Blog

With a little help from our friends

Sarah’s blog 17/3/22

It’s been an extremely busy time at The Foundation. As so many boxes were sent, they have been opened gradually and there are still more to open.

Today Levison sent me photos of donations from Julian Chenery whose charity is ‘Wear a Sports Shirt Day’. Julian is always very generous to The Foundation (he had supplied the Christmas hats and jumpers as well as previous donations of sports kit). These are some of the lovely sports kit that was in one box Levison opened today. Thank you Julian and to all the people who donate to you. We are very grateful for the difference you are making.

Julian spends almost every weekend going to football matches and other sporting events and collecting used kit to send on to lots of different organisations. Some donations he gives to groups like refugees or other people in need in England, and other donations go to lots of organisations like The Foundation working with vulnerable communities in other countries.

I love that there are so many helping each other to help the children and Julian is one of those people who does a great job. Thank you Julian at Wear a Sports Shirt Day! Thanks for reading, Sarah x

Some of the donations of sports kit that Julian sent to The Foundation

Happy Mother’s Day

Spring has sprung and there’s the promise of warmer weather right around the corner. Mother’s Day is a week on Sunday, 27th March.

This is just a little reminder that we are still planting a sustainable future for the hundreds of orphans and other vulnerable children supported by The Foundation.

So how about buying a feel good gift for your mum? Fruit tree saplings will provide future food, an income and jobs at The Foundation and of course planting more trees is what the planet needs. Buying seeds will ensure that the children can grow more vegetables to eat at the weekly feeding programme. Or would you like to provide some blankets for children who are sleeping on the floor and covering themselves in rags at night. All these things are desperately needed and will be a huge help if you could buy a virtual gift.

5 blankets costs £25, seeds can be bought in any amount starting at £10, and fruit tree saplings can be bought in any amount starting at £10 for 4 saplings. If you think of anything else you’d like to contribute to then I can easily make up a picture and email it to you. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thanks for reading and considering these alternative gifts for Mother’s Day, Sarah x

Video – Nursery Children ABC

Sarah’s blog 15/3/22

Now that we have the added bonus of being able to play videos on our website, I thought it would be nice to see this little video again that was previously shown on facebook. Tables and chairs were sent on the last container and this is the children from the nursery in Emma’s Rainbow Library.

These children (ages 4-6) are sitting at tables for the first time and have been given books to look at. Compared to our children they have missed out on lots of stages of pre literacy; sitting on an adult’s knee as a baby whilst an adult reads a story, learning whilst a toddler to turn the pages of a book to continue the story, looking at all the pictures and talking about that with the adult or pointing to items in the pictures. Then children usually will follow the text with their index finger, even though they aren’t at the right word they know by that stage that words go left to right and that the words make up the story.

Hopefully, now there are books in the library the children will have lots of opportunities to look at books and have stories read to them. There are nursery bags on the container that is about to leave Dundee next week that will be given to each child who starts at The Foundation Nursery. These bags contain; a blanket, two red t-shirts, 2 pairs of pants, toothbrush & toothpaste, soap and a picture book. Each child will then have a book at their home and books and reading will become more of an everyday part of life. Enjoy the video, Sarah x

The Kiltwalk 2022

Sarah’s blog 14/03/22

We are looking for volunteers to take part in the Kiltwalk to raise funds for Changing Lives Malawi. We cannot do what we do to help the orphans and other vulnerable children in rural northern Malawi without you. We value our supporters so much and we all part of a great team Changing Lives (in) Malawi.

We are always looking for different ways that people can support us and The Kiltwalk is a great way….you can choose your venue and date, you can choose the length of your walk and even choose who you walk with!! We are delighted that we are one of the charities registered with The Kiltwalk. In addition to any funds you raise for us, The Hunter Foundation will add 50% .

We would love individuals or a group of friends to do ‘The Mighty Stride’ (22.7 miles) or ‘The Big Stroll’ (14.37 miles) or could a few families with younger children get involved and raise funds for the orphans by doing ‘The Wee Wander’ (3 miles)? Remember there are various places to do The Kiltwalk as well as the virtual one in October. If you can’t be at one of the organised events then this might be the one for you!

We will advertise on social media that you are walking for Changing Lives Malawi to attract additional sponsorship and remember The Hunter Foundation will add 50% to your total raised. What’s not to love? here is the link to the Kiltwalk to sign up and remember you are looking for Changing Lives Malawi to sign up for. https://www.thekiltwalk.co.uk/events

contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com thanks for reading, Sarah x

Changing Lives Malawi for less than £1 a day

Sarah’s blog 13/03/22

There are almost 90 vulnerable children and young people who have already been matched with kind sponsors who are changing their lives. It’s only £25 per month to sponsor a child and give them the security of food and education. There are no wages or admin fees with our charity as we are run by volunteers. You can sponsor a child as an individual, a family, two friends sharing the cost, or a business or club. Each of these children is malnourished and has experienced loss and trauma. We need you. The children need you. We always say it’s teamwork and we need to be the team around these children to give them the opportunities they deserve. The food they need. The education they should have. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com to sponsor a child. Thanks for reading and for your support, Sarah x

These children are waiting to be matched with a sponsor…. which child can you help today?

Update – six young people are going to rugby camp

Sarah’s blog 12/3/22

As I posted earlier, there is a rugby camp happening very soon in the far north of Malawi where The Foundation is. Six of the young people are getting the chance to go to this camp and be coached by Malawian International Rugby player, Jack Mphande. Community Sports Leaders Africa are sponsoring Jack to run this course.

The great news is that now all six young people have had their expenses paid so will all be able to attend this rugby course. We are very grateful to everyone who has donated and made this possible. We will, of course, post photos for you to see how they get on. It’s a brilliant opportunity for these young future sports leaders.

We had some balls donated by Strathendrick RFC, but on an ongoing basis we will need more rugby balls and kit. If you are able to donate the cost of a rugby ball or help in any other way then please do get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com . Although all six young people have been sponsored for this rugby course, only two of them have been matched with sponsors who provide monthly food parcels and ensure their school fees are paid. It’s £25 per month to sponsor a child….if you can help then please email. Thanks so much again for supporting the children and thanks for reading, Sarah x

The Rugby Six

Sarah’s blog 12/3/22

The Foundation has always taken an holistic approach to improving the lives of the hundreds of orphans and vulnerable children it supports.

Yes they need food. Yes they need clothes. Yes they need education. However, they need so much more. They need new skills, new opportunities. They need to be nurtured and have people believe in their capabilities. They also need to have fun with their friends. These children have suffered trauma and have had to grow up too quickly so spending time with their friends and playing sports is one of those ways to improve their overall health as well as their mental health and wellbeing.

Sports Leaders Africa are sponsoring Malawian rugby international player, Jack Mphande, to come to Chitepa to teach rugby to Sports Leaders. They, in turn, will go back to their schools and pass on their skills and knowledge to younger children. Six of the young people, supported by the Foundation, have been chosen to attend this four day rugby course. Then Jack will spend a day at The Foundation helping these young people to put their new skills to the test and teaching the younger children how to play rugby. All the children have just started two weeks school holidays today so it’s perfect timing.

The cost of the course, food, accommodation and travel expenses is £40 per child. So far we have had donations to cover three young people to attend. So we still need £120 and are appealing for rugby fans, to donate towards these remaining three attending the course. Rugby is heading to Chitipa District which is very exciting. We think the children will love rugby as much as rugby fans and players here do. Thank you to Strathendrick RFC for supplying us with rugby balls for The Foundation. Also four of these young people are also looking to be matched with sponsors to support them through their education.

So if you can donate something towards this initiative, we would be very grateful. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com for bank details. Thank you for reading and hope you enjoy the Six Nations Rugby this weekend. Sarah x

On the road again…..

Sarah’s blog 11/3/22

We are almost finished again! The Bananabox Warehouse at Dundee is almost full and a container will be packed soon and on it’s way to Ekwendeni in Malawi, probably arriving in June. Thank you everyone for the donations, financial as well as goods. It costs £15 to send a box to cover the costs of the container so any money you can donate towards the container costs is very much appreciated.

Stuart took boxes up earlier this week and all we have left now is a box with lots of great tools that arrived yesterday morning, and a trampoline frame that was dismantled today. That’s two frames that have been donated and they will be turned into the frame of a new polytunnel for growing tomatoes. Hopefully, we may have a few more old trampoline frames donated for next time.

If you’d like to donate £15 to cover the cost of a box then please do get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com . We are also still looking for donations towards sending 3 young sports leaders on a rugby course…. will bring you photos of the 6 young people that have been picked to attend in tomorrow’s post. Thanks for reading and have a good weekend, Sarah x

The Bananabox Trust Warehouse in Dundee
A very generous gift of tools …some of them for the three young men who are making eco stoves
This trampoline was dismantled today and the round frame kindly donated to us. It has been shrink wrapped (along with the nuts and bolts) to make the frame of a polytunnel for growing tomatoes

Rugby Camp – w/c 21/3/22

Last week we found out that Malawi International Rugly player, Jack Mphande, is heading north to introduce rugby to the young people. Thanks to Sports Leaders Africa for sponsoring his trip.

The children start two weeks school holiday tomorrow. There is a four day course starting on 21/3/22 to which 6 young people from The Foundation can attend. On the Friday, Jack is spending a day at The Foundation supporting the 6 young sports leaders to put their new skills into practice with some of the younger children. Strathendrick RFC donated rugby balls for which we are very thankful. A plan is coming together!

We have had 3 generous donations to fund 3 young people to attend this course. We would love 3 more rugby fans to sponsor a child each to attend the course. Their total expenses will be £40. So if you are a rugby fan and would like to encourage future rugby fans in the far north of Malawi we’d love for you to support a future sports leader to attend the course. If you can gift £40 that would be amazing or even £10 would be a great help if a few people donated. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

Victoria and Elisha are two of the young people who have already been selected. Hopefully, another 4 will be going with them. Thank you rugby fans, Sarah x

International School Meals Day – but not for all

Sarah’s blog 10/03/22

A few days ago, I found out via a message from my son’s school, that 10th March is International School Meals Day. At his school, there is a different menu choice for today which is why we received the message. I understand, from the internet, that it is a way of promoting healthy eating and having conversations about food. This is a good idea.

However, because of my passion for helping those who are the most vulnerable, once we had established what my son wants for his lunch choice today, my next thought was how many children in the world don’t ever get a school dinner let alone a choice?

500+ orphans and other vulnerable children come to The Foundation Feeding Programme that runs once a week. They are fed a substantial and nutritious meal. Some walk up to 20km to receive their one proper meal of the week. All suffer from malnutrition. We can only afford to support The Feeding Programme to run once a week. There are no agencies in the far north of Malawi feeding children in schools. Already, teachers are able to see that these children’s concentration has improved thanks to one proper meal a week….imagine if we could afford to feed them more often. Some children can go for a day or a couple of days without eating. That is heart breaking.

The end goal is for The Foundation and the village to be self-sufficient, but until that time arrives, these most vulnerable, malnourished children need our help. Please can you support us to support them? Please? If you could commit to giving a regular small donation each month then please contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com for bank details. Or another way to donate to the feeding programme is to text FEEDING to 70490 .Together we can make malnutrition a thing of the past and you can help us to continue Changing Lives Malawi. Maybe one day International School Meals Day will be a day that all children can celebrate and be included in. Thanks for reading, Sarah x

Asante & Madalitso playing recorders

Sarah’s blog 9/3/22

I sent 5 recorders to The Foundation on the container….looks like Asante (red trousers) and Madalitso have found them! This is great playing as they’ve never seen a recorder before. Well done boys!

I’m quite pleased too….David (one of the trustees and the technical expert) upgraded the website….so this is the first time I’ve been able to post videos! I promise I’ll leave it a few days before there are any more videos of recorder playing! Thanks for reading, watching & listening, Sarah x

Three young men, a sponsor & a plan (part 2)

Sarah’s blog 8/3/22

I recently told you that three young men; Chancy, Manase and Lameck were making eco stoves for the villagers. Traditionally it’s the women who do the cooking so these eco stoves are making a hard life just a little bit easier for these women. They are delighted with their new stoves that use less wood, retain more heat and are safer to cook on. So on International Women’s Day we are very glad these women have new stoves that also help the environment.

A generous sponsor is paying the wages of these three young men so they are being paid whilst they set up their business and gain in confidence. You will see the difference in Chancy from his previous photo. As well as eco stoves they are going to be making bricks for future buildings. If anyone would like to sponsor a young person to go to school or to start work then please do get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thanks for reading, Sarah x