: Olbert in Mukuni Village, on the right, with mattress
