Butterfly 🦋 Project

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- Oct 19, 2023
- 🌧 18 °C
- Altitude: 104 m
- England Lower Beeding 51.019695, -0.25958751°1’11” N 0°15’35” W
Day 1
The Butterfly Project
October 19, 2023 in England ⋅ 🌧 18 °C
So the day your supposed to be taking a trip to South Africa to build a house for a vulnerable family and it's taken 4 years to raise the money. Then you get a text to say:- see photo..........
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- Oct 20, 2023
- ☀️ 27 °C
- Altitude: 1,707 m
- South Africa Gauteng Ekurhuleni Rhodesfield Oliver Reginald Tambo International -26.135033, 28.23159826°8’6” S 28°13’54” E
1 1
Day 2
Travel day
October 20, 2023 in South Africa ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C
Well a challenging start to the trip.
BA started the trip with a 15hr delay. So instead of starting the trip on Thursday 19th at 7pm we are delayed until Friday 20th 11:30am. It's a day flight which means we arrive at 12:30am Saturday morning. (In the early hours) our connecting flight will be at 6am to Durban.

We meet the team at Heathrow with an early start, been picked up at 5am by BW Cars (thank you guys) arriving at Heathrow it is hectic and so many school groups. The team have been asked to where they're orange 🍊 hoodies so we can identify them with ease. But has we arrive into the departure hall there os a school trip with the same colour hoodies. (best plans and all that)

The team start to arrive from the Butterfly 🦋 project on Horsham. A Centre that helps and supports young adults with learning difficulties to live an independent life.
Most if not all the young people i had spent time with at some of their Fun'd raising events.
One young lady Sobion when I first met her at the curry night walked over to me with a pint of beer 🍺 in her hand and said "wanted a pint" no I replied I'm ok I don't drink. Best you start tonight then she said.....lol
The 5 support team I had met most of them but there had been a late change, has two of them had got sick just before coming out.
Millie a young lady that was taking a year of traveling before studying has a doctor was joining us to Durban before going to volunteer at the Butterfly Palliative Unit.
Plus Lindani who was coming home to surprise his mum.
We start our journey going through BA terminal 5 and we did receive the airport assistance and the team got special land yards with sun flowers on so the airport staff could support them when needed.
The flight was 85% full and a noise one has the team where so excited..!
They didn't sleep the whole way there....lol
We landed in Johannesburg at 11pm which meant we had a 5hr wait until the earliest flight we could get on to take us to Durban.. nothing was open not even a little coffee shop. So we set up camp on the floor of Johannesburg international airport. Without having any Communication that this flight had been canceled there had not been time to of got 14 people booked into a local hotel.
4an and we are on the move again. At 54 my body is so not designed to sleep on a tiled floor. 😕
We got on the plan and I thought I would just close my eyes. Bump..! We took of ir had we...?
Nope we landed ....🤣 that was the quickest flight ever I had fallen asleep before we taken of.
Durban airport grab some supplies and sort everyone phone out and then done to the rentals to pick up the mini bus but not before saying hallo to my best mate Mr King who met us.
The journey up to the lodge was a quite one has everyone slept apart from me the Driver...lol
Coming to the lodge is like coming home. We dropped all our cases of and took the team down to Sodwana beach 🏖️ just to chill 😎
What a first day...........Read more
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- Oct 22, 2023
- 🌬 24 °C
- Altitude: 50 m
- South Africa KwaZulu-Natal The Big 5 False Bay -27.805971, 32.39946727°48’21” S 32°23’58” E
Day 4
Community Day
October 22, 2023 in South Africa ⋅ 🌬 24 °C
Because of the delay getting here we did two community days in one.
Showing the team the family that are in desperate need of a house and delivering them food parcels. To showing them the houses that the CoCos Foundation has done in the past is always hard but this community day has a different feel about it. We took the team to see the houses and families that are in desperate need in the morning and then in the afternoon we visited the families we had built homes for on our last trip. Lex was blown away by the difference within the people and the way they seemed so much happier. It's like you have taken all the pressure of them.
The young adults where so genuine delivering the parcels and placing them down so gently into their houses.
Lastly, we visited the house that we will be going to build on this trip. The team was so excited, jumping around all over the place asking so many questions. It was exhausting, but at the same time exhilarating. So looking forward to this Build…………Read more
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- Oct 23, 2023, 8:44am
- ☀️ 22 °C
- Altitude: 82 m
- South Africa KwaZulu-Natal Umhlabuyalingana -27.382712, 32.50819727°22’58” S 32°30’30” E
Day 5
Ist Days Build
October 23, 2023 in South Africa ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C
It's all hands on deck this morning. The team are up mega early and so excited to be doing the build after their late night playing UNO.
First things first, 900 bricks to move. Because of the location of the house that has been built. Unfortunately the bricks had to be left about half a mile away so we have to walk him in. But one of the volunteers comes up with a great idea of using the P 200 little vehicle. So we have one team volunteers at the house unloading and one team at the party groups loading up done!
We have a sudden scream, and one of the Volunteers drops a brick, an Outman a triansirer spider.
Mr King gives his usual lesson of how to lay the bricks with very clear, precise instructions. And Stephen has been promoted to our water man.
Siobhan doesn't stop until the last break is safely, moved to the house. What a great team.
A long day and then to the tree for dinner.Read more
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- Oct 25, 2023
- ⛅ 25 °C
- Altitude: 95 m
- South Africa KwaZulu-Natal Umhlabuyalingana -27.137989, 32.53650527°8’17” S 32°32’11” E
Day 7
Day 2 of the Build
October 25, 2023 in South Africa ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C
Another great day on the build.
The team are getting on so well and working so hard. Getting to know them all individually and their amazing personalities is what is making this trip.
Today Gem one of the support workers was loading the bricks on the van with Siobhan one of the team she is supporting. Gem tried to pass the brick to Siobhan and Siobhan said she didn't want that one, Gem tried to encourage her to take the brick as they were passing them in a line. Siobhan said again she didn't want that one. I looked the other side of the brick and realised
What she didn't say there was a huge 🦂 scorpion on the brick Gem was holding 🤣🤣🤣
The day in the life of an African builder.....lol
After dropping the team off back to the lodge, I took Lex and Gem out to visit some families that we wish to start to support with food parcels in a new area. Challenge is because it is so far out at Sandy getting a food parcels there. One of the families had a young man with cerebral palsy living with them. Lex was a shocked as I was to see somebody living with this condition. Living in such poor conditions was quite challenging.
On the drive home I treated them to corn 🌽 on the Cobb. Africa Style....!
It reminded me of UgandaRead more
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The Butterfly Project

Travel day

Community Day

Ist Days Build

Day 2 of the Build