In November 2020 my sister, Joanne, was waiting for surgery for breast cancer. She used that time to do a walking challenge to raise money towards the shower block that was being built.
Now, as she’s waiting for reconstructive surgery and needs to lower her BMI slightly, she has said she’s going to challenge herself again. I have no doubt that she will reach her target of 200km in July. As well as being one of the bravest people I know, she is also one of the strongest.
So she has set up a fundraising page to raise money towards a new classroom for Bright Futures Secondary School. Please support her in her challenge as it will mean a great deal to her, to us and, of course, the children who need a new classroom for term starting in September. Joanne’s fundraiser is https://gofund.me/91721cad .
If anyone else wants to set themselves a challenge to fundraise for our charity we would be so grateful and would promote it on social media for you. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
Good luck, Joanne and thank you…we know you can do it! Thank you all for reading and your support, Sarah x
Thanks to Strathendrick RFC and Scottish Rugby for supporting grassroots rugby in rural northern Malawi.
Sarah’s blog 29/6/23
As well as Scottish Rugby having given us pre-loved rugby kit to send to the vulnerable young people we help to support, Scottish Rugby have given us 6 new shirts for fundraising.
We have teamed up with our fantastic local rugby club, Strathendrick RFC, who have a big rugby family. They have kindly offered to help raise the profile of the projects we support and, in particular, the two week rugby event in September that hundreds of young people will be able to take part in and learn to play rugby. Our fundraiser for that event is here https://gofund.me/46e63377 Proceeds made from the shirts will be split between our rugby event and Strathendrick RFC. Thank you everyone who is supporting us to help change the lives of some of the most vulnerable children in Malawi, giving them choices and chances and a much brighter future. Here is what they have said on their facebook page:
“We are proud to be supporting Changing Lives Malawi as we provide an exciting opportunity to enhance their ongoing valuable work. Www.changinglivesmalawi.com is a small charity, based in Balfron, run by volunteers who are passionate about changing the lives of the most vulnerable in rural Northern Malawi. They support several projects including a feeding programme, a nursery & are currently fundraising to build classrooms 3 & 4 of Bright Futures Secondary School. The children are also provided rugby opportunities thanks to the donations of kit, equipment and coaching. To help raise much needed funds, the SRU have provided 2022/23 playing jerseys for us to raffle off. To be in with the chance of winning a jersey (sizes M, L, XL, 2XL) complete the Google form. £5 a number. We will draw the winners on Wednesday 5 July To support further work in the area, on behalf of hundreds of vulnerable children, we would be very grateful https://gofund.me/46e63377 Google Form Entry Form https://forms.gle/5EChanging Lives Malawi (google.com) “
All of the projects that we help to support in rural northern Malawi have these end goals in mind. It is good to remind ourselves of these goals and regularly reflect on progress and next steps to achieving these goals.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries – developed and developing – in a global partnership. They recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests. THE 17 GOALS | Sustainable Development (un.org)
We are working hard to help feed hundreds of orphans and other vulnerable children, yet we cannot do it alone. We can only afford to run the feeding programme once a week….can you help us feed them more often to ensure that there is zero hunger? Currently, all children are malnourished and many have stunted growth. If you can spare £5 or £10 each month to help feed vulnerable children then please email us contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
Crops are being planted, supplementing the feeding programme but it’s not enough. Fruit tree saplings have been planted for future food and to provide a sustainable future for people and planet…. but we need to plant more. Four fruit tree saplings cost £10…will you help? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
Bright Futures Secondary School is providing free education for those who need it. Secondary education is normally fee paying in Malawi so, without support, none of these young people would have the chance of a secondary education.
Because of the difficulties the students have faced, the poverty and lack of food, we don’t expect all of them to be able to pass their exams. However, just by being in school they will be more literate, numerate and have more opportunities than if they left school at the end of primary school. There will be less teenage pregnancies if young people are in school and less child marriages. Students at Bright Futures Secondary School receive a free lunch each day as well as uniform and school supplies.
Classrooms 1 and 2 were completed in November 2022. Now we are fundraising for classrooms 3 and 4. There will be a new intake of students in September so we certainly need one classroom, more latrines and more staff accommodation. Can you support quality education for some of the most vulnerable students in rural northern Malawi please? We would be so grateful for your help in giving these students a brighter future at Bright Futures Secondary School https://gofund.me/ece5753a
These vulnerable students deserve our help to have choices and chances to achieve for themselves and their community. Thanks for reading and supporting us, Sarah x
For just £5 you can be in with a chance of winning this beautiful original painting by artist Christine Cresswell of ‘The Beach at Arisaig’ http://www.changinglivesmalawi.com
Sarah’s blog 23/06/23
We are raising funds to build classroom 3 at Bright Futures Secondary School by September for the next intake of students. The link to our fundraiser is https://gofund.me/ece5753a
One of our trustees (and my mum) Christine Cresswell is a talented artist who uses her skills to help raise money for the benefit of the orphans in Malawi. She has gifted this beautiful original painting of ‘The Beach at Arisaig’ to auction to raise funds towards the new classroom at Bright Futures Secondary School. The painting is 10″ x 12″ and is in a white frame making the dimensions 12″ x 14″.
If you’d like to be the proud owner of this stunning original painting then for just £5 you can be in with a chance to win. We are limiting it to 40 entries, so you have a 1 in 40 chance of winning! The bank details are: Bank of Scotland, Changing Lives Malawi, Sort Code 80-22-60, Account Number 21081462 . Put your name as the reference please. We will put numbers against all the names and use a random generator to choose the winning number.
Thanks for supporting us to build a school for the most vulnerable young people in rural northern Malawi. They deserve an education and to have chances and choices. Thanks, Sarah x
The brick making is due to start for the next phase of Bright Futures Secondary School. There will be a team of 15; four will ferry the water, five will be digging and six will be making bricks. They will be making 60,000 bricks. Once the bricks are made they are left to dry and once dry they are stacked to make a kiln. Fires are lit under the kiln and, after firing, the bricks take two weeks to cool down. So this is a huge undertaking…we’d love your support https://gofund.me/ece5753a
At least one new classroom is needed for the new intake of students at the start of September. One classroom is costing approximately £10,000. We also need to build some extra accommodation for teachers and a new latrine block. We need your help please. We don’t yet have all the money we need for a third classroom. Will you help us please? Can you make a financial donation to our fundraiser? Or could you do a sponsored event or organise your own fundraiser eg a bake sale or an afternoon tea for your friends? here is the link for our fundraiser and we will be very grateful for any assistance you can provide https://gofund.me/ece5753a or email for our bank details contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com thanks for reading & supporting the vulnerable young people, Sarah x
We had been offered football strips by a club in northern England who had unfortunately had to close. The next problem was how to get the kit to us in central Scotland. Various conversations happened and arrangements were made. A man travelling north for work kindly agreed to bring the kit to meet us at the motorway services at Stirling. Another volunteer who works a few minutes from there agreed to collect the kit and bring it to us. We are so grateful for the kit and the help received.
Thanks to the kindness and thoughtfulness of several people, the kit will be on it’s way to Malawi on the next container. Levison will be able to share it with local clubs as well as keeping some for the young people whom The Foundation supports.
To those involved with Wearhead United FC, we are sorry that your club has closed. Thank you though for passing on all these kits to us to help support grassroots football in rural northern Malawi. We will get photos of the new recipients who will be delighted to receive these kits. Thanks for reading, Sarah x
These children are desperate for help. How can they thrive without food?
Sarah’s blog 14/6/23
How far do you think is an acceptable distance for a child to walk to get some food? How far would you let your child or grandchild walk to have a meal? What if you had absolutely nothing to feed your family?
We help to support a feeding programme that runs once a week. We wish we could afford for it to operate more often. 500 orphans and vulnerable children are fed a substantial and nutritious meal each weekend at the feeding programme. This is their biggest meal of the week. Some days these children do not eat at home and are left to fend for themselves, to forage for food or beg for scraps. All of these children are malnourished. THERE ARE NO CHARITIES FEEDING CHILDREN IN SCHOOLS IN THIS AREA OF RURAL NORTHERN MALAWI. We need your help. We cannot do this alone. It is too big a job for us to ensure that 500 children have enough food every day of the week.
Crops are being planted to supplement the feeding programme. Vegetables that the children have helped to grow are being served at the feeding programme. Fruit tree saplings have been planted for future food and for future income as the surplus fruit can be sold at market.
The sweet potato crop is doing well and will be ready in another 6 weeks. But how many sweet potatoes will a field produce? How long will this crop last divided by 500 children and young people? A few days maybe…..
We need people to partner with us. We need people to invest in the future of these very vulnerable children who don’t eat every day. To start a pig project at Bright Futures Secondary School, as part of their agricultural classes, to breed pigs to sell (and also pass on to the community) will only take £300 to set up. This will bring in money to help pay for school lunches for the students at Bright Futures Secondary School, helping them become more self-sufficient and giving the students skills for life.
They need to plant more fruit tree saplings in the orchard. Each sapling costs approximately £2.50. Banana tubers cost approximately £2 each. We could pay for these project start ups but we cannot continue paying to feed the children at the feeding programme each week AND invest in these projects….unfortunately it is either one or the other and we are not going to stop the feeding programme as it is the only one proper meal that these children receive each week. How can these vulnerable children and young people be expected to thrive on one decent meal a week? It is heart-breaking. They deserve far more and they deserve our help and support. Please help us? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
I have said several times that some children walk up to 20km for this one proper meal of the week at the feeding programme. I can’t comprehend what that must be like. Energy levels must be at a minimum already as the children haven’t eaten, then to have to walk up to 20km for a meal and 20km home again…they must be absolutely exhausted and any calories they have from their lunch will be used up on the long walk home. Can you help us help them please?
Levison sent me photos of 6 children who each walked approximately 18km to be fed on Sunday….so a total of 36km for their one proper meal of the week. Levison wanted me to show you these children. They, and others like them, are really struggling and we cannot expect them to thrive unless we give them a helping hand. Will you help us help them? Tasiyana, Praise, Atusaye, Kalebu, Esther and Nema all are hungry and malnourished.
All of them would benefit from having a sponsor. It costs £25 per month to sponsor a child and they will receive clothes, extra food and welfare visits. Two friends could share the cost of sponsoring a child. Or you could commit £5 or £10 per month to help support the feeding programme and help us to make it more sustainable by being able to plant more crops and fruit tree saplings. What will you do to help today? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
Thank you for reading and for your support, Sarah x
Praise looks so tired and is suffering from malnutritionTasiyana looks so hungry and exhaustedAtusaya is wearing one of the navy cord pinafores donated by Sinclair House Prepatory School in Londonyou can see by Esther’s tummy that she is malnourished
Food is scarce and more expensive. The maize crop hasn’t done well because at the Foundation they couldn’t afford to buy fertilizer. The Foundation is feeding 500+ vulnerable children once a week but obviously this isn’t enough. All are hungry. All are malnourished. No big charities are feeding children in primary schools in the far north of Malawi.
A donation bought sweet potato vines which students at Bright Futures Secondary School helped to plant at the start of April. Levison has sent me photos today and the crop is looking very healthy. The sweet potatoes will be ready at the end of July and will be used to feed the children. The fact that there are so many hungry children, even if this is a great harvest, it won’t last long.
We must find more people who are willing to make a monthly donation to support the feeding programme so that these vulnerable children can keep being fed. Ideally, we would like to feed them more often and we would also like to supply every family with sweet potato vines and other vegetables so that they can grow their own crops. Please email me if you would like to make a regular donation to the feeding programme or if you would like to contribute to buying sweet potato vines that can be shared with vulnerable families to help them become more self sufficient. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
Sweet potato vines need deep ridgesThe crop is looking healthyHopefully there will be a good harvest of sweet potatoes by the end of JulySome of the students at Bright Futures Secondary School planting the sweet potato vines in April.
Have a look at what the children have been doing today!
Sarah’s blog 11/06/23
It’s been another busy day at the Foundation. The Feeding Programme was on today so hundreds of hungry vulnerable children flock to the Foundation to receive their one nutritious, substantial meal of the week. Some children walk up to 20km to receive this food as no big charities are feeding children in primary schools in this area. All are hungry. All are malnourished. All need our help.
Children know that the Foundation is their safe place. A place to have fun and be with their friends. In addition to being fed, children have access to the library and can choose books to read. Some children have been learning about the computers too. Others have been weeding the flowerbeds and some have been playing with building blocks.
Team sports are always high on the agenda. Football and netball matches were played too. Children of all ages can forget about their problems for a while at The Foundation and enjoy themselves as they should. The netball posts were a gift from Community Sports Leaders Africa and we are very thankful for this generous donation. We have plenty of rugby balls on the way in the container but we the children always need footballs and netballs. So if you’d like to make a donation for us to buy a ball on your behalf or to help donate towards the cost of feeding 500 children please email me: contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
I hope you enjoy the photos and video from today. Thank you for your continued support, Sarah x
Volunteers work so hard to feed 500 vulnerable children once a weekEveryone queues up (youngest first) for their one proper meal of the weekTaking pride in their Foundation by weeding the flower bedsLooking after the flowers and getting rid of the weedsCaring for the plants and weeding the gardens as part of the horticulture classLooks like they have been busyHaving fun with building blocksThere is now a good choice of books in Emma’s Rainbow LibraryRelaxing and reading stories in the libraryChildren of all ages are learning about computersLearning about computersThis area has been fenced off for the plants to grow…however the children love sitting here and one boy told Levison that he likes reading his book higher up than his friendsEven the little ones love footballFeeding day is always a busy day at The FoundationGirls enjoying playing netball
Thank you to Community Sports Leaders Africa for the generous donation of two netball hoops
Please support this rugby event in September. Give vulnerable children the joy of rugby.
Sarah’s blog 9/6/23
We are delighted that Jack Mphande, Rugby Development Officer for Malawi Rugby Union, will be making a second visit to rural northern Malawi to introduce the sport of rugby to orphans and other vulnerable children.
Jack will be heading north from Lilongwe in the south where he is based for two weeks in September. He will be working with two clusters of schools during the two weeks and with the older orphans we help to support during the middle weekend. Teachers from each school will be trained and there will be tournaments too.
As there are no big charities feeding children in school in that area of Malawi, all the children that we help to support are malnourished. We help provide funds for a feeding programme for 500+ children once a week….but it’s not enough. Children are hungry and some are walking 20km for that one proper meal of the week. We need to feed all the children who are taking part in the rugby tournament. We can’t expect them to have the energy to play and enjoy themselves if their tummies are sore and they are tired because they have not eaten. Can you help please?
We have been very fortunate to have support from Merchiston Castle School, Edinburgh, Balfron High School, Scottish Rugby Union, Strathendrick Rugby, Stirling County Rugby, Grangemouth Rugby Club, Hillfoots Rugby, Blaydon Rugby, Annan Rugby Club and others who have helped and supported us with kit, boots and rugby balls.
We are charged £17.50 per box/bag on the container to cover the cost of getting everything to Malawi. Will you help please? https://gofund.me/46e63377
Thank you to those who have already donated via Facebook. We need to pay for Jack Mphande’s transport costs, his accommodation, food and expenses for the two weeks he has kindly set aside for the hundreds of vulnerable children who will benefit from his visit. We need to provide food for the children taking part in the coaching sessions and tournaments. We need financial help with sending kit to Malawi. We need your help please to spread the joy of playing rugby to orphans in rural northern Malawi. Until recently, they were ignored and forgotten. They didn’t have opportunities like this. Please help us make this happen for them. You can donate via our fundraiser https://gofund.me/46e63377 or by emailing for bank details contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com I’ve put some links to previous relevant posts where you’ll see some great photos and videos. Thanks for reading and supporting, Sarah x
This morning, when the post came, I had a really great surprise. It was a really good boost to morale. There are so many charities, all chasing the same grant money so there are plenty of rejection emails. Charities are struggling with the cost of living crisis so any grants applications that are successful really do make a big difference.
The Souter Charitable Trust gave us a grant for the third year in a row. This time we asked for money for solar panels and also solar torches for the students. It gets dark year round at 6pm so how can a teenager study or even read a book for fun if they have no light source?
In Emma’s Rainbow Library are rented computers. There is mains electricity but it is expensive and only on for a few hours a day. Having solar power means that it will be free of charge and available during the day and in the evenings.
Thank you so much to The Souter Charitable Trust for believing in us and supporting us in the work we are doing to help the most vulnerable in rural Northern Malawi. We are delighted that you’ve trusted us again with our third grant, Sarah x
