Category: Children’s Charity Malawi

How many kilometres now?

Sarah’s blog 31/7/22

Wow, how did we get to the end of July already? It’s certainly been a busy month!

Just thought I’d do a quick post with an update as to how many kilometres have been travelled so far on our journey to help build a secondary school for some of the most vulnerable children in rural northern Malawi. We are following one of the routes that the boxes of aid travel between my house and until they arrive at their destination. That’s over 13,000km!

We have several people working hard and adding their kilometres from walking, cycling and running…however, we need more people taking part…we need you! Do you walk round the supermarket? Do you walk the dog? Or take your children or grandchildren to the park? All of those kilometres count! Can you attach a pedometer to the children whilst they are doing football training or playing with their friends? Every kilometre will help us help the children. Please get involved.

Jackie has just updated the total and has completed a bike ride with her son, Ben, this afternoon…well done both of you!

So the UK kilometres are 1,652.655 and the Malawi kilometres are 320 so the total so far is 1,972.655 = 15.01%

This is brilliant but the more people we have taking part then the quicker the journey. Please take part. Please add your kilometres. Every kilometre counts.

The whole point of this journey is to raise funds to build a desperately needed secondary school which is going to be named Bright Futures Secondary School. Currently, there are not enough places in secondary schools in that area so if you don’t get chosen for a place then you don’t go. We want all children to have access to education. The children know that education is their way out of poverty…their way to a brighter future.

Here is the link to donate to help build Bright Futures Secondary School https://gofund.me/44a92444 and give the gift of education.

This is the link for all the information you need to take part in the challenge https://forms.gle/twQYfx7LRRrtvdhx9 We’d love you to join us! This is a huge challenge and we need your help. Thanks for reading and supporting, Sarah x

Thank you Ben and Jackie… you can put your feet up this evening!

Why?

Sarah’s blog 28/7/22

School holidays can be hard for children who need routine and have extra needs. We organised a trip today for our youngest and one of his friends from school to go to https://briarlandsfarm.co.uk.

We had a great time but while chatting his friend asked me what I did as a job. I said that I help children in Africa. She said ‘Why?’ It made me stop and think. ‘Why?’ I answered her saying that the children don’t have enough food to eat and they need clothes to wear too. I told her that uniform from her primary school had been sent for the children to wear. She seemed happy with this answer.

It got me thinking ‘why?’ Well why not? It could easily be me that needed a helping hand. Why shouldn’t we help others wherever they are in the world? Everyone deserves the chance to be the best they can be…they don’t want hand outs, they need a helping hand back to self-sufficiency and a brighter future.

How can children learn properly if they are hungry? If they’ve not slept because of hunger pains or they are cold? If their bodies and brains aren’t nourished and basic needs met then how can we expect them to thrive? Here is really interesting article and why we are supporting some of the most vulnerable children in rural Northern Malawi by taking an holistic approach. Unfortunately, there are no big agencies feeding children in schools in the rural far north where The Foundation is. We can only afford to feed 500+ children once a week with a substantial, nutritious meal and food costs are going up all the time.

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/jul/25/the-un-wants-to-educate-children-it-will-succeed-only-if-it-feeds-them-first?fbclid=IwAR1mi3VqSybAYtxxnH3qcJb2wQvyD9GKmbhKhkUNR8WblQ1Byki6u1iTnaQ&mibextid=S3fL8x&fs=e&s=cl

At the nursery, where 75 children meet 3 times a week they are fed at each session. When we build Bright Futures Secondary School, we hope to be able to feed the young people before they start learning for the day. Unfortunately, we cannot feed all the children at the local primary school as there are so many and we do not have the resources. We are changing lives in Malawi and things have improved greatly for some of the most vulnerable children in the rural north but there is still so much to do.

Eventually, children shouldn’t need to be fed in schools when their families are earning a proper wage or having their own small business. Their families will be able to provide food for the children and young people every day. Still some children aren’t eating each day. Their futures depend on being fed and educated. I am glad to be able to play a small part in helping Levison and his team to achieve their dreams for the children they support.

To donate to our fundraiser to build a desperately needed school – Bright Futures Secondary School, you can click on this link https://gofund.me/44a92444

Thanks for reading and if you’d like to help in any way you can email us, Sarah x contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

The children need food

Sarah’s blog 20/7/22

Running a Foundation is a huge responsibility and the rural location of The Foundation adds to the pressure that Levison is under.

There are no big agencies feeding children in schools in the far north of Malawi. The responsibility has fallen to The Foundation to feed 500+ children once a week. Children are walking from up to 20km away to have that one substantial meal each week.

This is all we can afford at the moment. There are so many calls on finances as we try our best to support a community back to self-sufficiency.

The Foundation teaches life skills to the children and young people. Growing crops is part of the skills the children learn. Unfortunately the crop of maize was affected by the flooding earlier this year and part of the crop was washed away. This year’s crop will only feed the children for two months.

The price of buying maize fluctuates throughout the year depending on availability and time of year.

The Malawian Kwacha was devalued a few months ago and all prices have gone up. However, maize is more than double the price it was this time last year.

Thank you to the few people who have given £5 per month towards the feeding programme as we have been grateful for this to top up the money we send each month to feed the children.

We know that we are asking for a lot of help but the more people who know about our charity and The Foundation, the more we can spread the help we need across more supporters. So I urge you to please share our posts and also tell your friends about us and the help we need.

All of us in the U.K. are volunteers and no money is spent on admin costs as we donate our time, petrol for transporting boxes to Dundee etc. So you can be sure if you donate money for feeding children, that’s where it will go.

Please, please can you donate £5 per month towards our feeding programme? I need 20 people to commit to £5 per month to enable the children to still be fed a substantial meal each week at The Foundation.

Please, if you can, donate £5 p/m by emailing contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com for bank details. The children have come to rely on that one substantial meal each week…we can’t let them down.

Please help us continue helping the children by donating £5 per month for food. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com to help feed the 500+ vulnerable children today. Thank you for reading and supporting, Sarah x

Some of the children having their one nutritious meal of the week.

Thank you to The Souter Charitable Trust

Sarah’s blog 17/7/22

We were extremely grateful to receive our second grant from The Souter Charitable Trust. We had a cheque for £3,250 to spend on secondary school text books.

When Levison was in Mzuzu this week, he was able to call in at the book store to collect the order. That is a very large number of books and is a huge contribution. Thank you so much to The Souter Charitable Trust for helping us support some of the most vulnerable children in rural northern Malawi.

However, prices keep rising and Levison wasn’t able to get quite as many books as he thought. There are 12 subjects in the curriculum. He managed to get 10 books in some subjects, 15 in other subjects. So we will need to spend the same again or more just to make sure that students at Bright Futures Secondary School have the textbooks they need. Ideally, we would love all students to have their own books but we know this is far beyond our means at the moment. So our aim would be that we get enough copies for two students to be able to share a textbook. https://gofund.me/44a92444 is the link for our school fundraiser (and you can leave a comment ‘books’ or email me)

Each text book costs approximately £8-£9 currently. So to continue with our gift of education we really do need your help. Can you buy a book for a vulnerable student? If every person reading this blog donated their own coins and asked their family and friends to donate their loose change, I wonder how many text books we would be able to buy? Let’s give the gift of education. Let’s give our loose change to continue Changing Lives Malawi. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com thanks for reading and supporting, Sarah x

Thanks to The Souter Charitable Trust, Levison was able to purchase all these textbooks

More Kilometres!

Sarah’s blog 15/07/22

Some more kilometres to add to the total…. but we want more people to get involved! We know you aren’t lying in bed all day! Some of you will be tracking your fitness anyway….give us your kilometres please!

Paul, one of our trustees, is on holiday and we are very impressed that he has sent photos from the hotel gym….10km…well done Paul!

Douglas, a great supporter of ours and who helps take boxes to Dundee, has been out walking. Since the start of July he has walked 98.975km… thanks Douglas and that’s a great amount to add to our total.

Jackie is keeping the totals and we are now 8.74% of the way…only 166km to go until we get to 10%! UK 828.335km + Malawi 320km = 1,148.335km….well done everyone….great effort so far! here is the link for all the information and to get involved https://forms.gle/twQYfx7LRRrtvdhx9

We need you all taking part in our 13,000km journey…following one of the routes the boxes take from here to The Foundation. £1 per km sponsorship money will really help us build this desperately needed school for some of the most vulnerable children in Malawi. To donate: https://gofund.me/ece5753a

The more people who take part, the quicker we will do this. The more people who share posts, the more people will see it. By sharing we can reach a new audience and more people can get involved and or donate to our challenge. That way we aren’t always relying on our same generous group of supporters. So, who is up for the challenge? https://forms.gle/twQYfx7LRRrtvdhx9

Every child deserves an education. In fact it is every child’s right to have an education. Unfortunately, this doesn’t happen for lots of children. Let’s make it happen for the children whom The Foundation supports. You can make a difference today. We can make a difference today. Let’s give the gift of education. Let’s give these vulnerable children a way out of extreme poverty. Let’s build a school! Let’s build Bright Futures Secondary School! I’m looking forward to seeing photos of your walk, gym visit or run. Thanks for reading and supporting, Sarah x

To donate: https://gofund.me/ece5753a to get involved: https://forms.gle/twQYfx7LRRrtvdhx9

Paul clocked up 10km in the hotel gym…well done Paul!

Juliet is asking for a secondary school as there are currently not enough places for all students

100 hats!

Sarah’s blog 14/07/22

My Auntie Margaret, who has previously been knitting lovely blankets to send to the children, has decided it is a bit easier on her hands to knit hats for the children. So that’s exactly what she’s done. She lives in Birmingham but is staying with my parents who live near me. She gave me a whole suitcase full of hats….100 of them! She told me that she counted them to double check there were 100 and there weren’t…only 99. So she counted them again….only 99. So she had to quickly knit another one to make it to 100!!

There are hats in all different colours and for different ages, from babies and toddlers right up to older children. 100 heads will be kept very cosy during the cold nights and early mornings. Many thanks and very well done Auntie Margaret! We appreciate all the knitting we receive. As well as it being a practical gift, the children will know people care about them enough to send them a gift.

Also, we have been showing some photos recently of the different skills the children have chosen to learn. The knitting group have been working very hard and, on Sunday, some of them were able to show the hats they have made. We think they’ve done a brilliant job and how proud they must feel to be able to wear something they have made for themselves! Brilliant! To donate wool or sewing supplies, or do some knitting for the children or anything else you can get in touch via email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com . Thanks for reading, Sarah x

some of the knitting group showing off the hats they’ve made…brilliant!

a suitcase full of 100 hats! thank you so much.

More kilometres completed!

Sarah’s blog 13/7/22

As well as being good at cycling, Jackie is good at numbers so she is very kindly keeping a record of how many kilometres have been completed….however she does need people to record their km on our form https://forms.gle/twQYfx7LRRrtvdhx9 or if you aren’t able to do that then please message me so we can make sure your kilometres are counted contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

We need more people to join us as there are over 13,000km to cover. We are aiming to cover the distance from Balfron where the boxes of aid start from to The Foundation. One of the routes the container takes is from Dundee where the container gets loaded at The Bananabox Trust, then Grangemouth Docks, Antwerp all the way to Beira in Mosambique and through Malawi to Chitipa District where The Foundation is. So any kilometres you can add will be gratefully received….and we will be grateful for any sponsorship money too so we can help build a desperately needed school. To donate here is the link: https://gofund.me/44a92444

Jackie tells me that (including the 320km the children in Malawi completed in their run) 934.42kms have been completed so far…which equates to 7.11% of the total required. It’s a great start but we need more of you to join our team. Whether you are walking your dog, walking round the shops, running after your children or going for a jog…. get a pedometer or track your kilometres on your phone…. you can help us by just doing what you do each day!

Paul is on holiday and has recorded a lovely 5km walk on the beach. Who else is on holiday and having a stroll? Or are you in the gym and can add your cycle or running machine efforts to our total? Looking forward to hearing from you. Today’s photos are of Paul’s beach walk and Jackie’s bike ride with her eldest son Ben. Very well done all three of you! Thanks to all who are continuing to help raise funds to build a school. We really do make a great team! Thanks for reading and supporting, Sarah x

https://gofund.me/44a92444 https://forms.gle/twQYfx7LRRrtvdhx9

Ben and Jackie both cycled 23.51km

Paul’s late evening walk on the beach

Today we are talking pants!

Sarah’s blog 10/07/22

Thanks to a small Scottish charity, Smalls for All, we are talking pants today! This is the second time they have generously donated pants for all the children supported by The Foundation.

Levison gave me a list of how many boys and girls there were in each age group and I contacted Smalls for All. Stuart and I collected them from Livingston when they had made up the huge order.

Levison gives out clothes and gifts a bit at a time rather than all at once, so today was the day chosen to give out the pants which had been sorted into age groups. Each child was given 3 pairs of pants and you can see from their faces that they are delighted. I can’t really imagine us being quite so delighted with 3 pairs of pants…but then we take so much for granted and are really fortunate. These pants bring dignity and help self-esteem. The children know that people care about them enough to send all those pairs of pants. So a big THANK YOU to https://www.smallsforall.org and all the people who donate pants to them for making hundreds of children happy today. Thanks, Sarah x

Bright Futures Fundraiser – join in!

Sarah’s blog 30/6/22

Every child, no matter where they are in the world, deserves an education. Let’s build a school! We need you on our team.

Here is the link with the information you need to join in our challenge! https://forms.gle/twQYfx7LRRrtvdhx9 It is a huge challenge for our team to travel the 13,144 km that is one of the routes the container travels. It also includes the journey from here (Balfron, Scotland) to Dundee to the Bananabox Trust warehouse and in Malawi the distance from Ekwendeni which is the final destination of the container back to Chitipa that Levison will make. We have used Chitipa as the nearest destination on all maps to The Foundation.

https://forms.gle/twQYfx7LRRrtvdhx9

So we are looking for families to join in as well as serious athletes and gentle walkers. Oh and bored teenagers who would like to keep their fitness up over the school holidays – we’d love to hear from you too! Maybe you could have an element of competition with your friends? Do you need to learn something new for your Duke of Edinburgh Award? Or do some volunteering? This challenge could be used for either of those.

The more people who help us, the quicker we can do this challenge. The more people that take part and are sponsored, the more money we raise. The more people who share our posts then the wider the audience so we aren’t always asking the same people. We would absolutely love people right across the world to take part in our challenge. This is a challenge to raise funds to build a secondary school for some of the most vulnerable children in Northern Malawi. It would be fantastic to have people from our global community taking part and raising funds to build a school and give the gift of education.

The challenge starts tomorrow, 1st July, and you can do as many or as few kms as you want. Please ask your friends to join in and please ask people to sponsor you. Together we can keep Changing Lives Malawi. Together we can build a school. Land clearing has already started and bricks are being made. Thanks so much for your continued support and let me know if you have any questions, thank you, Sarah x

https://forms.gle/twQYfx7LRRrtvdhx9

https://gofund.me/44a92444

some of the first bricks being made for Bright Futures Secondary School

Ground Nut Harvesting

the ground nut crop is being harvested

Sarah’s blog 29/06/22

It’s time to harvest the ground nuts. It’s not a huge crop but enough to be used at the feeding programme once a week for 3 months. Ground nuts are what we call peanuts. They grind them into a paste which is then used for cooking with. These nuts are a great source of protein and good fats for the children.

Levison is quite concerned about possible food shortages as some of the maize crop had been washed away in the heavy rains a few months ago and prices of buying more maize, cooking oil and prices in general keep rising. The Malawian kwatcha (currency) has been devalued too. It’s a huge responsibility to try to source and buy enough food for hundreds of malnourished children. There are also people coming to the Foundation each day, in desperate need, asking for help. Unfortunately, resources are finite. When there are no other agencies that far north feeding children, the responsibility weighs heavy on Levison’s shoulders.

We are always looking for ways that people can join us to support a specific project, like the feeding programme, or to sponsor a child, or raise funds in general. If you can help us continue to support Levison and his team then please email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com thanks for reading, Sarah x

ground nut harvesting

Bright Futures Secondary School

Sarah’s blog 26/6/22

Exciting times! Levison and his trustees have named the new school Bright Futures Secondary School! An excellent name as this new school will make hundreds, if not thousands, of children’s lives brighter and give them hope for the future.

Levison says that having a name for the school before even the first brick has been laid is important and the way things are done ahead of meetings with officials.

I’m very excited by this project but also slightly anxious as it’s my job, and our charity’s job, to raise the funds for this project as The Foundation has no funds of it’s own for such projects. Obviously, in time they will be self-sufficient and building a school is certainly providing employment opportunities for clearing ground and making bricks… and that’s just to start with.

Clearing the ground

Thank you to everyone who has given generously already but if you can donate a few ££££ please get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com for bank details or my fundraiser is still open https://GoFund.me/ca9c1629 thanks so much for helping us continue Changing Lives Malawi and providing Brighter Futures through Brighter Futures Secondary School, Sarah x

Clearing the ground
Breaking up the ground to make bricks
Bricks being made and left to dry
Bricks are being made at two sites..at the Foundation and at a site about 1km away
Adding lots of water to the soil

On Father’s Day….

Sarah’s blog 19/6/22

https://changinglivesmalawi.com/2022/06/17/a-family-in-need-of-help/

It’s Father’s Day in the U.K. today. A day for celebration for some, a day for reflection for others and a bittersweet day for others as they remember the fathers who are no longer here.

I’m not going to do a long post today as I’ve been writing quite a lot recently but I just wanted to ask you to spare a thought for the orphans and fatherless children in Malawi who need our help and support.

If anyone of you could help a child, we would be so grateful. £25 a month will give a monthly food parcel, a blanket, clothes, welfare checks and education. That’s only 85p per day. If you cannot afford £25, could you and a friend sponsor a child between you? £12.50 a month each for two people to sponsor a child will change their life. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

I’ll share Mercy’s appeal again in the hope generous sponsors come forward for her and her brother. Thank you, Sarah x

Mercy has had to drop out of school due to lack of funds. She needs someone to sponsor her so she can complete her last two years of school.

Mercy’s mum is on her own with two children. Her son is disabled. Please could someone sponsor him to make their lives just a little bit easier?