Sponsor a child Malawi Archives

International Day of The Girl

Sarah’s blog 11/10/22

We want to celebrate International Day of The Girl by showing you some of the amazing girls who we help support in rural northern Malawi. Through a variety of projects, we are supporting hundreds of vulnerable girls and boys. However, this post is about the girls and how their lives are improving through the projects in rural northern Malawi.

Because many families struggle to feed all their children, the teenage girls are at risk of being married off too young. Matching the most vulnerable with sponsors has ensured there is some food going into their homes each month to supplement their income and make things a little bit easier.

Matching girls with sponsors enables them to stay in school and have a chance at a brighter future. Better literacy and numeracy and, hopefully, a choice of career after finishing school. They are encouraged to use the library and have access to a variety of subjects of books.

The period poverty project enables girls to have access to education full time like the boys do. Previously, girls had to stay at home for a week every month feeling embarrassment and shame at what is a normal bodily function. We sent hand turn sewing machines, fabric and sewing supplies and some of the girls have been making reusable sanitary towels for those who need them. They have also been making drawstring bags and girls have received; a drawstring bag, 5 reusable sanitary towels, 3 pairs of pants, 2 bars of soap and a health information leaflet. This project is a relatively cheap way of empowering girls and making a big difference in their lives.

Young people are encouraged to learn life skills like agriculture, animal husbandry, basket weaving, knitting, sewing and cooking. As well as helping them prepare for the future, these activities are keeping the young people busy and helps prevent accidental pregnancies.

Girls are encouraged to play team games and keep fit and healthy. They enjoy netball, rugby and football and their self-confidence is growing as they learn new skills and spend time with their friends.

Thank you to all the sponsors who are helping support girls. There are many more girls who would benefit from being matched with a sponsor to enable them to have a brighter future. It’s only £25 per month and you can sponsor as an individual, a family, two friends sharing the cost, a business or a club. Email me if you would like to get involved and help support a vulnerable girl today contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

We should never forget that these girls are amazing and will have bright futures if they are nurtured and given opportunities. Despite the trauma of losing loved ones, being hungry and cold and whatever else life has thrown at them, these girls are survivors, and they will achieve great things. Thanks for reading, Sarah x

Margaret is now going to secondary school thanks to her sponsor. As you can see, she has been learning to sew on the hand turn sewing machines we sent.

These two girls are benefitting from The Foundation’s support through the Feeding Programme, School Uniforms, and The Nursery. Naomi first brought Modester to the feeding programme when they had both been orphaned. They live with their grandmother now. However, they both need sponsors to improve their lives further….can you help?

Alice, Loveness and Jean all work at The Foundation. Alice has been accepted to do nursing at college but has deferred for a year until she saves some more money.

Monica has a sponsor so she has a food parcel going into her home each month to supplement their income. Her sponsor will help pay for her secondary education.

Chikumbusko is an orphan who was living with her grandfather. Sadly, he was taken to hospital and subsequently died. Levison got medicine for Chikumbusko as she had malaria. We put out an appeal for a sponsor. Levison then found a foster home for her with the grandmother of another sponsored child. Chikumbusko is doing well now.

Maria has had an extremely difficult life and hadn’t passed her primary school leavers exams. Levison saw what a hard worker she is and supported her with studying for exams. She passed her exams, and we matched her with a sponsor. She is now working hard in secondary school.

Granda came to ask Levison for help. Her mother is on her own with 4 children. Granda was at risk of being married off as mum couldn’t feed them all. Thankfully, we matched Granda and one of her brothers with sponsors. They now have a food parcel each month to supplement their income. Granda has been learning to sew and to play touch rugby and will be supported to go to secondary school.

Mercy has had to drop out of school as her mum has no spare money. Mercy also has a disabled younger brother. Please could you help Mercy get back to school?

Yathu Widows Opportunity

Sarah’s blog 08/10/22

Last year we had a very generous donation of preloved bibles from St Michael’s Parish Church, Slateford Road, Edinburgh. The congregation kindly also donated some clothes and lots of other useful items.

The bibles and other donations recently arrived on the container. Many of the bibles have been kept for the young people supported by The Foundation to help with their studies. One box was sent to a different organisation. Whilst we are not in a position to support other organisations financially, occasionally we are able to pass on donations.

Last November, I was honoured to be invited to an afternoon tea with The First Lady of Malawi at the City Chambers in Edinburgh. I was invited by Joyce Juma-Phiri who is CEO of Fair Trade Scotland and also Head of The Associations of Malawians in Scotland. It was a lovely afternoon, and I met some wonderful people. One lady, a Malawian living in Scotland, is Gertrude Kadzuwa who runs this organisation for widows in Mzuzu. As well as bibles, we put lots of bars of soap in the box. The widows have had a meeting today and Gertrude sent me this photo and a great video. I hope you enjoy the video. Thank you again to the congregation of St Michael’s Parish Church for your donations, Sarah x

Fundraising Calendars 2023

Sarah’s blog 6/10/22

I am so happy that the calendars are finally here! There are some lovely photos on each page and some information about the projects we are supporting. They will make great Christmas presents or just to treat yourself to a calendar for next year.

The calendars are A4 size and will be £10 each plus postage. All money raised will go towards the first phase of Bright Futures Secondary School.

Please email me if you’d like one or more fundraising calendars. I can either post them to you or directly to the recipients if you’d prefer. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thank you for your support and helping us continue Changing Lives Malawi. Sarah x

Our fundraising calendar for 2023 – £10 plus p&p goes towards Bright Futures Secondary School

Bright Futures Secondary School – progress report

Sarah’s blog 06/10/22

The builders are continuing to work hard on the walls of the two classrooms in phase 1 of Bright Futures Secondary School. It’s exciting to see it coming together! Some of the most vulnerable young people in rural northern Malawi will benefit from your help https://gofund.me/44a92444 Please help us help them. Every child deserves an education. These children want to learn.

Yesterday, more supplies were bought in Chitipa. However, there was no diesel again until this morning. They had to wait overnight at the petrol station before a delivery of diesel arrived this morning. Nothing is straightforward but, despite setbacks, the team are succeeding… the most vulnerable young people, supported by The Foundation, will be able to go to secondary school within their village at no cost to them. Education is the way out of poverty and young people are desperate to have the opportunity of education.

We still need some more donations to complete this first phase of Bright Futures Secondary School. Please help us help these orphans and other vulnerable young people to have the gift of education https://gofund.me/44a92444 If 400 people each give £10 then Bright Futures Secondary School will be educating and nurturing young people to provide them with a brighter future. Please donate £10 today to help us continue Changing Lives Malawi. Thank you for reading and supporting, Sarah x

The wood has been bought to build the frame for the roof of Bright Futures Secondary School.

The Container Ship – Alana

Sarah’s blog 4/10/22

Yesterday, The Alana, the container ship carrying The Bananabox Trust container with our boxes, has now arrived at Antwerp, Belgium after leaving Scotland from Grangmouth Port. We were following its journey earlier and took these screenshots at lunchtime today.

So, the race is on….can we collect 13,444 kilometres, which is the distance the boxes travel from here to The Foundation, before the container arrives in Malawi at the end of November/start of December? We are now 40.58% of the journey covered which is 5,334.133 kilometres! Well done everyone!! Now we need to try to get the other 59% of kilometres collected….can we do it before the container arrives?

We need you to donate your kilometres….just from your usual walks, runs or cycles…. just email me to tell me how many kilometres and I’ll add it to the total. If you want to send a photo too then that’s great but not necessary if you want to remain anonymous. The more people who take part then the quicker we will get to our total….so please do email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

The whole reason for collecting kilometres is to raise funds for and awareness of the new school we are helping to build…. Bright Futures Secondary School. The most vulnerable young people who are supported by The Foundation will be able to attend secondary school free of charge. We want all children to have the gift of education. It is their way out of poverty. If you can spare £10 we would be so grateful. We just need 400 people to each donate £10 then we can get the roof on the school! You can donate here https://gofund.me/44a92444 I’ll post more photos from the school build during the next couple of days. They builders are working really hard, and progress is being made every day!

Thank you for reading and supporting and please do get in touch to donate your kilometres. Thanks, Sarah x

The Alana is the container ship on which the Bananabox Trust container has been loaded

Mwiza Mtambo

Sarah’s blog 2/10/22

Everything takes so long to get to Malawi that we sometimes forget about the lovely things that have been sent until they get there!

Mwiza has additional needs. He has low muscle tone and we thought it would be a good idea for him to have a chair to support him some of the time rather than him lying down when his muscles were tired.

We didn’t want to get a normal height folding chair as it would be difficult for him to get in and out of without him falling and hurting himself. Mwiza’s sponsor bought this chair and I think they’ve made a great choice. Levison went to the Mtambo house this morning and said Mwiza was delighted with his new seat.

Sometimes it’s the little things that we take for granted that can make all the difference. Thanks to Mwiza’s sponsor, for his trainset and toys sent previously and his new chair, his life is just that little bit better.

“How do we change the world? One random act of kindness at a time.’
Morgan Freeman

Mwiza relaxing in his new chair, thanks to his sponsor

New t-shirts -thank you!

Sarah’s blog 30/09/22

These lovely blue t-shirts were sent by Julian of whose small charity is called ‘Wear a Sports Shirt Day’. Julian collects sports clothes and other clothes like school uniforms every weekend to send on to people who will make good use of them. He’s previously sent boxes of gifts to The Foundation including football strips and boots, tracksuits, hockey equipment and Christmas jumpers and hats. We are very grateful to him for all he does and to the people who donate to him.

I’m going to be doing a few posts over the weekend as there is so much going on at The Foundation! It’s exciting to see the school building progressing and the children will be adding some more kilometres to our total virtual fundraising journey over the weekend. The link to the fundraiser is https://gofund.me/44a92444

Julian thank you again and thank you to all our supporters. We couldn’t do what we do without your help. Thanks for reading and supporting. Sarah x

l-r: Chance Kaonga, Laston Nyondo, Loveness Siyame, Austed Silungwe, Tryness Sichamba, William Nyirenda, Weston Nyondo, Bonface Nyondo, Maria Chizumira, Peter Kaonga and Obrain Nyondo are all delighted with their new t-shirts.

Let’s build a school!

Sarah’s blog 30/09/22

The third kiln has been fired and those bricks are cooling down and will be ready to be used next week. There are plenty of bricks available and the builders are working very hard. The foundations have been completed and the walls are going up. It’s a really exciting time and lots of people are amazed and delighted that there will be a secondary school in their village. They are also extremely thankful as it will mean their children or grandchildren will be able to go to this school. Bright Futures Secondary School. Enabling children to have a brighter and better future.

Unfortunately, secondary school has to be paid for in Malawi. So, unless you can afford to pay the fees or have a sponsor to pay the fees for you then your education stops at primary school level. Education is the way out of poverty for these young people. They are desperate to go to school. We need you. With your help we can give them the gift of education. https://gofund.me/44a92444

It will be cheaper to educate the young people at Bright Futures Secondary School as they can continue to live at home with their families/guardians. This saves on boarding fees, taxis to and from school each term and many other extras that have to be paid for at the nearest secondary schools. Living at home will also be better for them and their families. Many of the young people are living with elderly relatives who rely on them to help with chores like fetching water or firewood or help with childcare for younger children.

Three things I keep saying are:

It’s always about teamwork so we cannot do what we do to support over 500 of the most vulnerable children without your help.
We are so grateful for everyone who supports us whether financially or practically. Thank you again.
Our charity is run by volunteers, so you know that there is no money deducted from your donations for admin or salary costs. It all goes towards the projects we support. Your donations make a huge difference.

We still need some more funds to complete the two classrooms and latrines that will be in the first phase of Bright Futures Secondary School. We still need your help. Please will you donate £10 today? We need 400 people to each donate £10 to complete phase 1 of Bright Futures Secondary School. Will you help us? Will you help the children? Will you be part of the team that gives the gift of education to hundreds of the most vulnerable children living in poverty in rural northern Malawi? Please donate £10 today. You CAN make a difference. You can help us continue Changing Lives Malawi.

You can either email me for the charity bank details contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com or you can donate to our fundraiser: https://gofund.me/44a92444 Together we can build a school! Thanks for reading and supporting, Sarah x

We need 400 people to each give £10 to finish the first phase of Bright Futures Secondary School. Please donate £10 https://gofund.me/44a92444

Gaps are left in the kiln for fires to be built. The kiln is covered in mud and fires are are lit and burn all night

People keep the fires buring all night. Then the kiln is left to cool down for over a week before the bricks can be used

The builders are working hard, and the walls are going up fast

It won’t be long until the walls are completed

It’s great to see Bright Futures Secondary School is actually a reality!

please donate today https://gofund.me/44a92444

Netball Posts

Sarah’s blog 29/09/22

One of the great team sports that the children and young people enjoy is netball. It is really popular in Malawi. We are fortunate to have other charities partnering with us and The Foundation. Community Sports Leaders Africa is one such small charity. They have paid to have netball posts made for The Foundation and Levison was able to collect them today.

Thank you so much to Andy Bottomer of Community Sports Leaders Africa for his continued support. We really appreciate your help, and the young people will be delighted to have these posts.

Walking to the Maize Mill

Sarah’s blog 27/9/22

I’m filled with sadness and determination writing this blog. Sadness because children should not be having to live like this. Determination because we will continue to work hard to change their lives for the better.

Levison met these three children; Joseph, Martha and Hope walking to the nearest maize mill. Is it their maize that needs to be milled? No. They will be paid a tiny amount for walking, maybe the equivalent of the price of a bar of soap for the three of them. They will walk all day without any food. They will walk all day without any water unless they find a river to drink from which isn’t clean. All day without food and water carrying their heavy burdens. No child should have to do that.

Levison said the children have to walk over 12km there and 12km back to the nearest maize mill. 24km for these little children with these heavy loads with no food or clean water. Joseph, Martha and Hope and many more children should not have to do this for a bit of extra money to buy food. By sponsoring a child, there is a monthly food parcel for the child, meaning that they don’t have to carry the burden of someone else’s maize for over 24km. No child should have to earn a few pennies like this.

Children walking to get maize milled will find other children to walk with. They keep each other company on this arduous journey. They will chat to each other to pass the time but mainly it’s to try to keep each other safe. This journey is very dangerous, and children are at risk of being attacked, especially if they are on their own. The more of them that are travelling together reduces the risk to them but doesn’t stop attacks happening. Joseph, Martha and Hope and their friends should not have to live like this. They should not have to live in fear, be hungry and malnourished, carry other people’s heavy burdens and not have time to just be children. Building a maize mill is on Levison’s wish list.

The Feeding Programme feeds 500 children once a week. They receive a nutritious and substantial meal….their biggest meal of the week. We wish we could afford to send money to feed them more often as there are no agencies feeding children in schools in this area, however, at the moment, there is no additional money for this.

We have 90 children and young people matched with sponsors, so they have additional food each month. Many more children, including Joseph, Martha and Hope are waiting for sponsors to give them a helping hand. Can you support one of these three children or the many more who need your help? It’s less than £1 a day to sponsor a child. Or two friends could share the cost between them. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com if you can help very vulnerable child today. It might be the most important thing you ever do for one of these children.

We are building phase 1 of Bright Futures Secondary School so that all orphans and vulnerable children supported by The Foundation have the opportunity to go to secondary school. Only primary school is free in Malawi and, unless they have a sponsor to pay their fees, currently these children and young people do not progress to secondary education. They are desperate to learn. They are desperate to go to secondary school. They are desperate for a better life for themselves and their families. Education is their way out of poverty.

We are doing a challenge to fundraise for the school. Completing kilometres to travel the distance between here and the Foundation that the boxes travel. We need your kilometres to add to our total please. I don’t think anyone will have done as many difficult kilometres as Joseph, Martha and Hope. So, I am going to add their kilometres for this journey to our total. Please help us help these children. https://gofund.me/44a92444

As there are so many children requiring support, we are always requiring help with fundraising. It’s always about teamwork and we need you to join the team supporting these orphans and other vulnerable children. We cannot do what we do without your additional help. Here is the link to our fundraiser to build phase 1 of Bright Futures Secondary School. Please help us give the gift of education and a way out of poverty. https://gofund.me/44a92444 or you can email me for the charity bank details. If you could have a coffee morning, car wash, quiz night or another fundraising event to support the children we would be so grateful. Thank you for reading and supporting, Sarah x

Joseph, Martha and Hope carrying someone else’s maize on their long dangerous journey

The Wear A Sports Shirt Day Football Tournament

Sarah’s blog 23/09/22

We have been extremely fortunate to have had donations of football kit and other sports kit from a variety of sources and we are very grateful for the donations and support we have received. If you see a kit that you recognise/donated in the photos or videos from this tournament, then feel free to share and tag teams or people.

The Foundation has hosted the first football tournament that will be held annually. It has been named after one of our supporters. Julian Chenery works tirelessly every weekend collecting preloved football kit and other sports kits to send to those who need them. Julian’s charity is called ‘Wear a Sports Shirt Day’ and that is what this annual tournament is called as a thank you for the ongoing support that Julian has given.

It has been very successful, well attended and enjoyed by all. Five teams received gifts of new (to them) football kits. The players in the local teams taking part are all aged between 14 and 20 years old.

Well done to The Bombers who were the overall winners beating Mtelera in the final 3 – 1.

In one of the videos you will see a man talking to the crowd. This is Mr Msachi and he is the chairperson of The Area Development Committee for Chisenga District. I asked Levison to summarise what he had said. Levison said “He was saying this is the first well organised short tournament. He is really thankful to the donors. He is very happy.”

As I have been preparing this post, Levison has messaged to say that he has been contacted by a journalist from Tuntufye Radio who had heard about this football tournament!

Footballs are always needed so if anyone would like to donate money for footballs then please do email me contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

I’m so thankful that it has been a success and was well organised, well attended and everyone enjoyed this first tournament. And, of course, we couldn’t do what we do without the help and support of everyone who has donated kit to us to send to The Foundation. It’s always about teamwork….so thank you for being part of our team. If you recognise any of the kits in this blog, then please do tag and share. Thank you again and hope you enjoy looking at the photos and videos. Sarah x

Mr Msachi, Chair of The Area Development Committee for Chisenga thanking the donors for the football kits and saying how well this new tournament has been organised.

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