Forgotten Voices – hungry children. We are making a few very short videos with some of the most vulnerable people talking about issues they face. These ‘Forgotten Voices’ are from the far north of Malawi where help is scarce.
Sarah’s blog 24/3/25
We are making a few short videos under the heading ‘Forgotten Voices’. There are not many charities working in the very far north of Malawi and certainly no big charities feeding children in primary schools.
These videos are a way of hearing some of the issues that the most vulnerable face. Their stories, told in their own words, making an impact. This video is ‘Forgotten Voices’ – hungry children.
Ethel, a student at Bright Futures Secondary School, is living in extreme poverty with her aunt. She has a long walk to get to and from school. She says that she and her other fellow students do not have any food in their homes. At least these students at Bright Futures Secondary School have a nutritious free school lunch each day. The children and young people in primary schools have nothing.
We help support a feeding programme once a week that feeds approximately 500 children and young people. Some children walk for 15km/20km for that one decent meal of the week. We are trying to help set up sustainable projects but these children need feeding now. Please will you help us?
There will be an Easter holiday study school running again for the BFSS students as well as the p8 students from Chambo Primary. Feeding 60+ students from Chambo Primary every day during this study programme is a huge cost and one that we need help with. However, we will not support these holiday revision sessions without feeding these malnourished young people. How can we expect them to concentrate without having food in their tummies?
So we would love your help with feeding the students during the Easter holidays please. If you’d like to help then the link is here https://donorsee.com/project/26846?share=1
Also, the students in p8 at Chambo Primary still need new notepads and pencils (well the whole school does but we cannot afford to help them all unfortunately). If you’d like to support purchasing notepads and pencils/pens then please click here https://donorsee.com/project/25617?share=1
We are very grateful for all the preloved football kit that has been donated for the vulnerable children & young people and to Julian from ‘Wear a Sports Shirt Day’ for his hard work and support.
Sarah’s blog 20/3/25
We are very thankful for the people who support our work. We always say it takes teamwork and Julian at ‘Wear a Sports Shirt Day’ charity is one of those fantastic people who regularly help the vulnerable young people in rural northern Malawi.
Julian spends most weekends travelling to football grounds to watch the games but to also collect donated preloved football kit. He shares what he collects amongst a few organisations and we are very grateful for his hard work and support. He regularly sends boxes on the Bananabox container and here are photos of some of what has been donated this time.
Some of the students at Bright Futures Secondary School enjoyed modelling these football kits. A couple of the kits will be kept on campus for use by students at Bright Futures Secondary School and also for the orphans who attend the weekly Feeding Programme at the weekend and play sports also. The other donated kits will be given to local schools who are in need of new sports kits.
It is currently the rainy season in Malawi but, once the rains are over, there will be a football tournament organised with all the local schools invited. Everyone looks forward to sports days like that with great anticipation and excitement.
Thank you again to Julian for all your hard work it is much appreciated. Also thank you very much to all the clubs who have donated kit to be reused in Malawi. Having matching football kit brings a sense of belonging, of pride in their team and of self-confidence. Knowing that people they have never met care enough to send them football kit makes a big difference to these vulnerable young people. Thank you on behalf of them, Sarah x
We are delighted to see these photos and videos from Chambo Primary School. They have received more books as part of the School Literacy Project.
Sarah’s blog 17/3/25
How can children learn to read without books to practice? Thanks to the help of many of our supporters, Chambo Primary School has once again received a huge donation of preloved books as part of our School Literacy Project. Thanks to so many people who have donated books and to Strathblane Primary School and Balfron Primary School who donated all of their group reading books which they were updating. There are a few other organisations local to us who also made donations. We are grateful to everyone and to those who helped us towards the cost of sending some of these boxes. Kalanga Primary School will also receive a donation of boxes of books in the near future.
As always, thanks goes to the volunteers at Bananabox Trust in Dundee who document the contents of boxes, order the container and then pack all the boxes into the container. We always say everything is teamwork and we are very grateful to all the people who help us support the children and young people who live in extreme poverty in rural northern Malawi.
Most of the orphans and other vulnerable children we help to support attend Chambo Primary School. There are eight classes in the school with approximately 600 students in total. During the rainy season, not all students are able to get to school as it is not safe for them to cross the swollen rivers.
As you can see from the photos and videos, this school is very basic. They don’t have notebooks and pencils, teachers don’t have enough chalk. There are no porridge programmes in the rural far north so all these learners are hungry and many are suffering from Malnutrition.
Thanks to the help of our supporters and grants that we have successfully applied for, so far we have helped the students at Chambo Primary in the following ways;
They only had one classroom with desks and benches; a grant paid for desks & benches in two more classrooms.
There was no clean water supply for drinking and washing hands. Thanks to a grant we applied for, they now have taps and a supply of clean water.
Students relieved themselves in the bushes, making girls especially very vulnerable. We received a grant to build a girls’ latrine block.
Girls who need reusable sanitary towels are provided with them so that they no longer have to miss one week of school each month.
Many of these children attend the weekly feeding programme. It is nowhere near enough, as most don’t eat every day, but all we can afford as we try to work with the community to set up sustainable projects.
Many of these children have received preloved clothes that we have sent.
The students at Chambo Primary are benefitting from The School Literacy Project where we collect and send preloved books to support education. Primary 8 leavers exam results have been improving year on year since we have been supporting them.
Chambo Primary has received sports kit and students have taken part in sporting events that we have supported.
Chambo Primary has received fruit tree saplings, banana tubers and pine tree saplings as part of a sustainable project.
We have supported a School Holiday Study School for the past few years to give p8 students revision time prior to their exams. They receive a substantial school lunch each day so that it helps them concentrate and is a great incentive for them to attend lessons during their holidays.
If you can help with purchasing new exercise books and pens/pencils for these students we would be extremely grateful. They need these to take notes ahead of their exams. https://donorsee.com/project/25617?share=1
Thank you again for all the support (and a huge amount of work went on behind the scenes too). Enjoy these photos and videos, Sarah x
Some of the staff at Chambo Primary School
You may be able to spot a few Strathblane Primary School sweatshirts
#IWD2025 We are highlighting the story of one young woman whom we help to support. We want all women to have equality & empowerment and the choices and chances they deserve.
Sarah’s blog 8/3/25
HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY #IWD2025 The themes for 2025 are – Accelerate Action for ALL women and girls: Rights, Equality & Empowerment.
For International Women’s Day, I’m going to share with you part of the story of one of the young women who has been supported for the last few years. Her life is hard and she is living in extreme poverty. There are lots of issues in this story, so it is very apt for International Women’s Day.
Maria had missed out on a lot of education due to her family circumstances. Being so poor, she had to work for a pittance to help buy food. Maria came to Levison and said that she wanted to be able to attend secondary school. Levison could see what a hard worker she was and so gave her some extra coaching so that she could pass her primary school leavers exams…which she did and was delighted.
We found a sponsor for Maria so she could attend secondary school free of charge and she progressed well, passing her national school exams at the end of s2 (final exams are at the end of s4).
Maria lives with her aunt and her younger sister and has a two hour walk to get to school. That in itself is a huge burden and exhausting and shows real commitment to getting an education.
However, Maria became pregnant. We do not know the full story. Maria will not talk about it, nor did she actually realise she was pregnant until one of the women who helps with the cooking noticed. Maria was supported to attend the health centre regularly and, because she was having a nutritious school lunch each day, she was in fairly good health whilst pregnant.
Maria had a very difficult birth. Her aunt stayed with her at the hospital. Patients have to have someone with them to help care for them and have to provide their own food. Conditions are very basic. So Maria and her aunt were supported with food during this time.
Thankfully, Maria gave birth to a healthy baby boy – Wakisa. Maria asked to return to school for the new term and her aunt agreed to look after Wakisa during the school day.
This has been really hard for Maria but she is dedicated to her son and has been trying to navigate being a new mum, a full-time student and living a distance from school in extreme poverty.
Her son, Wakisa, has been poorly on and off for a few months so Maria has either been at the local health centre with him, at home with him or sitting in class worrying about him. How could she think about her lessons when she was thinking about Wakisa and also worrying about how to make life better for her and her son and provide for him?
Maria has now made the decision to drop out of school as she was getting more and more behind with her work and she obviously wanted and needed to be with her son. As she has a good work ethic, Maria has been trying to find piece work in farmers’ fields to earn a pittance.
I cannot imagine how hard life is for Maria and so many young women like them. But they don’t give up. They keep trying to do the best for their family. They have no choice.
Maria is still sponsored at the moment even though she has dropped out of Bright Futures Secondary School. So that means she will get a monthly food parcel to help supplement any other food coming into their home. However, we need to give her a hand up not a hand out so she cannot be sponsored forever.
Little Wakisa has also just been sponsored, so he will also have a food parcel each month. So those are two good practical things that are happening for Maria and Wakisa, thanks to their sponsors.
Because we know Maria is such a hard worker we do want to support her to get back on her feet and feel like life isn’t so hopeless. If you would like to help Maria then please do email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
Let’s make a difference to young women like Maria so that they can bring up their families to have a better and brighter future with choices, chances and opportunities.
The village chiefs, during a recent conversation with Levison, said that by keeping girls in education it has lowered the teenage pregnancy rate greatly. Obviously, pregnancies will still happen and also because of long distances walked in very rural locations, girls and women are still very much at risk.
I am glad that things are improving for girls and women but there is a great deal more to do. I always say it is about teamwork, so if you’d like to be part of Maria’s team and make a difference on International Women’s Day #IWD2025 then let us know. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thank you again to all our sponsors and everyone who supports our work. Thank you, Sarah x
Maria (top right) during a science lesson at Bright Futures Secondary School
Maria recently working in a farmer’s field for a pittance whilst carrying her son on her backMaria and Wakisa after receiving new clothes for him, a blanket, a food parcel and soap
“My name is Maria Chizumira. I was schooling at Bright Futures Secondary but I have dropped out of school because I need more time to get food, soap and other resources for my child. It was my wish to continue with my education but circumstances have made me not to.”
Food prices have doubled and maize is scarce. Please help us continue to feed 500 children and young people at the weekly feeding programme. The situation is becoming more serious as families cannot feed their children. Please help us continue feeding the 500 orphans and other vulnerable children each week.
A video from the weekly feeding programme. Some children are walking 15-20miles to receive this one proper nutritious meal each week. It’s not enough and maize has doubled in price. Please will you help with a one off or monthly donation?
Ethel, a student at Bright Futures Secondary School is saying how thankful students are for having free school lunches at Bright Futures SS. She says that none of the students have food at home. Also none of the primary schools have porridge programmes and all children at local primary schools, including Chambo Primary, are really hungry.
Recently, we highlighted on social media the Ng’ambi family who are living in extreme poverty, very much in need of help as their situation is dire. The mother has four children. Her husband was ill but also left them on their own.
Their small home has a roof made from branches and leaves and has huge holes in it. It is rainy season and their home is full of water and there is thick mud on the floor. The five of them huddle together on dirty blankets. They need help!
We need your help to purchase metal sheets to replace their roof. Two of the children have been sick from malaria recently…mosquitos love the rainy season and they have no protection from all the bugs and insects.
Thankfully, after our appeal, we have sponsors for all four children which means, as well as them continuing to access the weekly feeding programme, each of the four children will receive a food parcel once a month. This will supplement any food Mrs Ng’ambi is able to buy through doing piecework.
All of the children in the Ng’ambi Family will receive new clothes and blankets from the boxes that arrived on the container, but the immediate issue was to give them some food to eat.
Levison bought maize (which has doubled in price) for the family, thanks to donations we received from generous supporters. The family was asked to come to see Levison. Naomi (the eldest) was missing as she is unwell but the rest of the family came. Mrs Ng’ambi was so thankful for the food that they have been given. She said “Is it really happening to me? It is like I am dreaming. Thank God! I didn’t expect this.”
So if you would like to help us enable the Ng’ambi Family to have somewhere dry to sleep, please do consider making a small donation to help us help them. You can email for bank details contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com or donate at https://donorsee.com/project/26482?share=1 Thank you for continuing to support the most vulnerable children and young people and their families in rural northern Malawi, Sarah x
Thanks to generous donors, Mrs Ng’ambi can now feed her children and they have been given clean clothes.As you can see, the family is malnourished, dressed in rags and have no shoes. They will be given clothes, shoes & blankets from the boxes we have sent.Sylvia, having a nap on the dirty blankets/sheets that the family share on the earth floor. As soon as it rains, they are wet and the floor turns to mud.This is the roof on the family’s home. Look at the huge gaps where the rain gets in. Please help us help this family have somewhere dry to sleep.
Clean clothes and food, Mrs Ng’ambi is very thankful.
Levison and team had such a difficult and challenging journey to collect the boxes we sent. Thankfully they are back safely and you can read about their journey in today’s blog.
Sarah’s blog 26/2/25
I wanted to write this blog as I don’t think any of us can imagine just how hard life is for the community we are supporting in rural northern Malawi.
Everything takes so much longer and costs more because of distances. When visiting people’s homes, much of it has to be done on foot as places are not suitable for vehicles or even the motorbike struggles sometimes. Rivers have to be crossed and, if it has been raining, this is too dangerous. And what if Levison is doing a welfare check and finds no one at home? The family won’t have a phone, a message will have to be left with someone and he will need to try again. Nothing is simple.
Also, what if there is no fuel available? Periodically, the fuel stations are empty and any fuel is rationed. Food and other items are going up in price all the time. So many are struggling, but for those in the far north it is exceptionally hard.
We heard that the Bananabox Trust container had arrived in Lilongwe last week and that it was travelling north to Ekwendeni (near Mzuzu) on Friday ready to be unloaded on Saturday morning. There is always a last minute rush to get things organised and set off on the long journey to meet the container and collect all the boxes that we and a few others had sent. It’s also a time to have a quick catch up with friends who run other organisations.
We are very glad that the truck was successfully repaired last month and for the financial help we received from some supporters towards this. The journey is just short of 200 miles. Levison and two of his team set off on Friday morning. They stopped for a few hours rest at Karonga then carried on to Ekwendeni. Thankfully, the road is a bit better between Karonga and Ekwendeni as it is a main road.
Once they had loaded all the boxes, they started back on Saturday afternoon. In Karonga they had a puncture and had to get a replacement tyre. Between Karonga and Chitipa the mud was so bad due to the heavy rain that the truck was stuck, along with some other vehicles and couldn’t move for several hours.
Finally, on Monday afternoon they arrived back on campus before school finished and the students at Bright Futures Secondary School were able to help unload the truck. I don’t think many of us could imagine a journey like that. Also, there is a risk of people attacking a vehicle when stopped and stealing some of the boxes, so someone has to remain alert at all times.
None of the children will realise how difficult this journey was to bring them books, clothes and shoes as well as baby clothes, blankets and school resources. But we are very thankful for the dedication and hard work of Levison and his team. It is a real labour of love and of sacrifice for others.
Over the next few days they will begin to open the boxes and I am sure there will be some photos of happy children getting some of the things they need.
I only wish that there could be a truckload of food delivered too or that feeding programmes were set up in primary schools as everyone is so hungry and we can only help to feed 500 children once a week. One proper meal a week is just not enough to fight off malnutrition. It seems like sometimes we take three steps forward and then two back as prices rise and less is available for the funds we have. Hopefully, we keep moving forward with the help of our supporters. It’s always about teamwork and thankfully we have a great team! Hope you enjoy these photos and videos and that, together with my blog, they give a good insight into the challenges faced by supporting a community in the rural far north of Malawi.
And here is the link to help repair the big holes in the roof of a family who are in dire need https://donorsee.com/project/26482?share=1 or you could contact us for bank details at contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com . Thanks so much for reading and supporting us, Sarah x
We are loving these two short films from the students at Bright Futures Secondary School…we hope you do too!
Sarah’s blog 10/2/25
We were asked by one of the charities who supports us to make a short video to go on their website. Two of the students at Bright Futures Secondary School, Mphatso and Hilda, helped us out with this and Levison filmed them in the library.
They thanked everyone who has supported them and continues to support them and said how much they like their school which has four classrooms. They receive free stationery and free school lunches. Hilda also said they enjoy practical science classes, practical agricultural lessons and playing sports.
Students in S2 at Bright Futures Secondary School were shown the short film and their reaction to the first video was filmed. It should, hopefully, make you smile.
Putting together a short film and photos with a professional finish is beyond my skillset unfortunately but I was able to call on one of my Facebook friends, Emma of Pineapple Digital Designs who very kindly put everything together to make two great films which we are delighted with. https://www.facebook.com/share/1EQLKvRH7N/
So the two films were sent to www.vetswithhorsepower.com who loved them and have already shared them on their social media pages. Thank you so much for supporting us again this year!
Feel free to share these two videos. These are some of the most vulnerable young people in rural northern Malawi. Before they started at BFSS most were suffering from malnutrition. They are all still hungry but at least they get one nutritious meal every school day. Most of them are orphans living with extended family and none of them would have had the opportunity of secondary education without support.
https://donorsee.com/project/25476?share=1 is the link if you’d like to help set up a beekeeping project at BFSS to help with skills for life, produce food and be an income generating project.
Thanks to teachers at Bright Futures Secondary School for these great photos of students.
Sarah’s blog 8/2/25
These photos that were taken yesterday at Bright Futures Secondary School are great. Thanks to the teachers who took the photos and sent them to me.
As you can see class sizes are small to give these most vulnerable teenagers the best chance of a good secondary education when everything else is stacked against them. The older the students, the harder their lives have been as they have missed big chunks of school to work for a pittance. All are living in extreme poverty and the free lunch they have at Bright Futures Secondary School is, for most, the only meal they have each day. In September we hope that we can start increasing class sizes a bit now that the school has been open for a little while. Class sizes at Bright Futures Secondary School will always remain lower than government run schools.
Because it’s the rainy season, there are often a few absences as the rivers are too swollen for children and young people to cross. So, unfortunately, if students live further away, and it has been raining for a few days, they cannot reach school. Although things are greatly improved thanks to the wonderful help we receive from our supporters, the community still faces many challenges like having no bridges.
These photos were taken in Emma’s Rainbow Library. There are shelves of books along one wall and there will soon be shelves along another wall for the additional books that have been sent for the library. There are books for all age groups and spending time in the library is a treat to read or look at the pictures in books, as well as being able to do some studying.
All of these students would not have been able to attend secondary school if it wasn’t for us being able to match them with sponsors who help pay for their education and school lunches. This is the difference that having a sponsor makes. These students now have opportunities, choices and chances that they didn’t have before.
I will be sending these photos to sponsors of these students next week. Thank you to everyone who supports them on their educational journey, Sarah x
https://gofund.me/dc6fb80e We are really excited about this fundraiser! Click on the link and make a donation if you can please.
Sarah’s blog 17/1/25
Just a quick blog today to introduce one of our trustees, Andy Ewing. Andy is planning a trip to Malawi this year to share his skills with the community we have been helping to support in rural northern Malawi.
Andy was born in Malawi and lived there for the first 5 years of his life. His background is engineering and if you click on the link to the fundraiser, you can read more about his exciting plans. Thanks, Sarahx https://gofund.me/dc6fb80e
Thank you so much to Malawi24 news for sharing the story of the important work being done at Bright Futures Secondary School during their agriculture classes.
Sarah’s blog 12/1/25
We area absolutely delighted that my post about tree planting by the students at Bright Futures Secondary School was seen by a news outlet in Malawi. They interviewed Levison yesterday and have published the story today. Levison says he’s had lots of phone calls about the article both from others who are also taking part in reforestation projects and people passing on their congratulations. I hope you are able to read the article below;
Thank you to everyone who has supported this project with financial donations. As you can see, it is a hugely important project and we are delighted that the students at Bright Futures Secondary School are having opportunities like this to make a difference in their community and that they are learning about reforestation, agroforestry, agriculture, climate crisis and being responsible citizens. The students are going to be shown the article tomorrow and I am sure they will be delighted that their hard work is being recognised. Thanks, Sarah x
Thank you so much to Malawi24 news for sharing the story of the important work being done at Bright Futures Secondary School during their agriculture classes.
Sarah’s blog 12/1/25
We area absolutely delighted that my post about tree planting by the students at Bright Futures Secondary School was seen by a news outlet in Malawi. They interviewed Levison yesterday and have published the story today. Levison says he’s had lots of phone calls about the article both from others who are also taking part in reforestation projects and people passing on their congratulations. I hope you are able to read the article below;
Thank you to everyone who has supported this project with financial donations. As you can see, it is a hugely important project and we are delighted that the students at Bright Futures Secondary School are having opportunities like this to make a difference in their community and that they are learning about reforestation, agroforestry, agriculture, climate crisis and being responsible citizens. The students are going to be shown the article tomorrow and I am sure they will be delighted that their hard work is being recognised. Thanks, Sarah x
