Very sad news from Ibuluma

Sarah’s blog 16/1/23

We have had some very sad news. One of the volunteers who helped at The Foundation has passed away. Eliza Silumbu was a lovely lady with a very kind heart who was generous with her time. Despite her and her family being very poor, she understood and agreed with everything Levison was trying to do for the vulnerable children in the village and she volunteered to help right from the start.

Eliza cooked for 500 children every weekend which must be a huge task and extremely tiring. Every weekend she volunteered to do this and every day she cooked for the nursery children and more recently the teenagers at Bright Futures Secondary School. The Foundation would not have got off the ground and flourished if it wasn’t for members of the community like Eliza, totally understanding that people must help to make things better for themselves and the most vulnerable in their community. She had been there whenever she was needed, willing to make the lives of hundreds of children slightly better, feeding and nurturing them.

Eliza had an asthma attack and passed away at the health centre. The whole community is shocked and saddened. Levison said that Eliza’s husband is a peasant farmer and is very poor. They have children. Levison is going to take food and supplies to the family to help them in the short term. We hope that some of you may find it in your hearts to help us help them. I will do another post to appeal for sponsors to support Eliza’s children. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Eliza will be missed so much by her husband and her own children…and she will also be missed by hundreds of other children whose lives she touched and made just a little bit better.

We send condolences to Levison, the staff and other volunteers and the children and, of course, to Eliza’s family. Rest in peace, Eliza, and thank you for everything, Sarah x