https://gofund.me/dc6fb80e We are really excited about this fundraiser! Click on the link and make a donation if you can please.
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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
Just a quick blog tonight as I have been busy doing a grant application. Our four firewalkers were absolutely fabulous and great sports. We are so grateful that they all stepped up to the challenge and stepped out of their comfort zone to raise much needed funds.
They’ve done brilliantly – thanks to everyone who has donated so far. However, if you’ve not donated yet, please could you? We would love both teams to get to £1,000 and they aren’t far off!
You can access photos, videos and links to their fundraisers by clicking on their stories.
Thanks again to Allander Rotary for organising this event and supporting our charity and to Milngavie Guides for hosting the event. Of course the biggest thank you goes to Joanne, Alison, Alistair and David for walking over hot coals for charity. Thanks, Sarah x
I’ve thought a lot about writing this and whether I should or not. Writing blogs has taken me out of my comfort zone as I always want the focus to be on what is happening in Malawi or fundraising here, not about me. However, here are a few thoughts I’d like to share with you.
As a charity, Changing Lives Malawi is growing well and, thanks to our supporters, is continuing to make a big difference to hundreds of the most vulnerable children in rural northern Malawi. A few things do need to change in order for us to continue to grow;
I need some more help as my caring responsibilities have grown over the last few months and I must continue to prioritise my family.
As we grow, there is more to do. I have several large grant applications to do over the next few weeks and these will take time.
We need to continue fundraising and this doesn’t all have to involve me. What I would find really helpful is if supporters could do some little (or bigger) fundraising for Changing Lives Malawi within their own communities. This shares some of the hard work but also lets a new group of people know about our charity. Hopefully, as 100% of donations go towards the projects we support, they will be happy to support us too. You could have a table top sale, a bake stall, an afternoon tea or a car wash…or could you do a sponsored event like the Kiltwalk or a half marathon?
Share our posts please. Or write a post of your own about our charity. Again, a new group of people will see this post and that you have given us your seal of approval!
Invite me to speak at your club, church, event. I love doing this and one of my favourite things is talking about the projects that we support in Malawi. After that, hopefully, that will have made a new connection and that community can become a supporter of Changing Lives Malawi.
Feeding hundreds of hungry children continues to be a big concern as there are no big charities feeding them in schools in the far north of Malawi. Most are malnourished. All are hungry. If you could spare £5 per month to support the feeding programme then that would make a big difference. 100 people committing £5 per month would be £500 extra to spend on feeding children and putting into place sustainable projects that will help people be self-sufficient eg planting an orchard of fruit tree saplings at each primary school in the local area.
Young people’s education is also a priority. Bright Futures Secondary School is only half full currently. We need to match more vulnerable young people with sponsors so that they can go to secondary school. Education is their way out of extreme poverty. It’s only £25 per month to sponsor a young person. They receive school uniform, stationery, a nutritious cooked school lunch (their only proper meal of the day) each day and, of course, free education.
I remain 100% committed to Changing Lives Malawi – it is what I am supposed to be doing and I love it. I love being a small part of a big team. Every one of us has different skills and talents and we all can make a difference. Changing Lives Malawi is nearly 5 years old and I am so thankful of all the support we continue to receive.
Thank you for reading today’s blog and for understanding and supporting our small charity which is making a big difference. Sarah x contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
14th December – reducing inequalities in so many ways. How often do we say or think ‘Life isn’t fair.’ I’m sure we’ve all done that at some point. Compared to Maria’s life, we are so very fortunate.
When Maria was age 11, we were asked to try to find her a sponsor. Her parents had died, so she was an orphan living with her grandparents. They are so poor that they couldn’t afford to feed Maria and they were contemplating marrying her off as a child bride at age 11. Despite this being against the law in Malawi, unfortunately it still happens. Child brides suffer from horrendous injuries by their husbands and then whilst giving birth, even resulting in death.
Thankfully, Maria and girls like her are supported by the foundation and are free from the worry that they will be married off too soon. Maria was matched with a sponsor and has a monthly food parcel at home to supplement her grandparents’ income. She is able to attend the weekly feeding programme where 500 children are fed a substantial and nutritious meal once a week.
Unfortunately, no big charities are feeding children in the rural far north so all children that we help to support are suffering from varying degrees of malnutrition. We only have enough money to feed these children once a week. Please can you help us to continue feeding these children? Food prices are rising and food is becoming more scarce. As a small charity run by volunteers, 100% of the donations we receive go to our projects. Please can you help us continue to feed 500 children?
Maria had missed lots of school to work and earn a pittance to help her grandparents and buy some food. Thanks to the help she is now receiving, she is back in school and doing well. Maria knows that people care about her and that she has a brighter future thanks to her sponsor.
If you would like to sponsor a young person like Maria, it’s only £25 per month. You can sponsor as an individual, a family or two friends sharing the cost. It’s less than £1 per day… it might be the most important thing you do for one of these young people. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
Or can you donate to the feeding programme or one of our other projects please? the link is here https://gofund.me/d3cf8c3a Thank you so much to everyone who supports us. It’s always about teamwork. We have achieved so much together but there is still so much to do. Thanks, Sarah x
In November 2020 my sister, Joanne, was waiting for surgery for breast cancer. She used that time to do a walking challenge to raise money towards the shower block that was being built.
Now, as she’s waiting for reconstructive surgery and needs to lower her BMI slightly, she has said she’s going to challenge herself again. I have no doubt that she will reach her target of 200km in July. As well as being one of the bravest people I know, she is also one of the strongest.
So she has set up a fundraising page to raise money towards a new classroom for Bright Futures Secondary School. Please support her in her challenge as it will mean a great deal to her, to us and, of course, the children who need a new classroom for term starting in September. Joanne’s fundraiser is https://gofund.me/91721cad .
If anyone else wants to set themselves a challenge to fundraise for our charity we would be so grateful and would promote it on social media for you. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
Good luck, Joanne and thank you…we know you can do it! Thank you all for reading and your support, Sarah x
The students at Bright Futures Secondary School were invited to go to Chisenga Secondary School yesterday to play football and netball against Chisenga.
I don’t think we can quite comprehend the level of excitement and how much this trip meant to the students at Bright Futures Secondary School. Levison had sent me photos and videos last night but phoned me this morning to give me details and he was so happy that it had all gone well. All the students, and teachers, had enjoyed the afternoon enormously.
Most of the students at Bright Futures Secondary School have never been in a car before. So when they found out that they were going to Chisenga in taxis they were amazed. Levison said one student asked “Sir, you mean we have to pay for this journey?” so Levison was able to say “No, this is part of your education at Bright Futures Secondary School.”
Levison said that the students were a real credit to Bright Futures Secondary School, encouraging each other and singing lots of songs together. They cooperated well with each other and were very proud to be representing their school.
So from new experiences like being in a vehicle for the first time, having nice football and netball strips, trainers and football boots, and representing their school, the students know that they are valued. They know people care about them. They know that people are investing in them and their future. Levison said they are motivated to work hard in school. The spectators and staff at Chisenga School were surprised by the kits that the Bright Futures students were wearing and the fact that Levison took a new football to be used.
Unfortunately, the netball results didn’t go in Bright Futures favour; the first team’s results were 1 – 9 and the second team’s results were 6 – 10 but they tried their best and that’s all anyone can ask of them and we are proud of them.
Bright Futures football first team won their match 2 – 1 and the second team’s match ended in a draw 0 – 0. Very well done everyone we are proud of you!
So we want to thank everyone who has made yesterday a hugely successful trip. Thank you for the donation towards the taxis. Thank you to those who have donated trainers and football boots and sports kits. We couldn’t support the children without your help. Levison was very keen for me to pass on his thanks to everyone who helped make yesterday “I would really like to thank the donors…it was the best day for our school so far”.
We still need to raise a bit more money to cover the cost of the taxis yesterday, so if anyone would like to donate then we would be very grateful contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Levison said they would have given the students from Bright Futures a special meal if they could have afforded that. Instead, each student today has been given a new pen and pencil.
One of the students at Bright Futures Secondary School, Daniel, speaking on behalf of the students said “I want to thank you about the support you gave yesterday. I’m very glad to say that we won the game yesterday. We are more than happy because we have put our school on the map. Thank you supporters. The other school was challenging us, saying that Bright Futures is just a baby school that opened some few months ago which they thought it was obvious for us to fail the game. So winning the game was a relief to put the school on the flag of the winners.”
“I, as the headteacher, speaking on behalf of my colleagues, would like to say thank you for the support that we received yesterday. We are very glad to tell you that our first team won the football. We managed to beat one of our neighbouring schools who thought that they would win because we are only a small school. Winning yesterday made our school proud. It gave us confidence that we are strong as an institution. It has put Bright Futures Secondary School on the map. We have made history at yesterday’s game not only were there students there from Chisenga, but also people from surrounding communities came and watched the game. So, when they are leaving to go to their various places, they carried news that Bright Futures Secondary School is one of the strongest school with a strong team. This has given us confidence and has encouraged the students and the teachers. Our teams looked good in their jerseys and boots. Thank you so much. Please continue supporting us.” Miss Mtambo, Headteacher.
Bright Futures Secondary School Footballers are wearing red/black – Craigshill Thistle Football Club and also green – Edinburgh South Football Club. Bright Futures Secondary School Netball teams are wearing white/navy – Bromley & Beckenham Hockey Club and also yellow/black – Fakenham Town Football Club. Thank you to all these clubs who have donated kit and also to Paul Goodwin, Paul Kelly, Julian Chenery and ‘Wear a Sports Shirt Day’ and, of course, The Bananabox Trust for their help with getting donations to Malawi.
Thank you for reading and supporting the students of Bright Futures Secondary School. I hope you enjoy the photos and videos, Sarah x
