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Giving for a Sustainable Future

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Sarah’s blog 27/11/23

Tomorrow (Tuesday 28/11/23) is known as Giving Tuesday. It started in America, being the Tuesday after the Thanksgiving Weekend. People began donating money, time or talent to charities and other good causes as a way of giving and being thankful for what they had in their lives. Giving Tuesday has grown over the years and is now a recognised day of giving to good causes.

So, this leads me onto our new fundraiser and hoping that you might give to our charity and the good causes we are supporting. Costs keep rising in Malawi and food is becoming more scarce. Hundreds of children are relying on us to feed them a substantial, nutritious meal once a week. That isn’t enough, but it’s all we can do until we can get others partnering with us to provide more.

Food – Please can you help us to keep feeding 500 orphans and other vulnerable children each week? A one off donation would be really helpful or you could set up a monthly donation of £5 or £10 if you’d prefer. https://gofund.me/d3cf8c3a

Fruit Trees – We want the community we support to be self-sufficient. They want that too. Can you please help us? Fruit tree saplings have already been planted a couple of years ago and we want to plant more. This will provide future food for the orphans and other vulnerable children as well as some fruit being sold and bringing in an income. Planting trees and bushes also helps prevent soil erosion during the heavy rains and is good for the planet. Four fruit tree saplings cost £10. Will you support this project please? If you would like to give this as an alternative gift at Christmas or for someone’s birthday then please let me know and I can send a gift card on your behalf. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com https://gofund.me/d3cf8c3a

Pig Project – At Bright Futures Secondary School Agricultural Lessons are part of the core curriculum. The second year students, along with their teacher, are setting up a Pig Project where they will learn to care for and breed pigs. Some of the future piglets will be given to vulnerable people in the community and some piglets will be sold. This income will go back into making the school self-sufficient as they will be able to purchase exercise books and other equipment they need. A piglet costs £45 to purchase. Would you like to buy a piglet? This could make a good alternative gift to buy for the person who has everything! I can send a gift card on your behalf stating what you have bought. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com https://gofund.me/d3cf8c3a

Sewing – We sent some hand turn sewing machines to Malawi and some of the older girls who have left school have been learning how to make reusable sanitary towels for all who needed them, ensuring all girls do not miss a week of school each month and, therefore, are receiving the same amount of schooling as the boys. Now, we would like to set up two or three of these girls in business so they can start making school dresses and other clothes to sell. Would you like to ensure these girls have a sustainable and better future? £50 will buy fabric that they need. I can send a gift card if you decide to buy this as an alternative Christmas gift. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com https://gofund.me/d3cf8c3a

Education – Secondary Education in Malawi needs to be paid for. All of the young people at Bright Futures Secondary School would not have been able to afford to continue their education without help and support. Could you pay for a student to attend school for a month please? It costs £25. Or you could become a sponsor to a student for £25 p/m. These vulnerable young people, many of whom are orphans, deserve a better and brighter future. If you would like to pay for this option as part of an alternative Christmas gift, please do let me know and I can send a card to the recipient on your behalf. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com https://gofund.me/d3cf8c3a

As you can see, we cannot do this alone. It is always about teamwork. Please will you join our team to help support these children as we work towards a sustainable and self-sufficient future for them? They deserve every opportunity to be the best they can be. They deserve choices and chances. They deserve to know they are important and that people care about them. If you would like to support one of the above projects in particular then please do put that project against your name when making a donation, otherwise we will allocate funding between the projects. Many thanks for your continued support. Together we can make a difference and continue Changing Lives Malawi. Thanks, Sarah x Donate here: https://gofund.me/d3cf8c3a

Feeding some of the vulnerable children once a week

Students at Bright Futures Secondary School planting sweet potatoes as part of their agricultural lessons

Exam time at Bright Futures Secondary School

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We keep the Sustainable Development Goals in mind for all of our projects

World Toilet Day

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Sarah’s blog 19/11/23

Did you know it was World Toilet Day? Imagine a day to be thankful for having a toilet! A toilet is just one of the things we take for granted. Every home has at least one toilet. And a sink to wash your hands with running water and soap. When we go out, we know where there is a toilet available for use, again with water to wash our hands.

The children and young people in Malawi do not have the luxury of toilets. They have to go in the nearby bushes. There is no clean water or soap to wash their hands. Disease can spread quickly because of lack of sanitation. Also, imagine being a teenage girl with no proper toilet facilities. No dignity, no privacy and also the worry of being vulnerable to attack on your own in the bushes.

We are trying our best to improve their situation. There are latrine blocks at The Foundation, they were one of the first things to be built. Plus a teachers’ latrine block was added. With the help of our supporters, we have some money raised for more latrine blocks for teenagers at Bright Futures Secondary School. However, because of constant rising costs in Malawi, we do not yet have enough money to complete these latrines.

On World Toilet Day, please think about how fortunate we are and how we take so much for granted. If you could spare £10 to help build another toilet block, we would be so grateful. https://gofund.me/e5ba79fe or email for our bank details contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Your continued support is gratefully received both here and in Malawi.

We have been supporting Chambo Primary School, where most of the younger children attend, through two grants we successfully applied for. Hopefully, all will be finished next week and there will be lots of photos.

One of the grants was from The Eleanor Rathbone Trust for £1,000 which has built a latrine block at Chambo Primary School. The other grant was from The Kitchen Table Charities Trust for £6,000, part of which has been used to bring clean water for drinking and washing hands to Chambo Primary School. At school; clean drinking water, the privacy, dignity and hygiene of a toilet block , and clean water and soap to wash their hands. Life is changing for the better for these very vulnerable children. We will continue, with your help, Changing Lives (in) Malawi. Thanks so much and please do help if you can, Sarah x https://gofund.me/e5ba79fe

The new toilet block at Chambo Primary School is almost finished. Thanks to The Eleanor Rathbone Trust for the grant of £1,000.

Staff Accommodation

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Sarah’s blog 7/11/23

Thanks to the grant we received from The Clive Richards Foundation, there will shortly be a new staff accommodation block for 4 teachers. As the area has so much poverty, there are no suitable houses for teacher’s to rent so on campus accommodation is vital to attract good teachers to Bright Futures Secondary School.

Some bricks have been bought and some have been made and are about to be fired. The ground has been cleared and the digging of foundations has been completed ready for the actual building work to start. Hopefully, it won’t be too long before this building is finished.

In the meantime, here are some photos of progress so far. We still have a shortfall in the funding we require for the new latrines for the students at Bright Futures Secondary School, so any financial support would be very much appreciated contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Enjoy the photos and I’ll post another update soon. Thanks, Sarah x

The next building at BFSS (link to previous post about staff accommodation)

Fundraising Packs of Cards

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Sarah’s blog 30/10/23

On Saturday morning, I attended a Christmas Card Sale & Coffee Morning at The Kirkrooms, Strathblane. It’s always a great event and lovely to catch up with people and have a chat. I had a selection of packs of cards for sale and, thanks to everyone who bought them, made £184.50 for Changing Lives Malawi.

These cards are taken from original paintings by my mum, Christine Cresswell, who is a very talented artist. She has generously gifted these cards to our charity so all the money from sales will go towards building the new latrine blocks. Some of the original paintings are for sale so let me know if you see something you like.

Each pack contains 8 cards of the same design, blank for your own message and they are £5 each plus £2.50 p&p. (if you purchase multiple packs then we can combine postage amounts). Perfect for sending or giving the whole pack as a gift.

Here are the selection of cards available, email us to order on contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

Shoes, Desks & a Microscope

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Sarah’s blog 24/10/23

It’s a bit of a photo dump today! There is so much going on that it’s not easy to get photos of everything that is happening. Yesterday, S3 students at Bright Futures Secondary School were able to choose new shoes from the boxes of preloved shoes that www.salsshoes.com kindly donated to us to send to the teenage students. So there were lots of happy young people yesterday receiving new shoes to protect their feet whilst walking to and from school. Thanks to Sal’s Shoes and to all the people who donated preloved shoes to them.

We’d had a donation of money to be used to make desks for classroom 3. The donor wishes to remain anonymous but we are very grateful and thankful for this donation and the difference it is making. Levison was able to take some photos yesterday and you can see that the young people have a great learning environment. Thank you. We have preloved chairs and tables that we had kindly been offered going on the next container for classroom 4. If anyone would like to help towards the cost of transporting these then please do get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

When Levison was at Bright Futures Secondary School yesterday, the S1 class were having a science lesson. He managed to get some photos of them using the new microscope that we sent. It’s so good to see these vulnerable teenagers having the opportunities they deserve and a good quality education. We do need sponsors to support more students to have a place at Bright Futures Secondary School so if you are able to commit to changing the life of a young person through education then please do contact us. It only costs £25 per month and you could share that cost with a friend. Or could you commit £5/£10 per month to ensure students have a nutritious, cooked school lunch each day. For many this is their only meal of the day. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

Thank you for your continued support. We are still collecting school uniform and shoes and also thin rain jackets if anyone would like to help. Also, any scientific calculators, maths sets or kindles that are still in good working order. If anyone has another microscope or STEM resources (science, technology, engineering, maths) that their children have grown out of eg snap circuits, meccano, magnets, etc please do get in touch to see if we are able to make use of them. Thanks and enjoy the photos, Sarah x

The next building at BFSS

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Sarah’s blog 19/10/23

As we grow, there seems to be more to do! Bright Futures Secondary School is doing well and we were so thankful that classrooms 3 and 4 were finished in time for the new term starting last month. Classroom 4 is currently being used as a staffroom and for teaching skills for life classes, until it will be needed for a classroom next year when there will be another intake of pupils meaning there will be classes 1-4 next year.

This means we will need to build another staffroom by next September. Also, more teachers will need to be employed by next September. As the village is so rural and people are living in extreme poverty, there is no suitable accommodation available for teachers to rent. There is already some accommodation on campus for the current teachers but more needs to be built.

We were fortunate to receive a grant from The Clive Richards Foundation for staff accommodation and latrines for which we are very grateful. Levison has negotiated with local land owners and we have bought two pieces of land for The Foundation which will extend the Bright Future Secondary School Campus. One of these pieces of land is for teachers accommodation.

Land clearing has started and the builders will be arriving soon to start on the foundations and the building should be finished next month. You can see from the attached photos that there have been lots of shrubs and some quite big rocks and stones to move….all by hand. There has been another fuel shortage which has delayed purchasing items needed for the building but, thankfully, they got fuel yesterday afternoon. However, because of prices rising, fuel shortages and strikes, they are going to have to travel 50km into Tanzania to purchase cement then 50km back home again….adding to time and fuel costs. Nothing is straightforward.

On the second piece of land it is hoped that dormitories will be able to be built but, as with everything, it is dependent on finances. We would be delighted if anyone would like to make a donation towards either a second teachers accommodation block or dormitories. You could have your name, the name of a loved one or your company or club name over a door or on a building! contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

One block of 4 motel style rooms with verandas will be built before the rainy season starts in the next few weeks plus more latrines will be built for the staff and students. We will need to raise more funds for a second block of 4 teachers’ accommodation that can be built after the rainy season. Great progress is being made but fundraising must continue to ensure that Bright Futures Secondary School continues to grow and thrive for the vulnerable teenagers and the community.

Money is always on our minds as we don’t have any big reserves. We are volunteers and so we have no overheads and all money donated goes to the projects we help to support. We rely on donations and fundraising and the occasional successful grant application. That is why we always talk about teamwork…we are only a small part of helping to make a difference. We need your help too!

The more teenagers we can match with sponsors, then the more vulnerable orphans will benefit from free good quality secondary education at Bright Futures Secondary School. So can you help an orphan have a brighter future with a secondary education? It costs £25 p/m to sponsor a young person and this includes a nutritious school lunch each day. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

For many, this is their only food each day which is why it is so important to us that they have free food at lunchtime each day. How can they be expected to study and concentrate on their lessons if they have no energy, are hungry and malnourished? How can they be expected to sleep at night if they are lying awake with hunger pains. We take a holistic approach to helping these young people and their families back to being self-sufficient and having a sustainable future.

We keep the UN Sustainable Goals in mind for all of our projects. #SDG1 – no poverty, #SDG2 – no hunger, #SDG3 – good health & welbeing, #SGD4 – quality education, #SDG6 – clean water & sanitation, #SGD8 – decent work & economic growth, #SDG11 – sustainable communities to name a few!!

Or could you commit £5 or £10 p/m to help us provide nutritious school lunches? Food prices keep going up and the crops they are growing just aren’t enough. You could help us ensure that no young person at Bright Futures Secondary School is suffering from malnutrition. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

I look forward to bringing you more photos during the coming weeks and, again, I would like to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who supports our work, Sarah x

World Food Day 2023

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Sarah’s blog 16/10/23

Today is World Food Day. What does that mean? It will mean different things depending where you live in the world. For most, it will be just another day….if you have plenty of food, you might not even be aware of World Food Day. If you are hungry and do not have enough to feed your family, you may be working hard all the daylight hours you can to try to make a small amount of money.

The vulnerable children and families we support in rural northern Malawi fall into the second category. There are children with stunted growth due to lack of food and nutrition, most are suffering from malnutrition, most don’t eat properly every day. These children deserve more. They deserve our help.

As yet, there are no charities feeding children in schools in this area. Children are hungry when trying to sleep. Children are hungry when trying to study. How can we expect them to concentrate and retain information?

Children and young people miss chunks of school to try to earn a pittance to buy food. Children are walking 15km to the nearest maize mill, with someone else’s maize, with no food or water, risking attack along the way.

We send money to feed 500 children once a week. It’s not enough but it’s all we have funds for. Food prices are constantly on the rise. Children are walking up to 20km for this one nutritious meal of the week.

We need help to feed these children in the short term, and we also need help to feed them through sustainable means. Crops are being grown to supplement buying food, however it’s not enough. Fruit tree saplings have been planted to provide future food and a future income. However, it’s not enough. Hens eggs are being hatched in the incubator but this is taking time to build up the flock.

The end goal has always been sustainability for this community but, with food prices going up and up we need help, feeding so many children. Please help us?

Soon the rainy season will start and this is the perfect time to plant more saplings. Can you help us buy more fruit tree saplings to plant in the orchard to provide food security in years to come? Can you help us to buy banana tubers? And more sweet potato vines? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

Or could you commit to £5/£10 p/m to help pay for more food at the feeding programme/school lunches? Or to sponsor a teenager’s education at Bright Futures Secondary School it’s £25 p/m which includes a nutritious cooked lunch each day.

Our bank details are; Bank of Scotland, Changing Lives Malawi, a/c 21081462, s/c 80-22-60. Your help would be very much appreciated as we help support this community towards a brighter future where all children have food to eat every day.

We keep the Sustainable Development Goals in mind for all the projects we help to support. However, just related to food in this project we are aiming for all these Sustainable Development Goals; #SDG1 – no poverty, #SDG2 – zero hunger, #SDG3 – good health & wellbeing, #SDG4 – clean water & sanitation, #SDG10 – reduced inequalities, #SDG11 – sustainable communities, #SDG13 – climate action. Please be part of the team that helps these vulnerable children towards a brighter, sustainable future? Thanks, Sarah x

Maria was in real danger of being married at age 11 as her grandparents could not feed her. We found her a sponsor and now she is thriving. Could you sponsor a young person like Maria?
Students at Bright Futures Secondary School planting sweet potato vines as part of their Agricultural Classes… could you commit to £5/£10 per month to provide food security?
one of the lemon tree saplings that was planted two years ago and is growing well…can you help provide more fruit tree saplings please?
Children at the weekly feeding programme. Could you commit £5/£10 p/m to support food security please
These two older siblings carried their one year old twin siblings a long way to the feeding programme so they could all have nutritious food. Their parents are peasant farmers and, despite working very hard, cannot earn enough to feed their family. Can you help us either by sponsoring one of the older children for £25 p/m or by helping support the feeding programme for £5/£10 per month?

Fundraising Cards by Christine Cresswell

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Sarah’s blog 15/10/23

My mum, Christine Cresswell, is an amazing artist. She has only been painting for a few years and finds it very relaxing as she can totally switch off whilst she is concentrating on the beautiful scenes she is painting. My mum is also a trustee of Changing Lives Malawi.

She is generously selling her paintings with all proceeds going to support our work in Malawi. We have had cards made from some of her paintings which will raise funds as all money from sales will also go to the projects we help to support. I will do a post of the paintings soon.

These cards have been packed in 8 cards of the same design. They are blank inside for your own message, with our logo being on the reverse. As well as buying to send, you could also give a pack as a gift. Each pack is £5 with p&p being £2.50. If you would like to purchase more than one pack, then please get in touch and I will work out postage rates. These cards will also be sold in a shop local to us soon which is very exciting! details to follow about that partnership soon. Thanks for your continued support everyone. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thank you, Sarah x

The Final Rugby Tournament

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Sarah’s blog 13/10/23

As I type this, Jack Mphande, Malawi Rugby Union’s Rugby Development Officer, is on his way back to Lilongwe which is over 15 hours on a bus. When he arrives home he is straight into finishing an assignment that he put aside whilst he travelled north for the two-week Rugby Festival.

Jack had been making plans for this visit for a while, after the success of his first visit two years ago when he introduced touch rugby to children in the north for the very first time. We were delighted that Jack was keen to visit the far north again to spread the joy of the sport of rugby with his enthusiasm and coaching skills.

Meanwhile, here in Scotland, we had been raising funds to ensure that there was enough money for this rugby festival to run smoothly. We are so grateful to every single supporter who has donated to our fundraiser to make the last two weeks of rugby a huge success. Thank you for your generosity. Thank you also to individuals and clubs and schools who donated sports kit and rugby balls that have been shared with the various schools taking part.

Levison welcomed Jack to stay at The Foundation again for his second visit. Together, they ensured the planned programme went smoothly and Levison liaised with the education and sports officers. Levison also arranged for food, and water to be bought for everyone and arranged lunches, and someone to cook, for the adults and children. They organised which schools would be taking part and which days schools would be visited. Schools were split into two clusters. In order to make this programme sustainable, Jack was able to spend time coaching two teachers from each school as well as some community coaches. He visited each school individually and, at the end of each of the two weeks everyone came together for a tournament.

As yet, there are no big charities feeding children in schools in this area. Most children are living in extreme poverty. It was important to us that all children had a snack and a bottle of water when playing. On tournament days, we ensured there was enough money for everyone to have a proper lunch, snack and bottle of water. Students were given pens and pencils as a gift for taking part. Each school was given sports kit and rugby balls that had been donated by clubs and individuals.

Sustainable development goals were kept in mind when organising this rugby festival; SDG2 – zero hunger, SDG3 – good health & wellbeing, SDG4 – quality education, SDG5 – gender equality, SDG6 – clean water, SDG10 – reduced inequalities, SDG11 – sustainable communities, SDG17 – partnership for the goals.

Each team played two matches and the emphasis was on taking part rather than being too much of a competition. However, the winning boys team was Model Primary School and the winning girls team was Katutula Primary School. Well done everyone!

These children have had an opportunity that they wouldn’t usually have had; someone investing time teaching them new skills, time to play, time to have fun, time to forget about the difficulties in their day to day lives. Time to be part of a team, time to play a new sport, time to feel valued and important, time for self-esteem and confidence to grow. Time for nutritious food and clean water and time for gifts of pens & pencils to help with their education.

Thank you to everyone who has made these two weeks possible. It was a lot of organising, but it was worth it for the enjoyment on the faces of these children. Without the financial donations of our supporters, this rugby festival would have only been a dream. With your help it has been a wonderful experience for so many vulnerable children. Enjoy the photos, Sarah x

Rugby photos 11 & 12 Oct

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Sarah’s blog 13/10/23

Well what can I say apart from a HUGE thank you to Jack Mphande who is Malawi Rugby Union’s Rugby Development Officer. Jack has continued working with more young people this week, ensuring that the adults he trained on Monday have had opportunities to coach their students with Jack supporting them. There have been lots of excited children who have embraced the new opportunities and new skills.

The young people Jack has been working with over the past couple of days have been from Chimwemwe Primary School, Model Primary School, Lwakwa Primary School and Nyabughi Community Rugby Club which was set up after Jack’s last visit.

Today is the final day of Jack’s visit – a tournament between all the teams from the second week. I will post photos from that later. But in the meantime, enjoy these photos of children having fun, learning new skills and having an opportunity to play together at a new sport just like children anywhere. This has all been possible because of your generosity. Thank you, Sarah x

Rugby (part 2)

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Sarah’s blog 10/10/23

After a hugely successful first week of rugby with the rural schools, culminating in a tournament on Friday, Jack Mphande, rugby development officer, is working with the primary schools in and around town.

Yesterday, two teachers from each school as well as local sports coaches spent the day learning the rules of touch rugby from Jack. They were classroom based in the morning and having fun playing some touch rugby in the afternoon.

Today, Jack visited his first two schools;

The students really enjoyed themselves and were keen to learn a new sport. The newly trained teachers were able to help run these sessions as they will be the ones continuing this rugby initiative once Jack returns to Lilongwe.

Jack will visit more schools this week and there will be a tournament for these schools on Friday.

There are lots of people to thank for the success of this rugby development programme. Firstly, to Jack for his commitment, hard work, organisational skills and enthusiasm with which he delivers these sessions and makes them fun for the participants. We are so glad that you made time in your busy schedule to visit again.

Levison, you work so hard mostly in the background, ensuring that you help and support as many vulnerable people as you can. You worked really hard with Jack ahead of time with planning for this event. You hosted visitors last week and you were delighted at how many young people took part… all in addition to your regular ‘to do’ list. Thank you.

To clubs and individuals who donated sports kit – thank you. Having matching kit helps these vulnerable young people’s self-esteem and saves pre-loved kit going to landfill – reuse, recycle, repurpose.

And to our wonderful supporters who have donated an amazing amount of money to ensure that these vulnerable children can learn a new sport and have opportunities they wouldn’t usually have had – thank you. You are all amazing! It was quite a big undertaking for a small charity like ours to facilitate a big event like this two week rugby tuition and tournament – but with your help and support we did it.

Jack’s transport, expenses, accommodation and food have been paid for from your donations. Teachers and sports coaches being trained have had a cooked lunch. Children in schools who were taking part in training have all had a snack and a bottle of water. Everyone on tournament days have had/will have a proper lunch, snack and bottled water. All the students taking part have been gifted pens and pencils too. This is just the start of rugby in schools in the far north of Malawi. The enthusiasm is brilliant. These teachers will continue to coach touch rugby at their schools.

Students will remember taking part in this event for the rest of their lives. They aren’t used to having opportunities like this. Thank you for making a difference. Enjoy the photos from yesterday and today. Katitula Primary School is wearing blue and CCAP Primary School’s uniform is purple. Thanks, Sarah x

Cards, Paintings & other ways to help us

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Sarah’s blog 09/10/23

We are really fortunate to have Christine Cresswell as one of our trustees. Christine is a talented artist and donates the proceeds of her artwork to our charity to help fund the projects we support in Malawi. I will do another separate post with a selection of paintings soon.

As well as being a talented artist, Christine is also my mum. We have had cards printed from some of her beautiful paintings. I have spent a couple of hours at mum and dad’s dining table today. Dad was tasked with counting cards, mum was counting envelopes and I was putting the two together in cellophane bags.

These cards are blank inside so are suitable for any occasion, or a pack could be given as a gift. They are a bargain at £5 per pack of 8 cards (same design) plus p& p of £2.50 per pack. (I can check postage rates for multiple purchases).

My parents also, very generously, paid for the printing of these cards, so every penny from the sale of each pack will be going towards the projects we help to support. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com if you would like to order some cards.

If you prefer to send e-cards then click on this link to support us https://www.dontsendmeacard.com/ecards/charities/changing-lives-malawi

You can also raise funds for us every time you shop online by going through the Easy Fundraising site https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/changing-lives-malawi

Or why not host a fundraising event for us or take part in a sponsored activity? As we are volunteers, 100% of donations go to our projects.

Thanks for reading and supporting Changing Lives Malawi, Sarah x

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