Three amazing days of touch rugby. Thank you Arnold Clark cars, Jack Mphande, Malawi Rugby Development Officer, Levison Mlambya, and everyone who donated sports kit and the volunteers who make this a huge success.
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Sarah’s blog 19/10/24
What an amazing three days of rugby for the Chisenga Zone Schools this week. Jack Mphande, Malawi Rugby’s Development Officer, based in Lilongwe, made the long journey north again for training and tournaments.
Rugby had never been played in the far north until Jack introduced touch rugby a couple of years ago. The children, all of whom are living in extreme poverty, absolutely love touch rugby and have enjoyed being part of this year’s rugby initiative once again.
Arnold Clark cars, who are the new Scotland Rugby Team sponsor, gave us a donation to fund Jack’s visit, the training and the tournament for the Chisenga Zone Rugby initiative. So we are very grateful to Arnold Clark cars, Jack Mphande and also Levison Mlambya who has put in a huge amount of work behind the scenes.
On day 1, Jack was instructing teachers from local schools in the theory and practical skills of rugby. On day 2, Jack visited local schools to supervise the teachers leading a rugby training session. Day 3 was the tournament.
All the schools involved came together for a day of touch rugby matches and had a wonderful time. As no big charities feed children in primary schools in the far north, many are malnourished, all are hungry. We will not facilitate a sporting event like the rugby tournament without the children (and adults) having a proper meal and a drink. Their health is important and we cannot ask them to play sport without offering sustenance. Also, a nutritious meal is a treat for them, so they will have enjoyed their special day even more because they went home will full tummies.
Here are some more photos and videos. Congratulations to Kayilizi Primary School – both the boys team and the girls team were the overall winners. All schools were given new sports kit to take back to their schools. Each student who took part was given a pencil and notebook.
We are trying to raise funds for a football tournament (same format) then a netball tournament. Here is the link if you’d like to donate https://donorsee.com/project/24384?share=1 or you can email me for bank details contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Your support will be much appreciated. Thank you everyone, Sarah x
A nutritious lunch and a fizzy drink as a treat
Great video here from Facebook Live of all the teams after the rugby tournament. https://fb.watch/vjxnhI59zT
On World Food Day – do you have enough food? Do you have access to nutritious food? Will you help a child who is malnourished?
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Sarah’s blog 16/10/24
Today is World Food Day which highlights the fact that there are many people in the world without enough food. The UN rights of the child (article 24) addresses the fact that Children have a right to enough nutritious food and clean water. This year’s #WorldFoodDay theme is ‘Right to foods for a better life and a better future.’
This will mean different things to different people. It might mean that children living in poverty in UK, for example, have the right to have more nutritious foods and their families should have enough money to buy fresh fruit and vegetables. Or it could be that there should be far more education in schools about food and nutrition, cooking and budgeting.
In rural northern Malawi, it means the right to enough food. The right to food full stop. Despite being in contact with several big charities who run feeding programmes, none are working in the far north where we are helping to support some of the most vulnerable children in Malawi. So no children are being fed in primary schools in that area and most families do not have enough food to feed their children every day. This goes against these children’s human rights. We need your help please. There are over 4,000 hungry children in primary schools in the Chisenga Zone in the far north. We cannot help them all on our own.
Did you know that there are a high percentage of children affected by stunted growth through lack of nutrition? Approximately 37% of children in Malawi under 5 years old are affected. In urban areas this is 25% but rural areas it can be as high as 39%. Children do not recover from stunted growth. Far more needs to be done for these vulnerable children living in extreme poverty in rural areas. We need to work as part of a team to support these children.
We send money to run a feeding programme for approximately 500 children once a week. It is not enough but all we can afford whilst we help to set up sustainable projects for a brighter future. Children are walking long distances for this one proper, nutritious meal each week…some walking 15km-20km. Some carrying their toddler siblings all that way. This isn’t fair and it isn’t right.
Children at the feeding programme are fed in age groups – youngest first
Fruit tree saplings have been planted and more are about to be planted to provide future food and an income. Crops are being grown to help feed everyone…but nowhere near enough for 500+ hungry children whose needs we cannot ignore.
Children from the nursery looking after the fruit tree saplings. That first orchard was named after my late mother-in-law.
Chicks are being hatched in the solar powered incubator. The first three piglets have arrived and are settling in.
The first three little pigs
We need your help so that we have enough money to set up sustainable projects whilst also addressing the immediate needs of hungry children.
Chicks that had recently hatched in the incubator
We make sure that nursery children are fed at every session. Also that students at Bright Futures Secondary School have a nutritious school lunch each day. How can we expect them to concentrate and learn if they are malnourished and hungry?
Hungry students queuing up for lunchStudents at Bright Futures Secondary School having their lunch
Every time there is an event for the children, like the rugby tournament yesterday. All the children taking part are fed. This is a big extra expense but how can we expect them to take part in a sporting event if they haven’t eaten? Also it adds to the excitement and special occasion if the children receive a nice lunch and go home with full tummies. It also is one less mouth to try and feed at home.
Children queuing up for food in the rainy season
Girls are still at risk of being married off as children if their families cannot afford to feed them. It is illegal but still happens. Levison has had lots of girls coming and asking for help so they don’t need to be married off…some as young as 11 years old. These girls we try to match with a sponsor and then there will be a monthly food parcel going into their home which supplements the meagre food they already have. There are lots of vulnerable children who would benefit from having a sponsor to support them.
Here are some fundraisers on DonorSee site where we are raising money to help support feeding hundreds of children. We would be very grateful for donations. Or, you could email for bank details contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com to make a one off or monthly donation or to find out more about sponsoring a child.
Together we can ensure these children and young people have enough food and a brighter future. It will take time and it needs to be a team effort. Will you join the team supporting these very vulnerable children please? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Together we can continue Changing Lives (in) Malawi. Thank you for all your support, Sarah x
Children at Bright Futures Nursery are fed at every session. They receive a care package every year with two t-shirts, three pairs of pants, a blanket, soap, toothbrush & toothpaste and two books.
An amazing third day of rugby! Tournaments all day. Lots and lots of happy children!
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Sarah’s blog 15/10/24
What an amazing day! It was a school holiday today in Malawi for Mothers’ Day. Many of these children are orphans living with extended family so have mother figures looking after them. All have all come together for a great day of rugby, fun and friendship. As many of these children are malnourished, certainly all are hungry, and no big charities are feeding children in primary schools that far north, we always ensure that children have a nutritious meal when they come together for a day of sport.
Today’s post is going to show photos of the teams that took part and, in a separate post, I will be able to show action photos and videos…there are just too many to share all at once and it has been a very long day for Jack and Levison who were organising the event.
Jack Mphande is the Malawi Rugby Development Officer whose enthusiasm shines through. Thank you Jack for sharing your time and talents with the orphans and other vulnerable children. You have shared your passion for the game with them and, once again, given them such a positive experience. Until recently, these children never had anyone come to spend time with them. You have given them confidence, skills, friendship and raised their self-esteem. These are priceless and they will remember days like today for the rest of their lives.
Jack writes on the Malawi Rugby Union Facebook page (MARU) “Rugby is in safe hands here in Chisenga, Chitipa. I have witnessed raw talent of rugby which, if nurtured well, Malawi Rugby will never be the same.” Jack always writes at the end of his posts “Rugby Rise Malawi”. Rugby is indeed on the rise in Malawi and we are grateful for his visit.
We are also grateful to Arnold Clark cars for their financial donation towards this event and Jack’s travel expenses. Arnold Clark is a new Scotland Rugby Team sponsor.
We have two tickets for the Scotland v Fiji game on 2nd November courtesy of Arnold Clark. For a donation of £5 you could be in with a chance of being at this game! details are in the attached post from day 1 of the rugby.
Thank you so much to everyone who has donated sports kit that we have been able to gift to each school that has taken part. They have matching sports kit that they are proud of and can dream big about being stars of the future, like children everywhere do. Thanks, Sarah x
Everyone who took part in today’s tournamentBright Futures Secondary School – girls (wearing Merchiston Castle School & Bromley & Beckenham Hockey)Bright Futures Secondary School – boys (wearing Seafar fc, Cumbernauld & Poole FC)Kalanga Primary School – boysKalanga Primary School – girlsChisenga Primary School – boys (wearing Chelsa fc)Chisenga Primary School – girls (wearing Liverpool fc)Chambo Primary School – boys (wearing Hardinxveld, Holland)Chambo Primary Schools – girls (wearing Seafar Villa, Cumbernauld)Kayilizi Primary School – boys (wearing South Africa)Kayalizi Primary School – girls (wearing Seafar Villa, Cumbernauld)
Day 2 of the Chisenga Zone Schools Rugby Initiative. Jack Mphande has been busy visiting local primary schools. Thanks to Arnold Clark cars for supporting the event.
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Sarah’s blog 14/10/24
Jack Mphande, Malawi Rugby Development Officer has had an extremely busy second day of the Chisenga Zone Schools Rugby Initiative. He has visited 4 different rural primary schools, delivering rugby training sessions and supporting the teachers from each of those primary schools with their new coaching skills from yesterday’s session. Thank you Jack for encouraging and inspiring everyone.
Tomorrow is a school holiday in Malawi – it’s Mothers’ Day. Teams from each school will come with their teachers to take part in a day of rugby matches and tournaments. Children will receive a nutritious meal and a drink which will be a great treat for each of them. No big charities are feeding children in schools in the far north of Malawi. So many are malnourished, all are hungry. We cannot expect them to take part in a day of sport without feeding them so we are very grateful to Arnold Clark cars for supporting us financially with this rugby event.
Here is the link to yesterday’s rugby session for teachers.
And here is the link to our fundraiser to try to raise money for a football tournament to happen (similar set up to the rugby) https://donorsee.com/project/24384?share=1 and we would be really grateful if you could help make this happen. The young people would be even more delighted! Thank you for reading and supporting, Sarah x
Children living in extreme poverty are learning to play rugby and can forget about their hardships whilst they learn new skills and grow in confidence and have fun with their friends.
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Sarah’s blog 13/10/24
Firstly, I would like to thank Malawi Rugby Development Officer, Jack Mphande, for once again making time to travel the long distance north to spend time with teachers and students. This is the Chisenga Zone Schools Rugby Initiative.
Secondly, I’d like to thank Arnold Clark car dealership for providing the money for this rugby initiative. The money Arnold Clark have given us has paid for Jack’s travel costs and his expenses as well as providing food for all teachers and students who will be taking part in training and the tournament on Tuesday. We are so grateful for this money as without it we would have had to raise funds and this Rugby Initiative probably wouldn’t have happened until next year. Thank you Arnold Clark who are new sponsors of Scottish Rugby.
Also, a big thank you to Levison Mlambya, Director of Bright Futures Secondary School who works tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure everything happens. Levison isn’t often found in front of the camera so doesn’t get as much credit as he should for the huge amount of work he puts in coordinating and facilitating people and activities.
Until Jack Mphande’s first visit, rugby had never been played in the far north of Malawi. Now it is being played at school, along with football and netball. Jack’s visits are really welcomed and there is great excitement amongst the students. When he first visited, the young people we help to support were surprised that he wanted to spend time with them. They were used to being ignored and not thought to be important. Their self-esteem and confidence has grown so much since that first visit. Girls and boys have learned new skills and love playing team sports with their friends. They can forget about their problems for a while.
Today, teachers from local schools in the Chisenga Zone, including teachers from Bright Futures Secondary School, attended a theory class at Bright Futures Campus and then tested their new coaching skills on some of the students from Bright Futures Secondary School. You can see from the photos and videos that Levison has just sent how enthusiastic and engaged everyone is.
Competition Time. We also want to thank Arnold Clark for providing two tickets for the Scotland v Fiji match at Murrayfield on 2nd November. As well as being able to win two tickets, there are other perks like entry to the Legends Lounge. For a £5 donation, you can choose a number. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com . The draw will take place on Friday evening, 18th Oct…so email or contact me via social media for your chance to be at the game! https://changinglivesmalawi.com/2024/10/02/win-scotland-v-fiji-rugby-tickets/
We are also trying to raise funds to have a football training & tournament initiative and with your help we can make this happen https://donorsee.com/project/24384?share=1
Jack Mphande, Malawi Rugby Development Officer (white shirt) training teachers
Teachers from Chisenga Zone learning theory and practical skills at Bright Futures Secondary School.Thank you to Arnold Clark Cars for the money they donated to pay for this rugby eventTeachers putting what they’ve just learned into practice
We are very excited that the first three piglets have arrived as part of an income generating project. Another step towards sustainability and self-sufficiency.
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Sarah’s blog 7/10/24
It’s very exciting! The first three little pigs have arrived (on a motorbike) as part of an income generating project. I do have a cartoon picture in my head of these piglets riding in on the motorbike…although what actually happened is that two people joined them. The pillion passenger – one of the teachers – was holding the piglets and it took two precarious journeys.
As well as future sustainability, this project will enable students in S2 at Bright Futures Secondary School to gain practical skills for their agricultural lessons. There is a module on keeping pigs, so all students will learn from this project.
The kraal for the piglets has been made of wood but the permanent pig pens will be made from bricks and concrete. Again, this will be more learning experiences for the students at Bright Futures Secondary School.
Hope you enjoy the photos and the video. Thank you so much to everyone who helped fund this project. We are very grateful and look forward to seeing more updates as this project grows.
If you’d like to help fund another income generating project then here is the link https://donorsee.com/project/24574?share=1 Thanks for reading and supporting us, Sarah x
I’ve got a brief update on the second staff accommodation block. There are six rooms in this block. It is built in the same style as the first block, but that block has four rooms. It is built in a motel style with a veranda along the front and each unit has its own front door. Inside each unit is a sitting room and a bedroom.
Water has been piped to this area of the campus, so there is a water tap that is in place and ready for filling buckets of water. The second staff latrine block is being built as well as two shower rooms and sinks for washing clothes. These sinks will be protected by a roof so that anyone washing clothes will not be standing out in the rain during the rainy season which is due to start in a few weeks.
This project has been possible thanks to; Vets with Horsepower, The Clive Richards Foundation, The Inverclyde Trust and The Souter Charitable Trust. We are very grateful for the funds we have received from each of the above organisations. It is extremely difficult to attract teachers to come to work in such a remote area. There is no suitable accommodation in the village for teachers to rent, so it is vital that staff have somewhere to live on Bright Futures Campus.
Once the project has been completed we will have more photos to show you.
We’d love some help with this project please to ensure it can happen before the rainy season. It will be a real treat for all the vulnerable children we help to support if we can organise a football tournament. Each child taking part will need food and drink so please do help if you can. Thanks, Sarah x
The second accommodation block is almost ready.You can see the new water tap where the blue buckets are in front of the building.The two accommodation blocks with the water tap between the buildings. The gardens to the front of the buildings will be planted once the rainy season begins.
Win tickets for Scotland v Fiji Rugby 2/11/24 with access to ‘Legends Lounge’ courtesy of Arnold Clark.
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Sarah’s blog 2/10/24
Do you love rugby? As a new sponsor of the Scotland Rugby Team, Arnold Clark have donated to us preloved Scotland rugby tops and £500 to cover the running costs of the next rugby tournament. We are so grateful for this and will bring you lots of photos from this event for vulnerable children when it happens over the next few weeks (dates are being finalised).
I was emailed again by Arnold Clark, offering us two tickets for the Scotland v Fiji Rugby game on 2/11/24 at Murrayfield. The kick off for this match is at 5.40pm.
Your tickets entitle you to access the Arnold Clark marquee ‘Legends Lounge’ pre match (first come first served basis). The ‘Legends Lounge’ will have a bar, entertainment, Q & A from rugby legends, live music, DJ, giveaways etc.
These tickets sound like a fantastic afternoon/evening out for two people. And they could be yours for just £5. For a donation of only £5 per square you can help us raise funds. Some numbers have been taken already but there are still plenty of numbers available. You can email me at contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com or message on social media.
Thanks again to Arnold Clark and Scottish Rugby and to all of you who support us. Even if you aren’t a rugby fan, you could enter this competition to try to win these tickets for someone who you know loves rugby! Good luck, Sarah x
Sam the driver is asking for help to fix the truck
The truck driver, Sam, is asking for your help to get the truck back on the road. Sam works really hard and goes above and beyond to support Levison and the rest of the team. He is wearing a football top donated by our local football team – Strathendrick Football Club.
Here is a link to all our small fundraising projects on DonorSee . We need at least four donations before the end of September so that our projects are still visible to potential donors in October. So any donations, big or small, will really help us. Thank you so much for your continued support, Sarah x
Have a look at these beautiful paintings from local artist, Christine Cresswell. Every penny goes to the projects we support in Malawi.
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Sarah’s blog 28/9/24
Some of you may know that my mum, Christine Cresswell, is an artist. She has gifted her beautiful paintings to us to raise funds for our projects in Malawi. Mum is also one of our trustees. We’ve had a lot of her paintings made into packs of cards which make great gifts or are very useful to have at home to use.
Here are a few of the gorgeous paintings for sale. Next week, I am aiming to take photos of all the available paintings to group them together in one post and also do the same with the cards.
Oakwood Garden Centre, Killearn, have kindly agreed to stock the cards and they are also available directly from us at £6 per pack of 8 (or 2 packs for £10) plus p&p. Torrance Church of Scotland also have a selection of cards as they have been very popular.
Please do send me an email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com if you would like to buy one of these paintings. As they have all been donated, every penny will go to our projects so they are unique and beautiful gifts that really are Changing Lives (in) Malawi. Thanks, Sarah x (p&p extra)
Croft on the Shore £95Sheep by the Shore £95Puffin Pals £95Mountain Bothy £95Robin on Post. Small unframed £50Summer Meadow £95Mountain Burn £95Dinner Time £95Kingfisher, small unframed £50Gulls at Sunset, box canvas 20″ x 8″ £85Mountain Reflections, box canvas 20″ x 8″ £85
Exciting news for Emily, Catherine and Naomi who have passed their exams. Well done girls. We are so proud of you.
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Sarah’s blog 19/9/24
Some very good news today…. Catherine, Emily and Naomi have passed their MSCE school leavers exams. We are absolutely delighted for them. This is the difference that having a sponsor can make to a young person.
Before Bright Futures Secondary School was built, there weren’t enough places at local secondary schools. Students were picked to go to a secondary school depending on their grades. So if students only just passed their primary school leavers exams, they often don’t get picked for a place at a government secondary school. This was one of the reasons for building Bright Futures Secondary School. Also, of course, none of the children we help to support could afford the school fees anyway.
Catherine and Emily got such good grades in their Primary School Leavers Exams that they were picked for a school called Wenya Secondary School. This is further away and a more expensive school than Chisenga Secondary where sponsored students who were selected for secondary school usually went.
Catherine and Emily have been sponsored all the way through their four years of secondary school. We topped up the money that their sponsors paid monthly as their fees were more expensive. We felt it was important that they went to Wenya Secondary as they had excellent grades and it would be good for them to have that experience. They have worked hard and we are so proud of them!
We were concerned about Naomi. She had to leave school to look after her sick auntie but asked if she could be sponsored at a secondary school near her aunt’s house as a day pupil. So although she has had the opportunity of a secondary education, she hasn’t had it easy with having a caring role as well as studying. So we are absolutely delighted for her that she has passed her s4 exams. That is a real achievement as she has obviously worked very hard. We are really proud of what she has achieved.
The three girls will hopefully come to see Levison soon so he can congratulate them and pass on our congratulations too. Also, Levison wants them to speak to the students at BFSS to encourage them. Catherine’s grades mean that she could go to university and Emily to college. Hopefully, Naomi will be able to secure a job or go to college part time. They will all have to find jobs and save up until they can afford to continue their studies but they are determined young ladies who have been given choices and chances that they wouldn’t usually have had.
Before they and others started secondary school, Levison had a huge shopping list and I suggested that he take Catherine and Emily with him to town and they could help him with the shopping. He hired a car and they had a great day. That was the first time either of the girls had been to town, or eaten in a cafe. So it was a very good experience for them prior to going away to boarding school at Wenya.
The fabulous news about each of these young people is testimony to their hard work and determination but also with thanks to their sponsors for supporting them financially. Of course, Levison and team are to be congratulated too. Without them there would be no brighter futures for young people in that community. These three girls are role models for the students still at school. To be able to see what they have achieved will be a real motivator for others living in extreme poverty and dreaming of a brighter future at Bright Futures Secondary School.
If you would like to sponsor a young person and give the gift of education, it is only £25 per month. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
We are still trying to raise money for the repair of the truck which is vital for transporting food and other supplies for the hundreds of young people who we help to support. Here is the link to donate https://donorsee.com/project/24823?share=1
Also our fundraiser to send boxes of books to Malawi for our School Literacy Project is here https://gofund.me/3aa7d1cd and we would be very grateful if you were able to spare a few £££ to support one of our projects.
We will bring more photos of the three girls when they next visit Bright Futures Campus. Many thanks for reading and supporting us to continue Changing Lives (in) Malawi, Sarah x
Catherine & Emily’s first trip to town. They went with Levison to collect school supplies for themselves and other students.
Great progress is being made in supporting hundreds of orphans and other very vulnerable children. However, when there is an issue like the truck breaking down and no spare money to fix it, it sets everything back and impacts on all the other projects. No supplies can be bought without the truck. Can you make a small donation?
These photos and video are some of the ways the truck is used. It is needed every day as the community we help to support is in a very rural location, in the far north of Malawi. The truck has broken down and needs a new alternator and two new batteries (hopefully that is all it needs). It broke down whilst on the way back from town with building supplies so they had to pay for someone else to come with their truck and take everything back. They also had to pay to have the truck towed and for a mechanic to come and diagnose the problem. It is a very stressful situation when they are so dependant on the truck for transport and there is no money to fix it. Please help.
As well as raising funds for the above, money is needed for the two batteries which can be bought at Chitipa town over 40km away. The alternator will have to be ordered from Mzuzu and sent via courier and collected in Chitipa. Nothing is easy. Then the mechanic will have to return and hopefully the truck will be fixed. All of this costs money and they need the truck fixed as soon as possible.
A man with ox and cart is being paid to transport water from the river to where the teachers’ accommodation is being built. The truck was being used to transport bricks and other supplies as well as water in addition to the journeys to town for building supplies and of course food supplies for the orphans.
Several times a year the truck is used to collect the boxes we send from Ekwendeni, near Mzuzu. This is an overnight trip due to distance and having to drive slowly on the poor roads.
Will you help please? You can donate via the button on the website, or via the DonorSee link above. Or you could email for our bank details. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thank you for your continued support, Sarah x
Such excitement when the truck returns with the boxes that we have sentbringing bricks to where they are needed for building the staff accommodation blockAt Ekwendeni collecting the boxes that we have sent via the Banana Box Trust ContainerNothing about day to day life is easy. During the rainy season the tracks turn to mud and the truck was stuck in the mud on this hilly road. People come together to help.
