Category: Sponsor a child Malawi

‘The time is always right to do what is right’ – Martin Luther King Jnr

Sarah’s blog 15/1/23

I absolutely love volunteering for Changing Lives Malawi and helping to support some of the most vulnerable children in rural Northern Malawi. It is hard work and a huge responsibility but very worthwhile. They are in a very rural location so there are no big agencies working in that area yet. There are no big charities feeding children in primary schools that far north.

Everyone is hungry. Most are suffering from malnutrition and don’t eat properly every day. 500 children come to The Foundation each weekend to be fed at the Feeding Programme we help to support. They are given a nutritious, substantial cooked meal. Some of the 500 children walk up to 20kms for this one proper meal of the week. We can only afford to send enough money for the feeding programme to run once a week for that many children as we are also trying to address other issues for them like education, skills for life, clean water and projects that will help the community be self-sufficient.

If there were less vulnerable children needing support, it would be easier. Five hundred hungry, malnourished children of all ages is a big responsibility. We need to grow our supporters so that these children have a team of people lifting them out of dire poverty. We need you. The 500 vulnerable children need you.

So how can you help?

  1. 500+ children are fed once a week at the feeding programme. Can you make a one off payment to support this? or can you commit to a monthly amount of £5 or £10 each month? Can your business sponsor the feeding programme one day for a donation of £100. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
  2. The nursery – for 75 vulnerable preschool children, They are fed every time they meet. Can you commit to a monthly payment of £5 or £10 to support nursery feeding? Or can you help by buying a bag of gifts for a child for £12 (each child receives a gym bag containing a blanket, 3 pairs of pants, 2 red t-shirts, soap, toothbrush & toothpaste and a book). contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
  3. Bright Futures Secondary School – Phase 1 recently opened and the students are being given a nutritious hot meal each lunchtime which is probably their only meal of the day. Can you commit to £5 or £10 per month towards continuing to provide free school meals at the secondary school? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
  4. School Literacy Project – we are sending boxes of preloved books to the primary schools that are nearest The Foundation. Please could you sponsor the cost of sending a box of books for £20? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
  5. Could you sponsor a vulnerable child to help provide them with more food and help towards their education? It’s £25 p/m and you can share the cost with a friend. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
  6. Bright Futures Secondary School – through very generous support, we raised enough money to build phase 1 of Bright Futures Secondary School (two classrooms and staff accommodation). We now need your help to raise funds for classrooms 3 and 4. https://gofund.me/44a92444
  7. Chickens & Eggs – now we have the incubator connected to solar power, it’s ready to be used to hatch chicken eggs. It can hold approximately 500 eggs and a tray of fertilized eggs costs £10. If you’d like to buy a tray of eggs then please do get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com The incubator was bought with a generous donation from Lochlie Construction Ltd.

We all have the ability to do our little bit to help. We all have the ability to help others and do what is right. Each of us has different skills we can use. Even if you are unable to donate financially, could you keep sharing our posts with your friends? Thanks so much for reading and supporting us to continue Changing Lives Malawi, Sarah x

Some of the pre-school children having received their bags of gifts. You can provide a bag of gifts for a child starting nursery in September for £12

Each preschool child received a bag containing; a blanket, 2 red t-shirts, pants, soap, toothbrush & toothpaste and a book. Can you help us continue to provide these gifts for £12 per child? These children also receive preloved clothes at least twice a year.
Secondary students at Bright Futures Secondary School enjoying lunch at their Christmas Party – paid for by two generous supporters.
More of the 500 children who all received a nutritious meal at the Christmas Party.
Some boys enjoying their meal. This will be the most food they will have in a week. We wish we could run the feeding programme more often than once a week.
Phase 1 of Bright Futures Secondary School has opened, providing free education for the most vulnerable. We now need your help to build classrooms 3 & 4.
You can’t help but smile when you see that these vulnerable children are happy and relaxed and having fun with their friends. At The Foundation they can forget their worries for a while.
This was when the incubator was first bought with a donation from Lochlie Construction Ltd, before the power supply got even worse. Thankfully now that it is running on solar power there will soon be more eggs and chicks for the nursery children to look at.

Solar Power & the Incubator

Sarah’s blog 14/1/23

A while ago we had a very generous donation from a company called Lochlie Construction. They gave money for the purchase of an incubator so that eggs could be hatched on a larger scale and then the chicks/chickens could be sold as a form of income for the Foundation. Self-sufficiency is always the end goal but not many plans are straightforward! The Foundation has electricity in some of the buildings, however, the supply of electricity has been very sporadic…only being on for a few hour at a time. After successfully hatching one lot of chicks the electricity supply was even less…certainly not enough to keep the eggs warm in the incubator.

We tried to source solar panels in Malawi to power the incubator but this wasn’t possible. So when we had enough money spare, we purchased solar panels and a generator and sent this on the last Bananabox Trust Container. The electrician attached the solar panels to the nearest building roof (so they are less likely to be stolen) as the chicken shed roof is much lower. However, as we know nothing happens easily! We had no spare money to pay the electrician to connect the solar panels, generator and the incubator until a chance conversation I had with someone earlier in the week on the subject of self-sufficiency. I had said about the chicken project that would be going ahead as soon as we had the money to employ the electrician. They then offered to pay for the electrician to connect the solar power supply to the incubator. We are very grateful for this generosity.

As you know, we are volunteers and do not have admin costs, so all monies donated go straight to the projects we support in Malawi. The electrician started work yesterday and finished off today. Some of the teenagers from Bright Futures Secondary School kindly helped dig the trench for the cables to keep costs down. Fertilized eggs will now need to be purchased at £10 per tray of 30 eggs and then, hopefully, this will be a sustainable project bringing in a source of income for The Foundation. There is room for approximately 500 eggs at one time.

When we have more money, the electrician will do some more wiring so that the solar power can run other things, like the computers in the library, lighting, recharging the hair clippers that we sent and the projector for showing films and educational programmes. We mustn’t forget the television too as everyone loves watching football! Lives are changing and the children’s futures are looking brighter. We hope that you will keep being part of our team, supporting them to have choices and chances that they wouldn’t otherwise have had.

Thank you to Lochlie Construction for the incubator and to the donor who paid for the electrician. Thanks also to Bananabox Trust who organise the container and ensured the solar panels were packed carefully and arrived safely in Malawi. If you would like to support this project by purchasing some eggs for the incubator or you’d like to support any of the other projects then please do email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com .

Hope you enjoy hearing about what is happening at The Foundation and hope you enjoy looking at the photos. Thanks, Sarah x

This photo was taken when the incubator first arrived at The Foundation. There is room for over 500 eggs.
This lovely photo was when some of the children at the nursery were looking at the first batch of eggs that had been carefully placed in the incubator. Hopefully, there will soon be lots of chicks for them to see.
Some of the students helping to dig a trench for the power cables. The chicken shed is on the left of the photo, in the centre is the staff latrine that was built recently and the staff accommodation on the right of the photo.
Some of the students kindly helping to dig a trench to the chicken shed which is on the left of the photo
The electrician busy at work
The incubator now has power….yay!
You can see the solar panels that have been installed on the roof of the staff accommodation which is the building nearest to the chicken shed where the incubator is.

Gifts for the nursery children

Sarah’s blog 10/1/23

There are 75 vulnerable pre-school children, ages 4-6, in the nursery at The Foundation. All are malnourished, some have stunted growth. We are doing what we can in order to help them have a better start in life.

Today, because of the rains, only about half of them were there to receive the gifts we had sent. The others will get their gifts another day. Proper records are kept to ensure none of them miss out.

Today is an exciting day for them…it’s the first time they have received a book of their own to keep and take home. This is part of The Literacy Project. I am an Early Years Educator and so am passionate about these children having the opportunities that our children have. When we have access to books pre-reading starts when babies are on an adult’s knee, having a story read to them. They look at the pictures and can anticipate certain points in the story because of the way the adult reads and shares this special time with them. Toddlers will bring their favourite storybook to an adult in order that they can share the story together. They can point to things in the pictures, they know that you turn the pages and they ‘pretend’ to read by tracing the words with their fingers. They know that these letter shapes are where the story comes from.

The children at The Foundation nursery have missed out on all of these experiences. We want story books to become an every day part of their lives. We want every home to have at least two books to support literacy. I had a video call with the headteacher of Bright Futures Secondary School yesterday and she was delighted that books were being given to the children in the nursery. She said they are trying to ‘play catchup’ with the students at Bright Futures Secondary School as they have missed out on having access to reading materials from a young age. Many of the students missed a lot of school to work for a pittance to buy food….it’s been so hard for them. We look forward to seeing how having books at home makes a difference to these children and their families.

Today, each child received a drawstring bag containing, a blanket, 2 red t-shirts, pants, toothbrush & toothpaste, soap and a picture book. As I said in a recent post, in future, we want to be able to include a knitted teddy in each bag for children starting nursery. If you are able to help support this nursery project in any way then please email me contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

Here is the link to Sunday’s post 10 Teddies – supporting the nursery children – Changing Lives Malawi Enjoy the photos and thanks for your support, Sarah x

10 Teddies – supporting the nursery children

Sarah’s blog 8/1/23

I’ve had a lovely donation today from a lady who heard me talking about Malawi, and showing photos, at church one Sunday. She has been busy knitting teddies for the children in the nursery as well as a baby blanket and two quilts. We are always very grateful when people have spent time & used their talents to help us support some of the most vulnerable children in rural northern Malawi.

This week, the 75 children in the nursery will receive the gifts we have sent for them. Proper records are kept, so any children who are absent, will receive their gifts another day. This way, we know that all children have had gifts when starting nursery and again when starting at Bright Futures Secondary School.

Each child will receive; a gym bag, a blanket, 2 red t-shirts (nursery uniform), 3 pairs of pants, toothbrush & toothpaste, soap and a picture book with some words in it. These children have missed out on all the stages of pre-reading that we take for granted with our children. We would love for every home to have at least two books. So you should see a post later in the week of the pre-school children receiving all these gifts.

As this is an ongoing project, I would love to be able to send a knitted teddy or other small soft toy for each of them. This would be the first toy they would have of their own. Can you help us? It would be lovely if they each had a teddy to cuddle as they go to sleep at night. please email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com if you would like to support this project by knitting teddies for the 75 children we help to support who are age 4-6.

Or when you are shopping, could you buy some bars of soap on a regular basis? Or toothbrushes & toothpaste? Quite often, at this time of year, there will be packets of pants in the sales…we need age 3-6 please if you’d like to buy some. Are your children tidying out some of their books they’ve finished reading? Then we’d like pre-school ones for this nursery project and older books for the school literacy project please. The plain red t-shirts we are sending are either round neck or polo t-shirts that are ages 3 – 6 and are in the school uniform department of shops & supermarkets.

As these children are fed each time the nursery meets to try to reduce the malnutrition all the children suffer from, this obviously has an ongoing cost. Could you support helping to feed these children please? Could you commit to £5 or £10 per month towards food for the nursery? Any help you can give will make a huge difference. We need to build a team to support this project and these children to give them a better start. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thanks for your support and commitment to helping us continue Changing Lives Malawi, Sarah x

Happy New Year 2023

Sarah’s blog 2/1/2023

Happy New Year to you all. Wishing you health & happiness in 2023.

We are looking forward to another busy and successful year. Our biggest achievement in 2022 was raising enough money for phase 1 of Bright Futures Secondary School to be built, providing education and a way out of extreme poverty for some of the most vulnerable teenagers in rural Northern Malawi. In 2023, we must continue our fundraising so classrooms 3 & 4 can be built by Sept 2023 in order that students can continue their education in Bright Futures Secondary School.

There are many obstacles; heavy rain (it’s the rainy season now), Cholera has closed schools in the south of Malawi (thankfully there are no cases in the far north so far), malnutrition and hunger, rising costs in Malawi, and never having enough money to do everything that needs doing or helping everyone who needs our help.

However, despite all these obstacles that are put in our way, we are changing lives. With your help, we are making a difference. We are a lifeline to hundreds of orphans and vulnerable children in rural northern Malawi.

We need you on our team now more than ever. As we continue to grow, we need more volunteers. Because our charity is run by a small group of dedicated volunteers, all money donated goes to the projects we support and no money is spent on admin. Here is what you can do to help us:

  1. Can you share our posts?
  2. Can you make a one off donation?
  3. Will you commit to a £5 or £10 donation each month to help us continue to feed malnourished children?
  4. Will you take part in a sponsored event for our charity?
  5. Can you host an event within your community or business on our behalf?
  6. Can you pay £20 for a box of books to be sent as part of The School Literacy Project?
  7. Can you sponsor an orphan for £25 a month to give them a brighter future?
  8. If you are in central Scotland, will you invite us to speak at your church, club or school?
  9. Can you organise collections of stationary, preloved school uniform, shoes & books for us?
  10. Are you good at fundraising or grant applications? or any other skills? we’d love to hear from you!

here is the link to the fundraiser for Bright Futures Secondary School. Each classroom costs approx £10,000 https://gofund.me/44a92444 or you can email me contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

My birthday is in 2 days time and I’d love it, if anyone has any spare pennies, that they help me raise some money for a microscope and some other science equipment for Bright Futures Secondary School https://www.facebook.com/donate/465142452480110/

Be part of our team, Changing Lives (in) Malawi and making brighter futures for hundreds of vulnerable children and their community. Let’s make 2023 a wonderful year for the children of Ibuluma. Let them know that they are known and people care about each of them. Please help us continue Changing Lives Malawi.

Three quotes from the late Archbishop Desomond Tutu: ‘Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.’ ‘Your ordinary acts of love and hope point to the extraordinary promise that every human life is of insetimable value.’ ‘If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.’ He was a very wise man.

Happy New Year from the team at Changing Lives Malawi! Thank you again. Enjoy these photos, Sarah x

Asante didn’t have shoes or a backpack, so he decided to make himself some out of a cardboard box! Very inventive! We found him a sponsor who sent a backpack and shoes for him. Asante was delighted with his gifts!
In the heavy rain last year, Blessings, his two siblings and their mum were made homeless when the roof of their home collapsed. This was the (better) home they were able to rent from someone else. We managed to match his two siblings with sponsors but Blessings is still waiting for a sponsor, as are many other children. We would dearly love to be able to start looking at better homes for the poorest families.
Education is the way out of extreme poverty. As part of our School Literacy Project, Chambo Primary School received 17 boxes of books to help the children become more confident readers.
Children are learning how to type on the computers in Emma’s Rainbow Library
With support from Welding Engineers, eco stoves are being made for the most vulnerable in the village. Here, one of the volunteers is preparing food for the children.
Esau came to The Foundation only wearing shorts. As you can see he was delighted to pose for photos wearing his new clothes. Esau is still waiting to be matched with a sponsor.
Children in the nursery were given new clothes and were gifted a wooden train set to play with
The children of all ages help with taking care of the fruit tree saplings. You could help with this project by buying 4 saplings for £10
The clean water supply and the shower block have made a huge difference to the vulnerable children who are supported by The Foundation. We want to do more to provide other clean water supplies and more latrines to help with hygiene and preventing cholera in this area.

Goodbye 2022 – some photos & videos

Sarah’s blog 31/12/22

Wow! What a year! It’s been hard work and stressful at times but what amazing things have been achieved through teamwork! If you’ve been part of the team and have donated money/goods/packed boxes/delivered boxes/bought calendars & alternative gifts/sponsored a child/supported the feeding programme/shared posts etc etc…. a huge THANK YOU! On behalf of the children you are helping us support….we are so grateful.

We are a small team of volunteers, passionate about improving the lives of hundreds of very vulnerable children in rural northern Malawi. There is no money spent on salaries or admin here, so all donations go straight to the projects we help support.

Things are still really tough for the community in Ibuluma. No charities are feeding children in primary schools in that area, so all the children we support are suffering from malnutrition to varying degrees. It’s rainy season now. Maize is scarce and prices keep rising. We can send enough money for 500 children to be fed once a week. Some are walking up to 20km for this one proper meal of the week. It’s not enough but all we can do whilst also trying to support the other projects to ensure that all these children will have a better, brighter future. The end goal has always been self-sufficiency.

Here are a few of ways we have, with your help, been making a difference;

  1. Sending money to support feeding up to 500 very vulnerable children once a week.
  2. The Period Poverty Project – by sending hand turn sewing machines, fabric & sewing supplies in order that teenage girls continue to make reusable sanitary towels for all who need them. Teenage girls no longer have to miss one week’s education each month.
  3. The Nursery – 75 vulnerable preschool children have been fed each session and have had clothes, books & educational toys.
  4. The School Literacy Project – we collect reference books and fiction books to suit all ages and abilities and are gifting these to the primary schools local to the Foundation in order to help children become confident readers.
  5. Child Sponsorship – 90 of the most vulnerable children are matched with sponsors which is helping change their lives. However, many more vulnerable children are still waiting. Is this something you could do?
  6. School Uniform – we send preloved school uniform & other clothes & shoes as a way of raising awareness, reusing clothes & gifting durable clothes to children who only had rags to wear.
  7. Sports – we have been fortunate to have had some great donations to support football, rugby & netball which the children love to play.
  8. Bright Futures Secondary School – phase 1 – teachers’ accommodation and two classrooms for some of the most vulnerable children who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford secondary education. The school has passed it’s inspection with flying colours and the children are enjoying their learning environment with smaller class sizes than other secondary schools. We are delighted that phase 1 was able to be built so quickly, now we need to ensure that phase 2 (classrooms 3 & 4) will be built in 2023 to ensure the children’s education continues. Education is the way out of extreme poverty for these vulnerable children, many of whom are orphans, and we will do all we can to ensure that they have the choices and chances that they deserve for a brighter future.

These are just a few ways we are helping but we cannot support these projects without your help. If you are able to make a one off donation or commit to a monthly amount then please do get in touch. Will you be part of our team to help us continue Changing Lives Malawi in 2023? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com https://gofund.me/44a92444

Wishing you and your loved ones every happiness for 2023. Hope you enjoy these photos and videos which are just a few of the memories from a very busy 2022, Sarah x

Madalitso made his own bike!
No guitar? No problem! Let’s make one!
Nursery children sitting on chairs and at tables for the first time in the library
A rooftop view of the buildings at The Foundation
Dancing, happy children at the Christmas Party
Catherine attends Wenya School as her grades were so good
First day at Bright Futures Secondary School
Everyone loves watching and playing football
Children learning to play rugby for the first time
This was the first time rugby had been played in the far north of Malawi
Two boys using the clippers we sent
Everyone loves a recorder….don’t they?
some of the kids had a race
we sent a preloved trainset for the nursery children…it was fascinating to watch them work out how to play with it as they’ve never seen toys like this
Nursery children in the library. We had sent tables and chairs and this was their first time of sitting at a table. They are learning how to look at books, having never had the opportunity previously
teachers (front) supporting netball and football and being great role models
Merchiston Castle School, Edinburgh donated rugby kit and balls
Every student at Bright Futures Secondary School has received uniform and a school bag
We have sent some royal blue sweatshirts as well as preloved black jumpers have been collected so the students will have one of each colour
Doing end of term exams. New desks and chairs in the classrooms
Chairs being collected that we sent on the container
As part of the agriculture lessons, students have made a polytunnel by recycling trampoline frames we sent
Another PE lesson at Bright Futures Secondary School
These three children are walking miles to the nearest maize mill with someone else’s maize. No water or food to drink whilst they carry their heavy burdens. Thankfully, the two girls now have sponsors to make their lives a bit easier
These children have grown and harvested cabbages and are being shown how to cook them
making a mat in one of the skills classes
These children received preloved school uniform
17 boxes of books were gifted to Chambo Primary School as part of our School Literacy Project

Rugby, School & Sponsorship

Sarah’s blog 29/12/22

We have been extremely fortunate to have had great support in being able to complete phase 1 of Bright Futures Secondary School. Now we are asking for help to fundraise for building classrooms 3 and 4 (phase 2) to ensure the education of the most vulnerable teenagers can continue as they progress through the school. Each classroom costs approximately £10,000 to build. We are reaching out to individuals, clubs, schools, businesses to help us help the students at Bright Futures Secondary School. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com https://gofund.me/ece5753a

For those who don’t know, we had to build a secondary school as the nearest secondary school required the children we help to support to board at school as it was too far to walk. This added to the cost of school and the school had increased it’s prices again this year. There are not enough secondary school places and secondary school needs to be paid for making it prohibitive for the vast majority of the very vulnerable children we help to support.

Children can only go to secondary school if they pass their primary school leavers exams and are picked for a place at secondary school. So we had a situation where sponsored children, despite having someone to pay their secondary school fees and having passed their primary school leavers exams, were not picked for a place at secondary school. This was heart breaking for them. Education is their way out of poverty. Education is a way to a brighter future. So we knew we had to fundraise to build a school.

None of the children at Bright Futures Secondary School pay fees as they are all orphans or extremely vulnerable and none can afford fees. In the future, it may be that places can be offered to a small number of fee paying students but currently the focus on the most vulnerable who need our help to ensure they have a way out of poverty. The end goal is always that this community will be self-sufficient and no longer need a helping hand. These are very capable proud people.

So can you partner with us? Could you donate some money in memory of a loved one? Will you take on a sponsored challenge for us in 2023? Host an event with your friends or at your school? Do you have a load of coins that you could donate to support the education of these vulnerable teenagers? Please get in touch if you can help. Donations of £500 or over ensure your name, your company’s name, or that of a loved one, can be written over a classroom door or on a building. All of us are volunteers, there are no salaries or admin costs for our charity…all money donated goes to the projects we support. Can your company sponsor a building? You’d get lots of social media coverage and you would be making a huge difference.

Or could you make a monthly donation to support a student or support free school meals? If enough people commit to £5 or £10 per month then this will be a huge help in providing a substantial, nutritious meal at Bright Futures Secondary School each day….perhaps their only meal each day. I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks for reading and supporting, Sarah x

contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com https://gofund.me/44a92444

Bright Futures Secondary School – desks, chairs, uniform & exams – Changing Lives Malawi

Rugby Day 2 – “I am very convinced with their performance…if I come again they will perfect their play” – Jack Mphande – Changing Lives Malawi

Merchiston Castle School, Edinburgh – Rugby Kit Donation – Changing Lives Malawi

Reasons to celebrate

Sarah’s blog 27/12/22

Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas. I just wanted to post a few videos celebrating how wonderful we think the children in Ibuluma are. There are hundreds of them who are malnourished and have suffered varying amounts of trauma but, despite all that they are doing well. They now know that people care about them.

If you have helped us then we thank you. Here are ways you can support us to continue Changing Lives Malawi.

1. Donate to help us build phase 2 of Bright Futures Secondary School (classrooms 3 & 4) https://GoFund.me/44a92444

2. commit a monthly amount of £5 or £10 to support one of our feeding programmes; the nursery, secondary or weekly feeding programme for 500 children.

3. Sponsor a vulnerable child or young person for £25 per month which supports their education and provides a monthly food parcel. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy the videos. I’d be grateful if you could share with others as we try to grow our audience. Thanks, Sarah x

Rugby coaching
no guitar? no problem! let’s make one!
An update from Catherine
Getting used to the new computers in the library. Children are wearing clothes from Strathblane Primary and Riverside Primary Schools in the Stirling area of Scotland.
Food, fun and dancing at the Christmas Party
Chancy thanking his sponsors and telling them he passed his exams
one of the football matches…everyone loves team sports
Trying out the new clippers we sent
Let’s dance!
Laston, one of the sponsored children, asking for a new school. He is doing well now after missing a great deal of school to help a farmer look after his cows for the equivalent of £1.50 per month.

A Christmas Party for 500

Sarah’s blog 22/12/22

First of all I must thank a very special couple who have made today possible. They support us in several ways and are also sponsors. They paid for the food for today’s Christmas Party. Food prices are rising all the time so things are very expensive so we are extremely grateful to them for £150 they donated in order that the children were able to have a nice meal today. A goat was also killed and everyone was able to have some meat. It’s a happy day today.

I cannot imagine how much these children were looking forward to their food today. Some may not have eaten at all for a couple of days. This meal is a feast for them and the most nutritious food they get. Unfortunately, there are no big charities or agencies feeding children in schools in this area in the far north of Malawi. (I have written to them several times to ask for support for almost 5,000 in the local primary schools). So all the children are malnourished to varying degrees. The intention was that approximately 200 of the most vulnerable children, most of whom are orphans. Word spread, and soon there were 500 queuing for food, with some children walking from up to 20km away. It’s another world and we don’t realise how fortunate we are. We can only afford to send enough money to feed 500 children once a week. These children need more. They deserve more.

Unfortunately, it rained for a while today whilst the children were there. However, the silver lining is that there were indoor spaces for them to play and have their food now there are two classrooms as well as Emma’s library and Sophie’s Skills Shed. Thank you to the teachers, staff and volunteers who worked hard today to ensure that all who turned up were fed and had a great time. Unfortunately, because it was so busy, Levison forgot about all the Santa hats. He has said they will make an appearance another day. The pupils at Bright Futures Secondary School insisted on looking smart in their school uniform despite the fact that the last day of term was yesterday.

Going forward, we will require more people to support the feeding programme as costs have risen. If you would like to make a one off donation or could sign up for a monthly amount then please do get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Or if you would like to help us build the next two classrooms in phase 2 of Bright Futures Secondary School you can email me or donate here https://gofund.me/44a92444 . We need to build the team around these children to enable them to have a better, brighter future. We cannot do that without your support. Hopefully, from these photos and videos you will see that your donations are making a difference and changing lives. If looking at these videos and photos brings a smile to your face could you ask yourself what you could do to support them?

We need sponsors to support the most vulnerable with education and provide food, clothes and welfare visits. We need people to commit to monthly donations to support the feeding programme or free school meals at Bright Futures Secondary School. Or could your company help pay for a classroom? Would you like your name or the name of a loved one over a classroom door? Also there are activities like the rugby coaching fortnight that will be happening in the spring that we need financial help with please.

We are making a difference. We are changing lives. We need you to help us. It’s always about teamwork and we all have a part to play. Will you help? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Enjoy and thanks for reading, Sarah x

Merchiston Castle School, Edinburgh – Rugby Kit Donation

Sarah’s blog 20/12/22

During the summer, my husband, Stuart, went to Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh to collect a very generous donation of rugby balls, boots and rugby kit. It has now arrived in Malawi to be used by these vulnerable teenagers at Bright Futures Secondary School. Rugby was only recently introduced in the north of Malawi and the young people picked up the skills they were taught really quickly. They are becoming far more confident and, as you can see from the photos, they are enjoying posing for photos. Merchiston Castle School – Rugby Donation – Changing Lives Malawi

There will be another rugby coaching visit in a few months time when the rain season finishes. When Jack Mphande, the development coach, returns he is planning a two week visit and to introduce touch rugby into all the primary schools local to the foundation. In the New Year, will be looking for people to help with supporting this event financially.

I’m putting the links to the first rugby visit as some of you may not remember it plus there’s all the brilliant photos to look at. Rugby day 1 – “It amazed me because it was like they have been playing the game for sometime” – Jack Mphande – Changing Lives Malawi

Rugby Day 2 – “I am very convinced with their performance…if I come again they will perfect their play” – Jack Mphande – Changing Lives Malawi

I’ll also share the links from my recent blogs on the new school – Bright Futures Secondary School (phase 1). We are now fundraising for classrooms 3 & 4 (phase 2) The cost is approximately £10,000 per classroom. If anyone is able to help us we will be very grateful https://gofund.me/ece5753a

Bright Futures Secondary School – desks, chairs, uniform & exams – Changing Lives Malawi

Bright Futures Secondary School – Science – Changing Lives Malawi

Thank you to all who have donated rugby kit and to Bruce, Housemaster at Merchiston Castle School thank you for making all this possible. We are very grateful. Hope you enjoy the photos and reading about how these vulnerable teenagers in rural northern Malawi now have a brighter future. Please email me if you would like to know more or would like to help contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com thanks, Sarah x

From the rooftops

Sarah’s blog 19/12/22

After the excitement of the weekend hearing that Bright Futures Secondary School had passed the school inspection and is now registered, I just wanted to share with you this short video that Levison took at the weekend. It is from the roof of the staff accommodation block. It gives a great view of the local area surrounding The Foundation and also how many buildings there are and how The Foundation is growing.

The electrician was attaching the solar panels we sent to the roof. The solar panels, initially, are for the incubator to hatch chicken eggs. As the electricity has been so sporadic and off for long periods of time, it’s not been possible to use it. When we can afford to, more wiring will be done so that the house and classrooms can have electric lights and sockets all being solar powered. This will be approximately £500 so it is on the long list of things to do!

We still have a few calendars left at £10 each with all money going to the school project. We have alternative gift cards, as well as cards and paintings and the link to the fundraising information is here Christmas Fundraising & news update – Changing Lives Malawi

If you would like to contribute to phase 2 of Bright Futures Secondary School then please email me contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com or donate to our fundraiser https://gofund.me/44a92444

Thank you for reading and hope you enjoy the video, Sarah x

Bright Futures Secondary School – Visitors

Sarah’s blog 18/12/22

Yesterday was a HUGE day for Bright Futures Secondary School, for Levison and his team and for us. The school inspectors visited.

There are very strict guidelines to be met when a school is being built and opened, especially for privately run schools like Bright Futures Secondary School. Classrooms need to be at least a certain size, desks have to be bigger than a minimum size, there have to be enough text books, latrines etc etc. So yesterday it was time for Bright Futures Secondary School to be put to the test.

The inspectors arrived in the afternoon and spent about three hours in total. Mr Soko, the senior inspector and Mr Mwangupili met with Mr Levison Mlambya, Director at The Foundation and Miss Mtambo, Head Teacher of Bright Futures Secondary School. The outcome of the meeting was really important for the future of the school.

During the visit the inspectors looked at everything; teachers certificates, timetables, after school activities and other documents. They counted each text book. They looked at the classrooms, the desks and chairs, the science equipment, the latrines, teachers staffroom, clean water supply – the list goes on – they were very thorough.

Mr Soko and Mr Mwangupili couldn’t believe that the school had such lovely chairs. They also were amazed at the huge selection of books in the library and said how lucky the children are to have access to a library like that.

The new polytunnel that is a project of the agriculture classes got great praise and the inspectors were able to see that a wide variety of skills are being taught as well as the full curriculum.

Once the inspectors had ticked everything off their list they saw that there was still a big building that they hadn’t visited. They asked Levison what it was and he took them to see the shower block. They were absolutely delighted that the children had access to proper showers and private changing facilities.

The very, very good news is that the school passed the inspection with great marks. BRIGHT FUTURES SECONDARY SCHOOL IS NOW A REGISTERED SCHOOL IN MALAWI. This is an amazing achievement and we are so grateful for everyone who has helped us towards this goal.

As I keep saying, our charity is run by a small group of dedicated volunteers and no money is spent on admin and there are no salaries to pay. All of the money we receive goes to the projects we support. The fact that a secondary school was desperately needed and such a big project we knew we would have to build it in phases due to there being no reserves of money here or in Malawi. With your help, phase 1 of Bright Futures Secondary School has been completed and opened. Students are having opportunities that they previously would not have had.

Whilst the inspectors were delighted with everything they saw yesterday, we knew there would be recommendations going forward. Their first recommendations are for classrooms 3 & 4 to be built in order that students have continuity and can progress in their education at Bright Futures Secondary School. They also asked for more latrines to be built as student numbers increase. Thirdly, they were very pleased to see the science equipment but, as we knew, more needs to be bought to cover the whole curriculum.

Thank you so much to Mr Soko and Mr Mwangupili for such a thorough inspection and the very positive feedback. We are delighted that you are delighted with Bright Futures Secondary School. We are committed to ensuring that the school provides high quality teaching and a wide range of learning experiences. So our hard work and determination continues with fundraising for classrooms 3 & 4, latrines and science equipment. The two classrooms that have just been built worked out at approximately £10,000 each. New latrines will be approximately £3,000 in total, science equipment £2,000, desks £2,000 and textbooks £3,000. Thankfully, The Bananabox Trust supported us to send enough chairs for the next two classrooms.

In total £30,000 is required for phase 2 of Bright Futures Secondary School. It’s a massive amount but with your help and a huge amount of hard work we can achieve this to change lives in Malawi and give the children a much brighter future. Thank you so much for reading and supporting us, Sarah x

https://gofund.me/44a92444 contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

l-r Mr Levison Mlambya, Miss Mtambo, Mr Soko and Mr Mwangupili