Tag: boxes

Life is so hard

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.

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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.

https://donorsee.com/project/26104?share=1 this is the link if you’d like to donate to help feed the children.

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

Lots of boxes to send- please help

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Sarah’s blog 29/08/24

Today has been all about boxes. Thank you to Stuart for driving another carload of boxes to The Bananabox Trust warehouse in Dundee. Once their warehouse is full, they order the next container. We are always grateful to all their volunteers who process the boxes and pack the container. Once Stuart returned from Dundee, he and I spent time packing more boxes this afternoon. Jackie, our numbers guru, and I have just been discussing how much money we have available to send boxes on the next container. Unfortunately, there is never enough in the kitty, so we have to appeal for your help (bank details are at the end of my blog).

Some of our boxes at The Bananabox Trust Warehouse in Dundee

Sending boxes of aid to Malawi is always a bit challenging. Is it economical to send boxes via a container ship then truck to the orphans and other vulnerable children? Should they be buying goods in Malawi instead? There are lots of issues but I’ll try and explain our reasoning for doing what we do.

There are over 500 orphans and other vulnerable children who are living in extreme poverty. Lots of families have been affected by AIDS/HIV so many orphans are living with extended family and are trying to earn a pittance to feed themselves. Therefore, they do not have any spare money to buy clothes. Before we started sending clothes, children were wearing rags. Desperate mothers, who come with their children to ask for help, are able to receive clothes thanks to our supporters.

hundreds of vulnerable children receive preloved school uniform and their self confidence has improved now they have nice clothes to wear.
  1. We appeal for preloved school uniform as it is hardwearing and is usually outgrown while it is still in good condition. It is a way for more people to learn about us and what we do. It is a way to recycle preloved clothes. We also send shoes, baby clothes and blankets which new mothers are so grateful for.
  2. If we didn’t send clothes for the children but sent some money instead, Levison would not be able to buy enough suitable clothing at local markets for the children. Because of the very rural location, this makes accessing shops difficult too. Also purchasing clothes for all those children would cost far too much.
  3. It can get cold at night and as children don’t have enough warm blankets, they need jumpers and hats to keep them warm as they sleep on the floor cuddled with their siblings.
  4. Eventually, because we have sent sewing machines, there won’t be as much need to send as many clothes as they will have the skills to make clothes.
  5. A large percentage of the boxes going on the next container are boxes of children’s books for the School Literacy Project. Primary Schools in rural northern Malawi have minimal resources. We are hoping to raise attainment levels and help children to become confident readers. The books are preloved, from individuals and from local schools and nurseries, so they haven’t cost us anything. We only have to buy the strong boxes to pack them in and pay for transportation. There would be no way of providing books for our project like this if we were to purchase them in Malawi. There aren’t second hand books readily available because owning a book is a precious thing and people, if they are lucky enough to have a book, keep their books. Education is the way out of poverty for thousands of children who will benefit from the School Literacy Project. For £17.50 per box of books – that is a low cost project with the potential to make huge changes.
The first 17 boxes of books gifted to Chambo Primary School. Preschool children in the library had trouble knowing how to turn the pages of these books as they hadn’t had the opportunity to read books before. Some resources I made from bottle tops to support literacy.

Once the community is more self-sufficient and more people have paid employment then they will be able to provide for their own children, both food and clothes. Even daily food is out of reach of some of the people we are helping to support. When the children have better exam results because they’ve had more opportunity to read many more books, they will be able to go on to secondary education (if we can match them with sponsors as secondary education is not free in Malawi).

We will not always send as many boxes as we do currently. The end goal is and has always been helping the community towards self-sufficiency. Hopefully, you will see from this explanation the thought process involved in sending boxes and the huge amount of children who benefit thanks to our supporters. However, we do need financial support to continue helping so many children through all the different projects. It costs £17.50 per box on the container then there are the transport costs in Malawi to collect the boxes from the container. This is such a long journey that it always involves an overnight trip.

So if you are able to help support the sending of preloved shoes and school uniform or to support our School Literacy project we would be very grateful. Financial donations can be made via the website or here are our bank details: Changing Lives Malawi, Bank of Scotland, Sort Code 80-22-60, Account Number 21081462. We always say it’s about teamwork and we couldn’t do what we do without your help and support. If you’d like to get in touch then please email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com . Thank you, Sarah x

I always remember this photo of Lucia and Rodrick…him wth no top and just one shoe. Lucia with no shoes, their tummies distended due to malnutrition. There are six children in their family. Thankfully, they were given clothes and we were able to get sponsors for three of them, meaning more food goes into their home each month to supplement the food they already have. Please let me know if you would like to sponsor a young person.

Gifts for the Children

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Sarah’s blog 12/08/24

Levison and his team have been busy opening the boxes that arrived recently. As Sunday is the day to run the feeding programme, word had got round that there might be some gifts given out yesterday. However, far more children turned up than was expected… there were well over 500…many arrived early…so it was just going to be too much to give clothes out in a sensible way, ensuring everyone got something that fitted them. Everyone will get something, but it will have to be done over different days.

These children are all living in extreme poverty. Many are orphans who live with extended family. Families struggle to feed children every day… so the feeding programme is vital. Once a week isn’t nearly enough but it’s all we can afford at the moment. As families struggle to eat, they certainly don’t have money to buy clothes.

We didn’t send as many boxes as usual on that container as we had sent lots of tables and chairs for the classrooms. On the next container there will be more boxes and, as well as preloved clothes for the children, there will be lots of boxes of books for the school literacy project.

There were over 70 nursery age children today (most of whom go to Bright Futures Nursery). It was decided that they would be the easiest age group to give gifts to first. They all received new clothes and a soft toy each and Levison took these lovely photos of some of the children who are aged between 4 and 6.

After the youngest children had their gifts, then the next age group received clothes too. If you’d like to make a donation to help the feeding programme or help with the cost of sending boxes then please do email me contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

We hope you enjoy these photos and videos and do let me know if you recognise any of the soft toys as having being donated by you! Thanks to everyone who supports us to help hundreds of children and young people, Sarah x

Bright Futures Campus – hundreds of children turned up early this morning hoping for gifts as well as being fed.
Over 70 children age 4-6 received clothes and soft toys

You can hear the excitement and chatter as the children come together to be with their friends and know that they will have a good meal today. We wish we could feed them more often than once a week but we need more financial support for the feeding programme
The children and young people are thanking everyone for the donations and support
5 weeks to find sponsors for 11 vulnerable students

The Homecoming

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Sarah’s blog 21/7/24

Container #13 arrived in Ekwendeni, near Mzuzu, and was due to be opened at 10am on Friday morning. Levison and two of his team had left Chitipa on Thursday afternoon as soon as they heard that the container had been released by customs and was travelling north from Lilongwe to Ekwendeni. As Levison is in the far north, this journey takes a long time. They had a few hours sleep at Karonga then onto Ekwendeni. There was a blocked road due to a lorry breakdown but they managed to get there on time.

Things then didn’t go to plan. The customs officers needed to do some extra checks so the container had to go to their warehouse in Mzuzu to be unpacked there. Hundreds of people gather when a container arrives. Everyone waited all day Friday and the boxes etc hadn’t been released. I had to send more money so that Levison and his staff could buy more food and find somewhere to stay overnight. Everyone was getting very frustrated but were told to return at 9am on Saturday. The boxes were eventually released after 11am on Saturday which was just as well because the customs officers don’t work on a Saturday afternoon!

The Homecoming – Levison’s truck returned to Bright Futures Campus at lunchtime today…three days after setting off…and what a hero’s welcome they received! Levison had to move children out of the way so that the truck could get through…they were so delighted to see the truck come loaded with boxes.

The other truck and driver they had to hire, didn’t want to come along all the small dirt roads so will wait for them in town. Levison and staff will go back to collect all the tables and chairs that were sent for the classrooms at Bright Futures Secondary School.

Levison asked me to thank everyone involved – all the donors, all the volunteers – everyone. We would like to echo those thanks too. It is always a team effort and needs all of us to each play our small part in making things happen.

To the team at Bananbox Trust in Dundee – thank you for ensuring the boxes are correctly labelled and packed onto each container. And to the BBT team in Malawi, thank you for ensuring the correct boxes are given to the correct recipients! Sorry that you had more work to do this time but we appreciate everything that you do. I’ve added the link to their face book post for you to see some of their photos. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/4daSw9JPGi9mx6Gm

Hope everyone enjoys looking at the photos and videos, most of which were taken just a couple of hours ago. A hero’s welcome indeed…and very much deserved! Thank you, Sarah x DonorSee (a link to our fundraising page with small projects)

https://videopress.com/v/inBp0mBT?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

Thank you for the books Balfron Primary School!

Thank you Balfron Primary School!! We need some families to help with this project too…so will you read today’s blog and make a difference please?

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Sarah’s blog 12/6/24

We are delighted as we have had a brilliant donation from Balfron Primary School of all their books from their reading programme that they are updating. Headteacher, Angus Black, brought five big boxes of books to us which are going to benefit hundreds of very vulnerable children in primary schools in rural northern Malawi through our School Literacy Project. This project is working towards UN Sustainable Development Goal 4 – Quality Education.

This is an amazing donation of books which will help so many vulnerable children to learn to read.

Most of the primary schools in the rural far north of Malawi have large class sizes and minimal resources. How can we expect children to read well if they don’t have books to practice? These books will make a huge difference to the children’s knowledge as well as helping them to be more confident readers.

So a big THANK YOU again to Balfron Primary School for supporting School Literacy amongst some of the most vulnerable children in rural northern Malawi. We will have photos to show when the books finally arrive in a few months time. We sort and repack all the books into age groups and into strong boxes and label them up to go to Dundee where they await the next container.

Although our School Literacy Project is relatively cheap as the books are all donated, it still costs us £17.50 to send every box on the container. If you can please help pay towards the transportation costs of these books then here is the link to donate on our DonorSee site https://donorsee.com/project/23626?share=1

When students leave primary school at the end of p8 they have to sit national primary school leavers exams. They cannot go to secondary school if they don’t pass these exams. We expect, through our School Literacy Project, to start to see improved exam results within the next few years as literacy levels improve.

None of the hundreds of vulnerable children we help to support can afford to go to secondary school, which has to be paid for in Malawi. So, even if they pass their primary school leavers exams, if they cannot pay for secondary school then that is their education finished.

That’s why we match students with sponsors to support their secondary education. It’s only £25 per month to sponsor a student and you can share the cost between friends and family….it’s less than £1 per day to give the gift of education. Sponsored students are given a place at Bright Futures Secondary School where they receive free education, uniform, stationery and everything else they need for school. They get a free nutritious school lunch each day. For most students, this is the only food they get every day so it is really important to enable them to study and concentrate.

Here is the link to my blog about the students who are looking for sponsors so they will be able to attend Bright Futures Secondary School in September. If you could help support the education of one of these very vulnerable young people then please do get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

https://changinglivesmalawi.com/2024/05/23/sponsors-needed-for-p8-students/

Thanks again, Balfron Primary School for supporting our charity which is just round the corner from the school. It’s always about team work and together, with your help, we can make a difference, Sarah x

Students at Chambo Primary School where three out of eight classrooms now have desks and benches. These children were delighted when we paid for them to have new notepads and pencils in January. They are about to receive another gift of notepads and pencils thanks to our fundraising on DonorSee site.
We applied for a grant on behalf of Chambo Primary School to enable them to have a toilet block and a clean water supply.
The first 17 boxes of books gifted to Chambo Primary. After this shipment of books, we will start collecting books for another primary school in that cluster.
Children looking at the first boxes of books that were sent on the container

More great donations – thank you!

Great donations from Jordanhill Out of School Service, Balfron Primary School and Kelvinside Academy. Thank you for all the support!

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Sarah’s blog 10/06/24

Just a short blog today…Stuart and I were packing boxes this morning ready for them to go to Dundee to await the next container. It won’t go for another few months but the previous container that is on its way will arrive in Malawi very soon.

This morning we were packing up boxes of books for the School Literacy Project. The primary schools in the rural far north of Malawi have hardly any resources. Starting with Chambo Primary school, which has over 500 students in 8 classrooms (only 3 have desks and benches) we are donating boxes of preloved books to help students become confident readers and raise literacy levels.

This evening, we received more books, delivered by Angus Black, Balfron Primary School’s head teacher – I will take photos of these tomorrow – thank you so much.

Also this evening, we had some lovely books donated by Jordanhill Out of School Service. It was very kind of them to come all the way to bring them to my house and great to meet them. Thank you very much for this generous donation! They took away leaflets for the families that use their service and stickers for the children. We are very grateful when people go out of their way to support us and our projects.

Also in this morning’s boxes we packed some great donations of sports kit from Kelvinside Academy. These will be donated to one of the primary schools we support and they will be delighted to receive proper sports kits. Until recently, none of the primary schools had a matching kit. There were holes in all the sports kits too, so when we helped support the rugby tournament last year, the teams from the primary schools were so pleased to receive lovely new matching kits. We are grateful for all donations of sports kit and now this donation from Kelvinside Academy will be on its way to new students. Thank you.

Each box costs £17.50 to send on the container, so if anyone can help us pay for boxes we would be very grateful contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com . Many thanks to all our donors and supporters, Sarah x

Josie from Jordanhill Out of School Service delivering a great donation of books to Sarah
Thank you to Kelvinside Academy for this generous donation of preloved clothes

Changing Lives Malawi is (nearly) 5 years old!!

As part of our 5th birthday celebrations, we are launching an appeal for preloved books, school uniform and footwear and also asking people to sponsor the cost of sending a box on the container.

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Sarah’s blog 01/05/24

At the end of this month our charity, Changing Lives Malawi, will be 5 years old! To mark this amazing milestone, we will be sharing stories throughout the month, looking back at how things were and what has been achieved. To start the month I’m sharing our birthday appeals.

We have been fortunate that so many people have donated their preloved books to our School Literacy Appeal; individuals, adults, children, local nurseries, schools, church congregations and you all have been making a big difference to literacy levels in the far north of Malawi.

We have been able to stock the shelves in Emma’s Rainbow Library, as well as donating boxes of books to local primary schools. These schools have hardly any resources and our aim is to support children and young people to become more confident readers. How can they practice reading without any books?

The pre-school children in the nursery have missed out on years of pre-reading skills; they haven’t had the picture books to turn pages, to sit on an adult’s knee as a baby and have a favourite story read to them. This was evident when the pre-school children first encountered books that we had sent. They had no idea how to turn pages or what to do with the books. Now, thanks to the support we receive, we are ensuring each child at Bright Futures Nursery has at least two books to take home with them to keep. We want every home to have some books and families to start looking at these books together.

We are appealing for people to get involved and donate preloved books as part of our 5th birthday celebration. We are also appealing for preloved school uniform, shoes, crocs, sliders, trainers (all sizes) but they must be in very good, clean condition. If you can make a small financial donation with your books, clothes or shoes then please do as that will really help us with the costs of transportation.

We are also appealing for people to sponsor a box of books, clothes or shoes. It costs us £17.50 per box on the Bananabox Trust container plus there are additional costs of collecting the boxes in Malawi. We will write your name, name of a loved one, your business or even a funny message on a big label on your box. It would make such a difference if there were enough people covering the cost of boxes and would, therefore, make it such a team effort!

For more information, or to get involved you can email me on contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Together, we CAN continue Changing Lives (in) Malawi. Thank you to everyone who supports us, Sarah x

Container 11 has arrived!

The container has arrived and been unloaded

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Sarah’s blog 24/07/23

It’s a long process to send boxes to Malawi. Firstly, we take the boxes to Dundee to The Bananabox Trust warehouse. When their warehouse is full of boxes (from individuals and other organisations) they order a container which goes to Ekwendeni, near Mzuzu. We are charged £17.50 per box to cover the cost of the container. It takes approximately 3 months for the container to arrive in Ekwendeni which is still several hours drive south of where The Foundation is.

Levison and two helpers left last Wednesday to be in Ekwendeni for Thursday when they were hoping the container would be there. Unfortunately, the lorry that the container was on broke down and only arrived this morning. So there has been a lot of wasted time, waiting around, and a lot more expense for meals and overnight accommodation.

However, this morning, the waiting was over and the container was opened. The boxes and other items were all unloaded and handed to the people from charities and organisations who were there patiently waiting to collect them. It’s always a good time to catch up with friends and acquaintances when everyone gathers on container day and Levison was able to spend time with several people he knows.

Once they were sure they had everything safely, it was time to pack the truck. They are now on their way home with all the boxes which will be opened over the next few weeks. Levison is also delivering boxes to a football coach in Chitipa on behalf of Community Sports Leaders Africa (who donated the netball posts in recent photos). There are resources for Bright Futures Secondary School, lots of baby knitting and primary school uniform donations as well as three big boxes of school shoes from charity https://www.salsshoes.com for the students at Bright Futures Secondary School. They will be amazed and delighted when they see the gifts and resources that have been sent.

We want to thank The Bananabox Trust in Dundee for their hard work in organising the container and the volunteers who label the boxes and pack the container and everyone in Ekwendeni who helps on container day. It’s difficult for Levison, travelling from a long distance away, to collect the boxes we send (most people are local to Ekwendeni or Mzuzu) but we are very grateful for those friends who give of their time and offer assistance to ensure everything goes as smoothly as possible.

We are looking forward to bringing more photos when boxes are opened and of the progress of building the next phase of the school. My sister, Joanne, has been doing a wonderful job with her walking challenge in July. She is trying to raise money towards the next phase of Bright Futures Secondary School whilst facing personal challenges. Her story and the link to her fundraiser is here https://gofund.me/91721cad . If you can share a few £££ then please do head over to her fundraising page to keep encouraging her towards the end of her challenge. Showing your support will make all the difference to her and to the orphans in Malawi who need another classroom. Many thanks for all the support so far, Sarah x

Levison surrounded by boxes
some of the donations from Community Sports Leaders Africa
Levison’s truck
The container arriving at Ekwendeni

Rugby Donations & boxes

The children and young people are looking forward to another visit from the Rugby Development Officer.

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Sarah’s blog 13/05/23

Yesterday Stuart and I went to The Bananabox Trust Warehouse in Dundee with a car full of boxes and rugby balls. We are really grateful to all the volunteers at The Bananabox Trust who process everything and then order and pack the container once their warehouse is full. We are charged £17.50 per box to cover the cost of the container so if you would like to sponsor a box then please do get in touch…we can write your name on the box!

Thanks to Bruce Aitchison, housemaster at Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh for supplying us with rugby balls, boots and kit.

Thanks also to Gordon and Michael for collecting kit from Grangemouth RFC, Hillfoots RFC, Stirling County RFC, Blaydon RFC (Newcastle) and Glasgow Warriors kit. Michael is also going to Edinburgh to the Scottish Rugby Union this week to collect lots of training kit. The SRU are also kindly giving us some new jerseys to auction. Well done and thank you!

In September we are facilitating Malawi Rugby’s development officer, Jack Mphande, to pay another visit for two weeks to coach and train teachers and students at several primary schools. Jack will also spend two days working with the older orphans we help to support. We do need help with financial support for this event and it would be a good opportunity to advertise your business. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

Thanks to everyone who is helping us to support the projects in Malawi and make lives brighter for the hundreds of orphans who we help to support. Thank you, Sarah x

Bruce, housemaster at Merchiston Castle School, Edinburgh with some of the donated kit and boots
Students at Bright Futures Secondary School with the Merchiston Castle School kit, balls and boots that were generously donated.

The very long journey

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Sarah’s blog 13/12/22

I have saved writing this until I knew that Levison and his two helpers were back at The Foundation safely.

On Thursday afternoon, they left Ibuluma (in the very far north) to travel to Ekwendeni (near Mzuzu) where the Bananabox Trust container gets unloaded. The message was sent that the container was arriving on Friday morning, so off they set.

They travelled to Karonga firstly then onto Mzuzu where they were able to purchase a small amount of science equipment for Bright Futures Secondary School before being at Ekwendeni for the container being opened and unloaded. The roads, and the fact that it is now the rainy season, slows everything down and they have to travel slowly and carefully.

We had sent more aid on container number 10 as we were offered chairs for Bright Futures Secondary School so there was always going to have to be two journeys made; one with boxes and one with 8 tables and 130 chairs.

The plan was that the driver and assistant took the boxes back on Friday to Ibuluma whilst Levison stayed with the chairs and tables and that the truck would return for him on Saturday. Unfortunately, due to heavy rain, they didn’t make it as far as Ibuluma on Friday night because the roads were unsafe. A safe place was found for all the boxes in Chitipa. The truck then went back to Ekwendeni on Saturday. However, as they didn’t arrive until late, they had to stay overnight and set off with the chairs and tables on Sunday. Again, because of heavy rain, they got as far as Chitipa and slept in the truck and completed the journey to Ibuluma on Monday morning.

The teenagers from Bright Futures Secondary School helped to unload the chairs and tables and were amazed to see the lovely chairs. Levison and the driver then went back to Chitipa to collect the desks that the carpenter had made for one of the classrooms. They brought those back safely and intended to go back to collect all the boxes, however it started raining heavily again. They decided it was safer to have a good night’s sleep and to set off early this morning to collect the boxes. Plans had to change again. The roads weren’t safe to travel because of the rain until mid-morning. Finally, the boxes were collected, and they headed to fill up with diesel before heading back to Ibuluma. Another twist in the tale….no diesel. However, they were told it was on it’s way. So, more waiting.

We really don’t realise how difficult things can be when trying to make plans. The rural location of The Foundation, in the far north of Malawi certainly puts it at a disadvantage and also the community are at a disadvantage too. Fuel is expensive. There are no big agencies feeding children in schools in that area at all. They are very much forgotten. This is why the work that The Foundation does is so important. Children are hungry. Children need education. Children need clothes. Children need a helping hand. Hundreds and hundreds of vulnerable children who need our help to a brighter future and need you to help change their lives for the better.

After a long wait for diesel, they were finally able to fill up and travel slowly but safely back to the Foundation at 9.30pm. Good job done everyone and thank you to everyone who has been involved whether you’ve donated goods, money, packed boxes, driven boxes to Dundee, thanks to our friends at The Bananabox Trust for the work they do itemising everything and packing the container. Another successful mission completed to help some of the most vulnerable people in rural northern Malawi.

If you would like to support the projects we are helping, you can either email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com or donate to https://gofund.me/44a92444 Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy the photos and videos, Sarah x

Container 10 at Ekwendeni

Some of the chairs we sent
A lot of boxes on the truck!
Levison at Ekwendeni
The chairs arriving at The Foundation and some of the teens helping unload
8 tables and 130 chairs have arrived safely
There has been lots of heavy rain
Teenagers helping to unload all the chairs
The new desks that the carpenter has made
Arriving safely with all the boxes
helping to bring all the boxes in safely
A job well done!

Christmas Fundraising & news update

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Sarah’s blog 8/12/22

There is so much going on both in Malawi and here, so I thought I would do a quick update.

  1. Our charity accounts and trustees’ report have been completed and filed with OSCR. We now have three years of completed accounts and our charity is progressing well, thanks to all the support we have received. More grants can be applied for as many organisations require three years accounts from applicants.
  2. I am continuing to try to raise funds to support the projects; education and feeding the orphans continue to be our priorities; and we must reach more people to try to get more awareness and more support to ensure that children are fed and that phase 2 of Bright Futures Secondary School can be built next year. If you would like to contribute to the school project the link is here https://gofund.me/44a92444 or you can email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Why not make a monthly donation to support the feeding of 500+ orphans? Or if you are in a position to gift £500 or more then you can have your name, a name or your choice or your business name above a classroom door or one of the other new buildings.
  3. Fundraising calendars – I still have some available. These make great Christmas gifts. These are only £10 plus £2 p&p. As one of our trustees paid for these to be printed, all of the £10 will go towards Bright Futures Secondary School. We have alternative gift cards available, paintings and packs of cards by Christine Cresswell one of our trustees who has donated her time and talents to raise funds for our charity. Have a look and see what you can buy for Christmas without leaving the house! The link to all the fundraising items is in a previous blog post here Christmas Cards & Gifts – Changing Lives Malawi
  4. The container is due in Ekwendeni any day now. Levison is just waiting for confirmation then he will be travelling south to collect the boxes and chairs that we sent. Thank you to everyone who donated items to be sent. There will be great excitement when the chairs and the boxes arrive.
  5. Government schools will close for the Christmas holidays on 16th December. Because Bright Futures Secondary School was a bit late opening, due to having to raise funds as we go, the teachers have kindly suggested that the school remains open for an extra few days. So, the last day of term at Bright Futures Secondary School will be 21st December and a Christmas party, for all the 500+ orphans and other vulnerable children, will be held on 22nd December which they are all very much looking forward to. We thank the generous donors who gifted money to feed the children an extra time to enable there to be a party.
  6. Desks for the classrooms are being made thanks to donations we have received. If you would like to purchase a desk for use by a student, they are £20 each.
  7. As it has been so busy, unfortunately, we have not had as many updates about sponsored children as we would have liked. I have now linked with one of the teachers who will work with me to remedy this and sponsors will be able to hear from their sponsored children a lot more regularly.
  8. If you would like me to come and talk at your club, church or school (or for any event) I’d love to hear from you. I have a laptop, projector and screen and lots of photos to show!

Thank you for reading and supporting us, Sarah x

Our fundraising calendar will make a great Christmas gift – £10 each (all of the £10 goes towards the school project) plus £2 p&p
Some of the school desks – £20 each
The front of the alternative gift card
Inside the alternative gift card – just circle or tick the gift you are wishing to purchase. A football is £10, 4 fruit tree saplings £10, soap for 100 children £40 and transportation of a box of books is £20 contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

The Container Ship – Alana

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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
First stop Antwerp, Belgium
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