This article was updated on September 17, 2023 to reflect more details about the visit.
On June 14, 2023, Butterflies NGO hosted a British Airways crew of 10 members for a day program which included a contact point visit, interaction with management and staff, a luncheon catered by Butterflies School of Culinary and Catering (BSCC) students, and a culture and sports event that the kids organized. As a Comic Relief partner, British Airways raises funds for Butterflies NGO from passengers on its flights.
In the morning of the visit, the BA Team met children at our Jangpura and Nizammuddin Dargah contact points who welcomed them with non-stop questions about their career journeys. Next followed a transect walk at Nizammuddin Dargah, through the narrow lanes of the makeshift residential community (which is constructed mostly on graves). The visitors glimpsed at the challenges and risks that children and their families are exposed to while living there.
On the second half of the day, the BA Team visited the Butterflies office, and interacted with the trainees and staff of Butterflies School of Culinary and Catering (BSCC). They were treated to a vegetarian lunch prepared by the Chef and trainees of BSCC. Post lunch they participated in a typical sports event that Butterflies organizes monthly for the children from all the contact points at Lodhi Gardens. Sports as well as creative arts and performance are key Child Health and Sports Cooperative (CHSC) interventions to bolster the physical, social and mental growth of children and youth. Sports as a vehicle to practice & strengthen the life skills of teamwork, interpersonal communication, and resilience seemed to engage the BA team who joined in playing with children and spent time to interact with the kids despite the scorching heat. Children enthusiastically engaged them in their teams and most of all the children found them to be warm, friendly and interested in conversing with them. The children performed their original mime show on mobile addiction, which was well received. Both our children and our visitors relished the tasty refreshments prepared by the Butterflies School of Culinary and Catering trainees.
Butterflies donors and friends worldwide who fly British Airways mentioned that British Airways regularly promotes Butterflies as one of the charities it supports on its international flights.