Tag: bright futures secondary school

The next building at BFSS

Sarah’s blog 19/10/23

As we grow, there seems to be more to do! Bright Futures Secondary School is doing well and we were so thankful that classrooms 3 and 4 were finished in time for the new term starting last month. Classroom 4 is currently being used as a staffroom and for teaching skills for life classes, until it will be needed for a classroom next year when there will be another intake of pupils meaning there will be classes 1-4 next year.

This means we will need to build another staffroom by next September. Also, more teachers will need to be employed by next September. As the village is so rural and people are living in extreme poverty, there is no suitable accommodation available for teachers to rent. There is already some accommodation on campus for the current teachers but more needs to be built.

We were fortunate to receive a grant from The Clive Richards Foundation for staff accommodation and latrines for which we are very grateful. Levison has negotiated with local land owners and we have bought two pieces of land for The Foundation which will extend the Bright Future Secondary School Campus. One of these pieces of land is for teachers accommodation.

Land clearing has started and the builders will be arriving soon to start on the foundations and the building should be finished next month. You can see from the attached photos that there have been lots of shrubs and some quite big rocks and stones to move….all by hand. There has been another fuel shortage which has delayed purchasing items needed for the building but, thankfully, they got fuel yesterday afternoon. However, because of prices rising, fuel shortages and strikes, they are going to have to travel 50km into Tanzania to purchase cement then 50km back home again….adding to time and fuel costs. Nothing is straightforward.

On the second piece of land it is hoped that dormitories will be able to be built but, as with everything, it is dependent on finances. We would be delighted if anyone would like to make a donation towards either a second teachers accommodation block or dormitories. You could have your name, the name of a loved one or your company or club name over a door or on a building! contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

One block of 4 motel style rooms with verandas will be built before the rainy season starts in the next few weeks plus more latrines will be built for the staff and students. We will need to raise more funds for a second block of 4 teachers’ accommodation that can be built after the rainy season. Great progress is being made but fundraising must continue to ensure that Bright Futures Secondary School continues to grow and thrive for the vulnerable teenagers and the community.

Money is always on our minds as we don’t have any big reserves. We are volunteers and so we have no overheads and all money donated goes to the projects we help to support. We rely on donations and fundraising and the occasional successful grant application. That is why we always talk about teamwork…we are only a small part of helping to make a difference. We need your help too!

The more teenagers we can match with sponsors, then the more vulnerable orphans will benefit from free good quality secondary education at Bright Futures Secondary School. So can you help an orphan have a brighter future with a secondary education? It costs £25 p/m to sponsor a young person and this includes a nutritious school lunch each day. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

For many, this is their only food each day which is why it is so important to us that they have free food at lunchtime each day. How can they be expected to study and concentrate on their lessons if they have no energy, are hungry and malnourished? How can they be expected to sleep at night if they are lying awake with hunger pains. We take a holistic approach to helping these young people and their families back to being self-sufficient and having a sustainable future.

We keep the UN Sustainable Goals in mind for all of our projects. #SDG1 – no poverty, #SDG2 – no hunger, #SDG3 – good health & welbeing, #SGD4 – quality education, #SDG6 – clean water & sanitation, #SGD8 – decent work & economic growth, #SDG11 – sustainable communities to name a few!!

Or could you commit £5 or £10 p/m to help us provide nutritious school lunches? Food prices keep going up and the crops they are growing just aren’t enough. You could help us ensure that no young person at Bright Futures Secondary School is suffering from malnutrition. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

I look forward to bringing you more photos during the coming weeks and, again, I would like to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who supports our work, Sarah x

New rugby kit for students at Bright Futures Secondary School

Sarah’s blog 04/10/23

We are very grateful for the donations of preloved sports kit we have received from clubs and individuals. As I posted yesterday, one primary school have football shirts that are years old and are ripped and falling apart. Thankfully, because of these generous donations, all schools taking part in the rugby development tournament will receive rugby balls and sports kit to take back to their schools.

New (or new to them) sports kit will make such a difference to these vulnerable young people who are living in extreme poverty. They can be proud of their team all looking smart and they know that people whom they’ve never met care about them. These young people are used to making do with what they have, even if it is ripped and falling apart, they aren’t used to being gifted new sports kit. They will be delighted, on tournament day, to receive new sports kit thanks to the donations of kit we have received.

One organisation who have been very generous with the amount of rugby kit and rugby balls they have donated to us is Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh. They have given us a huge amount of sports clothes as well as rugby boots and rugby balls. We are very grateful for all this support which, as you can see from the photos, is making a huge impact on the vulnerable young people we help to support.

We have facilitated a second visit from Jack Mphande, Sports Development Officer for Malawi Rugby Union, to introduce rugby in the far north of Malawi where we work. Jack is based in Lilongwe and travelled 15 hours by bus to work with the orphans and other vulnerable children during these two weeks.

A bit of information for those who are new to my blogs;

  1. No big organisations are feeding children in primary schools this far north.
  2. Most of children in primary schools aren’t eating a proper meal every day.
  3. Secondary education needs to be paid for in Malawi. So, unless families can afford to pay for secondary education, many children’s education does not advance past primary school level.
  4. Many primary schools do not even have clean water and toilets. Nor do they have enough educational resources. We have been donating boxes of preloved reading books to primary schools to help raise literacy levels.
  5. The students (in today’s photos) attend Bright Futures Secondary School, the second phase of which has just been completed. None of them could afford secondary education as many are orphans living with extended family. Most don’t eat every day so all students at Bright Futures Secondary School receive a free cooked lunch each day as well as their free secondary education.
  6. Many of the students at Bright Futures Secondary School are older than they should be. They’ve had to miss big chunks of primary school to work for a pittance to try to buy food for themselves and their families. The older a student is when they start secondary school, the poorer the family as they’ve missed more school. Often older siblings miss out on education so younger siblings can go to school while the older siblings work long hours. Many of the children and young people we help to support are suffering from different levels of malnutrition.
  7. Whilst we are very grateful for donations of goods, we also need funds to cover the cost of sending these items. It costs us £17.50 per box or sports bag on the container and then there are also costs in Malawi when Levison and team travel to collect all the donations.

Thank you to all who contribute, to all who share our posts, to all those who have donated to this rugby event to ensure that these young people got to experience a new sport and learn new skills whilst having fun with their friends. They are able to forget about their traumatic lives whilst playing team sports. They will remember Jack’s visit as a highlight of their time at school.

So, as we grow and are able to help more of the most vulnerable people living in dire poverty, please consider fundraising for us to help us continue to change lives in rural northern Malawi. Can you donate money along with your gifts of goods? Can you have a bake sale for us? Or do a sponsored event? Our charity is run by volunteers, so all money goes to the projects we support in Malawi. Eventually, the aim is that the community will be self-sufficient but things have been so bad that they need a helping hand until they are at that point.

  1. We are also looking for people to commit to £5 or £10 per month to help pay for school lunches at Bright Futures Secondary School.
  2. Can you pay for a box of preloved books to get to a primary school as part of our School Literacy Project? £17.50 will help children become more confident readers.
  3. Can you give a vulnerable young person the gift of education at Bright Futures Secondary School? The more sponsors we have then the more students we can support. If you have £25 per month to spare (or split the cost with a friend) you will be able to sponsor a young person to attend secondary school. Education is their way out of poverty and young people want to work hard and have new opportunities for a brighter future.
  4. Any fundraising you can do for us or monetary donations would be very much appreciated. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com our charity bank details are; Bank of Scotland, Changing Lives Malawi, a/c 21081462, s/c 80-22-60.

Enjoy looking at these photos of the young people at Bright Futures Secondary School as they learn to play rugby. Thank you everyone who supports us, Sarah x

Rugby Coaching 2023

Chisenga PS & Malawa PS rugby coaching

Merchiston Castle School, Edinburgh – Rugby Kit Donation

Merchiston Castle School – another rugby donation

Rugby Coaching 2023

Sarah’s blog 02/10/23

Firstly, I’d like to thank everyone who has contributed to help make it possible for Jack Mphande, Rugby Development Officer from Malawi Rugby, to visit the far north of Malawi to spend time with teachers and young people sharing his love of rugby.

Secondly, a HUGE thank you to Jack for making the 15 hour journey north from Lilongwe. We know that you are a busy man and very in demand, so we are very happy and thankful that you have agreed to visit for a second time. Jack said how much the Foundation had changed and grown since his last visit! There was no Bright Futures Secondary School then!

Today, teachers from Bright Futures Secondary School, and four local primary schools, and the District Education Sports Officer had theory lessons from 10am-2pm. After that, they were joined outside by students from Bright Futures Secondary School for practical learning. Tomorrow, Jack will start visiting local primary schools who sent teachers to the course, to work with the teachers and students there. Then on the last day there will be tournaments between the schools.

The commitment, concentration and the passion from the sports teachers was great. We did the Get Into Rugby session, basic requirements in Rugby Coaching and what to do to sustain the programme. Coaches had a learning experience with the kids and I gave them an assignment to demonstrate how they will be delivering the session starting tomorrow at their own school. They did well and the kids had fun too.

Jack Mphande, Rugby Development Officer

There will be many more photos and videos documenting Jack’s visit along with the learning journey and fun that everyone will have. I love the photos of the teachers who were also doing practical learning! Many thanks again to everyone who has helped to enable this visit to happen. Enjoy the photos and videos, Sarah x

https://videopress.com/v/DHMQ29ni?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

New uniform & shoes for the S1 students at Bright Futures SS

This year’s S1 students at Bright Futures Secondary School. They have received gifts of uniform, shoes and school bags.

Sarah’s blog 20/09/23

Firstly, I want to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who has donated school uniform and school bags for the vulnerable students at Bright Futures Secondary School. Levison said that one of them had said ‘we never expected to have such good quality clothes as this’. So thank you for making a big difference to them and helping them feel important and valued for a change.

Secondly, another huge THANK YOU to the charity Sal’s Shoes Our Story – Sal’s Shoes (salsshoes.com). We were gifted three big boxes of shoes for the teenagers at Bright Futures Secondary School. We are very grateful for this support and we know the young people are delighted to have proper shoes to wear. It has such an impact on their confidence and self-esteem that people who don’t even know them have shown they care about the students by donating uniform and shoes. Now they all look smart and are able to have a sense of pride in their appearance. Proper shoes are also very important when the young people are walking the long distances to and from school across rough ground. Thank you again Sal’s Shoes for all that you do, all the hard work of your volunteers and for everyone who donates shoes to you to pass on to those who need them.

Here are photos of the new S1 students at Bright Futures Secondary School. All of them are vulnerable. All have been given shoes, uniform and school bags. The Only a few of them have sponsors to support their education through secondary school. If you are able to support one of these young people then please do get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com It’s £25 per month to sponsor a young person. Or you could commit to £5 or £10 per month to help pay for school lunches. Each student gets a nutritious cooked lunch each day at Bright Futures Secondary School….for many it is their only proper meal of the day. These young people cannot be expected to concentrate and learn if they have no food in their tummies. Your help would be very much appreciated. The more people who help us support these young people, the more young people we can help and then we can offer places at Bright Futures Secondary School to additional young people. Thank you, Sarah x

Martha, Mphatso and Aaron are choosing shoes from one of the boxes that Sal’s shoes donated
New shoes for Aaron, Martha and Mphatso – thank you
looking very smart in their new uniforms and shoes
John and Asante pose in their new uniform and shoes
Thanks to Sal’s shoes for these very smart shoes that John and Asante are delighted with

Ready for School!

The new term starts tomorrow and the new classrooms are ready just in time

Sarah’s blog 10/09/23

Just a few photos before the new school term starts tomorrow in Malawi.

The new classroom block at Bright Futures Secondary School has been finished, names have been written over the doors. The carpenter is making some extra desks that will be finished in a couple of days.

Three classes of students will arrive tomorrow. What the s3 class don’t know is that some of our trustees have sent money for a celebration for them tomorrow afternoon. All S3 (well last year’s s2) passed their national exams… a great achievement. So they will be having a treat tomorrow.

Thank you to everyone who has helped and supported us to enable this to happen. It’s an amazing achievement and we are delighted that the classrooms are ready just in time.

We still need more toilets and textbooks if anyone would like to help https://gofund.me/ece5753a . Thank you again, Sarah x

Some of the teachers today
Block 2 of Bright Futures Secondary School
Kenzo’s Classroom
Block 2 at Bright Futures Secondary School is ready for students tomorrow.
Sadie Harmin’s Staffroom
Desks being made

Classrooms 3 & 4 BFSS

Purple sky at sunset over the new classroom block at Bright Futures Secondary School

Sarah’s blog 8/9/23

Teamwork has done it again! Thank you so much everyone who has helped to make this happen. Classrooms 3 & 4 will be completed before school starts on Monday morning. Classroom 4 will be used as a staffroom/meeting room/general purpose room for this year until it’s needed for students in year 4 next year. The current staffroom is a bit too small for the extra teachers this term. We are fortunate to have this extra space this year.

The building looks amazing and the students are delighted that they have lovely classrooms and a great learning environment. Boxes have arrived with science equipment, reference books, pens, pencils and exercise books. Lots of photos will be taken over the next couple of weeks of the students receiving the equipment they need.

We are still fundraising for more latrines for the students and for extra staff accommodation as there is nowhere suitable in the village to rent due to the level of poverty. If you would like to help us a little bit further then the donation page is https://gofund.me/ece5753a or you can get in touch for bank details contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com . We are still looking for sponsors for these very vulnerable students if anyone would like to make a real difference to one young person. Please email for more details on sponsorship. These students need a sponsor

Many thanks again to everyone who supports us to help the whole community out of poverty, Sarah x

Just look at the colour of the sky as the sun is setting at 6pm

These students need a sponsor

Can you help one of these vulnerable young people ? John is 14 and wearing a girl’s ‘brownie’ t-shirt (probably age 8-10). John is malnourished and needing help. Will you sponsor him or one of his friends? http://www.changinglivesmalawi.com

50/09/23

It’s been a difficult morning for me, but even more so for Levison. Yesterday registration opened for the returning pupils and new pupils at Bright Futures Secondary School. Yesterday over 70 families came. Today more families and their young people continue to arrive asking for free education at Bright Futures Secondary School.

We want to be able to say ‘yes’ to all of them. However, we cannot. We need to be sensible as the school costs money to run. It is the food prices that are crippling…prices have increased so much. All students at Bright Futures Secondary School get a free school lunch each day. This is a cooked, nutritious meal and, for most, it is their only proper food of the day. We will not stop feeding the students as how can they concentrate if the haven’t eaten? How can they sleep if they have stomach ache from hunger? How can we expect them to do their best and achieve without their basic needs being met?

This is where we need your help again. As I always say, it’s teamwork and we cannot help this community without you. These young people need a sponsor to help pay for their education. They are all malnourished. They are all extremely vulnerable. Will you help us to help them please? Being a sponsor is only £25 p/m. You can sponsor as an individual, as a family or two friends can split the cost of sponsorship between them. £25 is less than £1 per day. Much less than the price of a takeaway coffee. Will you give your support? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

Or could you commit £5 or £10 per month towards school lunches at Bright Futures Secondary School? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com for our bank details. Several people each giving £5 per month would make a big difference to how much food can be bought. Can you commit £5 please?

Thank you so much to everyone who has/is supporting us to help these students. We are so grateful that they now have choices and chances for a brighter future. Can you give one of these young people the same chances? Can you be a sponsor? Thank you, Sarah x

New classrooms for a new school year

Bright Futures Secondary School will reopen next Monday and classrooms 3 & 4 are almost ready!

Sarah’s blog 04/09/23

I can’t believe it’s been a whole week since I last wrote a blog. It has been so busy and we’ve been working hard behind the scenes to try to get things ready for school starting back in Malawi next Monday.

Tomorrow is registration day. All students who have been given a place at Bright Futures Secondary School will be coming to register and have their photos taken. There will be some who will be looking for sponsors to help support their education. If you would be interested in being a sponsor it’s £25 p/m (or two friends can split this cost). contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

As there will be three classes this year, extra teachers have been employed. Money has been sent from a generous donation of £500 for the carpenter to build more desks. We’ve also sent money for some text books to be bought and for exercise books for all the students. Unfortunately, we don’t have enough money yet to buy all the text books we need, so if anyone could help with that we would be very grateful.

Also, we are still raising money for more latrines and we would be delighted if you could spare a few £££. Money for text books and latrines can be added to our school fundraiser https://gofund.me/ece5753a .

Have a look at these photos to see how hard the builders have been working! Let’s build a school! Bright Futures Secondary School now has four classrooms! Classroom 4 will be used for a combination of agricultural classes, sewing classes, a meeting room and study space until it is needed next year for the next intake of students. Thank you so much everyone for your continued support, Sarah x

Education & Bright Futures SS

Maria Chizumira is an orphan living with her aunt and younger sister….

Sarah’s blog 24/08/23

Maria Chizumira is an orphan living with her aunt and younger sister. They are living in extreme poverty. Maria had missed school so she could try to help earn some money to buy food. When she was 15, having failed her primary school leavers exams, she asked Levison for help with her school work. Levison has previously commented to me how hard she works and how Maria will help out around the Foundation.

Maria managed to pass her primary school leavers exams and we found a sponsor for her. She went to Chisenga Secondary School for s1 and then, when Bright Futures Secondary School opened in November last year, she transferred there for s2 and worked hard for her s2 exams. Unfortunately, Maria found out she was pregnant a few months ago and this was obviously a big shock to her. However, Maria kept studying and working hard at school. She sat her s2 national exams along with her classmates while she was just weeks away from giving birth.

When her baby was due, unfortunately she needed a c-section which was very traumatic for her. Her baby boy, Wasika, arrived safely and they have both recovered well. Last week we heard that all the s2 students, including Maria, passed their s2 national exams. Maria intends to start back to school next month and her auntie will help with childcare.

Whilst having a baby before finishing education isn’t ideal, if these vulnerable teenagers didn’t have secondary education, far more of them would be pregnant and being married off too young. Secondary education in Malawi has to be paid for. Bright Futures Secondary School is free for those who cannot pay and has part-funded places for those who can contribute.

Education is the best way out of poverty and all the students want to work hard and reach their potential. We are proud of them all, especially how hard Maria has worked, and we know that her little boy Wasika will be proud of her too. Maria’s younger sister, Ethel, has just passed her primary school leavers exams. She came and asked for a place at Bright Futures Secondary School and is delighted that she now has a place in s1 next month and that we have matched her with a sponsor.

Bright Futures Secondary School will continue supporting students like Maria. Classrooms 3 & 4 are well underway for next session. However, we still need to buy text books, build a latrine block and build more teachers’ accommodation. If you are able to donate students, like Maria, will be very grateful to you. https://gofund.me/ece5753a .Thanks, Sarah x

Maria (right) in a science class at Bright Futures Secondary School
Maria with baby Wakisa

Let’s build a school – phase 2 of Bright Futures Secondary School

Let’s build a school – Bright Futures Secondary School is changing lives for some of the most vulnerable students in Malawi. http://www.changinglivesmalawi.com

Sarah’s blog 23/8/23

Bright Futures Secondary School is a big project and, because of costs, we have had to divide it into phases. We were asked to support this project due to lack of places available at the nearest secondary school and the fact that the vulnerable young people we help to support couldn’t afford to pay for secondary school.

In November 22 phase 1 opened with two classrooms. Numbers of students in each class were smaller during last year as we couldn’t offer a full school year because the classrooms weren’t finished for the school year starting in September. However, small class sizes have obviously been of huge benefit to the very vulnerable students who were in our first intake. All students in s2 passed their national exams which is an amazing achievement. Two news outlets in Malawi have picked up on this good news. In the news! 100% exam pass rate S2 BFSS

We knew that another classroom would be needed for term starting September 23. However, we didn’t know whether we would be able to achieve this. Prices have kept going up in Malawi so any quotes we got for work were soon out of date and we did wonder if s3 classes would have to be held in the library until we had raised more money.

Thankfully, once again, people have helped us. We have had a few successful grant applications and generous donations. We have had people raising money for us. On behalf of the students (and future students) of Bright Futures Secondary School we thank everyone so very much. We are pleased to report that we have enough money for the next classroom block. The decision was taken to build classrooms 3 and 4 together as this was more cost effective. Classroom 4 will be able to be used for meetings, study and also sewing classes this year until it is needed for teaching an s4 class next year. It seemed like an impossible task a few weeks ago but it is happening for the students!

What we do still need, as we have to employ more teachers for the extra class, is more accommodation for the teachers. We also need to build more latrines and buy more textbooks. We can do this but need your continued help and support. Together we are making a difference and changing lives and giving these vulnerable young people the chance of a brighter future. They deserve investment in their education as this is their way out of the extreme poverty in which they are living. Education will have and impact on them, their families and their whole community. Will you help us again please?

https://gofund.me/ece5753a is our fundraiser where you can donate to help us provide staff accommodation in order to attract good teachers. We also need to build another latrine block for the students.

Could you help us by sponsoring a vulnerable student for £25 p/m? Students receive school uniform and other clothes, a free school lunch each day and all the equipment they need for school.

Or could you commit to £5 or £10 p/m towards a nutritious school lunch each day for all the students at Bright Futures Secondary School. For many, this is their only meal of the day. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Let’s build a school!

Here is a photo dump and videos to show how hard the builders have been working over the past few weeks to ensure that the fantastic s2 pupils who all passed their exams have a classroom to continue their secondary education. There will also be a new class of needy children who have just left primary school to come to Bright Futures Secondary School, as well as last year’s s1 class moving up to s2. What has been achieved is fantastic and it’s thanks to your support and teamwork. Thank you, Sarah x

From November 22: Reviewing the first week of Bright Futures Secondary School

In the news!

Good news from here and Malawi!

Sarah’s blog 21/08/23

It’s been an extremely busy week here and in Malawi with lots of good news.

I had been contacted by my MSP, Evelyn Tweed, asking to meet with me. So we met at Doyles Cafe in Balfron last Tuesday. I was able to tell her all about the great things that are happening in Malawi and also ask her advice. She was very supportive of me and the charity and has suggested a few ways she can offer some help. https://twitter.com/EvelynTweedSNP/status/1693563601213378648?s=20

Jackie and I had a very busy Saturday at ‘The Balfron Bash’. We had a stall with info about the charity, lovely home baking for sale and a tombola. We made £263 on Saturday…so thank you to everyone who supported us and came to say ‘hello’. Big thanks to Ewan and Stuart for their help with the gazebo and to Jackie for organising the tombola.

David, one of our trustees, took the last lot of boxes to Dundee today. The Bananabox warehouse is full and they will order a container for the first weekend in September so, hopefully, those boxes might be there by Christmas (or early January).

Chambo Primary School had their clean water taps connected yesterday. We had received a grant from The Kitchen Table Charities Trust and part of the grant was to use the clean water supply at Chambo Health Centre and run a pipe to Chambo Primary School. They now have three taps and clean water to drink and wash their hands. We are so pleased to have been able to play a small part in helping to improve lives for so many children. Chambo Primary has clean water!

The national press in Malawi have picked up on the story that, although Bright Futures Secondary School only opened in November, 100% of the second year students who sat their national exams all passed!! Such good news for them, the school and the teachers. Malawi24 – School for needy students in Chitipa appeals for… | Facebook Bright Future scores 100 percent JCE pass rate – The Malawi Guardian

We are still fundraising for phase 2 of Bright Futures Secondary School to ensure there are enough classrooms for the next intake of students. We also need to raise funds for text books as, currently for s3, there is only one set of books for the teacher. Any help that you can give will be so appreciated https://gofund.me/ece5753a Thank you so much for all the support everyone, Sarah x

Me with my MSP, Evelyn Tweed at Doyle’s Cafe in Balfron
The builders are working hard to ensure the new intake of students have a classroom next month
Some of the students from Bright Futures Secondary School. They get a free lunch each day at school but, as it’s school holidays, they came to collect food parcels instead

100% exam pass rate S2 BFSS

Amazing exam results at Bright Futures Secondary School! Congratulations!

Sarah’s blog 18/8/23

We are all absolutely delighted with the news that all of the students in S2 at Bright Futures Secondary School have passed their S2 national exams.

This is a huge achievement for several reasons;

  1. Bright Futures Secondary School (classrooms 1 & 2) didn’t open until 7/11/23 so they haven’t had a full school year.
  2. Resources have been limited.
  3. These are some of the most vulnerable teenagers in Malawi. Many are orphans. Most are older as they have missed out big chunks of school to try to earn money to feed themselves.
  4. No big organisations are feeding children & young people in primary schools in this area so, until they started at secondary school, they weren’t eating properly every day. Most young people in this area are malnourished.
  5. At Bright Futures Secondary School students receive a free cooked lunch each day. This might be their only proper meal each day.

Teachers have worked hard with the students and organised study classes after school and for a few days during the Easter holidays. It is dark every day at 6pm so unless students had a candle or small torch they wouldn’t be able to study at home during the evenings. Students have now been gifted solar lamps for home use.

Congratulation to the students, to the teachers and to Levison for overseeing the whole project. It is even more vital that phase 2 of Bright Futures Secondary School is completed by mid September so that these students can continue their learning journey in S3. If you can, please donate to https://gofund.me/ece5753a as we need to continue building on this success. Thanks for supporting us to support the students, Sarah x