Sewing lessons at Bright Futures Secondary School are giving vulnerable students skills for life and giving back to the community.
Advertisements
Sarah’s blog 26/2/26
Students have been busy in their Sewing Classes at Bright Futures Secondary School. To start with, they are helping with the Period Poverty Project. We are very proud of their efforts.
Girls miss one week of schooling every month because they do not have any sanitary pads and therefore have to stay at home. This is wrong that girls cannot access education because of a natural bodily function. We are helping to ensure that as many girls as possible can benefit from the gift of reusable sanitary pads. Will you help us?
Students, both male and female, have been learning to sew. They have been improving their hand sewing skills and using the sewing machines that we sent. They have been making bags and sanitary pads. These students are ensuring that girls will have equal access to education. Why should girls miss out on their education?
The Period Poverty Project aims to give out a bag containing ; underwear, reusable sanitary pads, soap and a health information leaflet. Through the sewing classes at Bright Futures Secondary School, students are giving back to their community. Students are also learning important skills for their futures.
Once enough supplies have been made for the local girls, students will move on to making something of their choice. I wonder what they will decide to make next? The Period Poverty Project sewing can be revisited again when the next group of students start sewing classes at Bright Futures Secondary School.
To get in touch with us our email is contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com . If you like the projects we are supporting and want to contribute financially, you can donate via our website or to our charity bank account – A/C no 21081462, Sort Code 80-22-60, Changing Lives Malawi, Bank of Scotland. The Period Poverty Project is an ongoing project, so more fabric and soap will need to be bought. The more supplies that can be made, the more girls that can be supported.
Thanks to teachers at Bright Futures Secondary School for supporting the students to learn new skills and for sending these photos. Thanks also to everyone who supports the students and projects like this. Together, we can continue Changing Lives (in) Malawi. Thanks, Sarah x
Thanks to teachers at Bright Futures Secondary School for organising Sunday sports for students!
Advertisements
Sarah’s blog 10/2/26
We were delighted to receive these photos and videos yesterday from the deputy head teacher at Bright Futures Secondary School. It was a day of Sunday sports for students and we are grateful to the teachers for organising this event. It looks like everyone had great fun playing football and netball.
Yesterday taught these vulnerable teenagers, who are mostly all orphans living with extended family, that they are important. It shows that people care about them enough to organise events for them. It shows that people care about them enough to send preloved sports kit for them. These young people are enjoying opportunities that they wouldn’t previously have had. As well as having fun with their friends, team sports are good for their confidence and self-esteem. Students at Bright Futures Secondary School are also learning skills and self-discipline.
Everyone also received a nutritious lunch to make the day even more special and to ensure they had enough energy to take part in the team sports. We are thankful for those who support us to send preloved sports kit to those who need it. If these are photos of preloved kit from your club then why not share with your friends and ask them to follow us on social media?
Sports kit (depending on sizes) is shared between primary and secondary schools and grassroots sports teams. Everyone is delighted to receive smart, matching kit. Julian Chenery, whose charity is ‘Wear a Sports Shirt Day’, spends his weekends travelling to various football grounds collecting preloved kit, watching football matches and enjoying the odd pint! We are so pleased that he includes the young people we are helping to support on his list of recipients of the preloved kit he collects.
In these photos kit is being worn from Bromley and Beckenham Hockey Club, Maidstone United Football Club, Borden Village Football Club and Seaton Town Football Club. As you can see, these preloved sports kits have a new lease of life and young people are enjoying wearing them proudly and confidently. Acts of kindness like this make a huge difference. There will be photos in the near future of more sports kit that has arrived on the latest container.
Would you like to help to pay for a box of sports kit to go on the container or would you like to contribute to providing food for a sporting event like this? Please do get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com or you can donate via our website or QR code. It’s always about teamwork. Thank you for being part of our team, Sarah x
Thanks to one of our supporters who sent these gifts for students at Bright Futures Secondary School to make their lives a little bit better.
Advertisements
Sarah’s blog 5/2/26
Thankfully, the contents of boxes, soaked by heavy rain due to the tarpaulin being ripped, have now been dried out. That took three days to do and created so much work. You can read the story of what happened below if you didn’t see my last blog. Yesterday, the first gifts for students were distributed.
One of our supporters had kindly bought these gifts for students at Bright Futures Secondary School. The young people can arrive at school soaked through during the rainy season. Whilst these gifts for students aren’t going to solve all the issues the students face during the rains, this act of kindness will go a long way to helping the young people feel valued. Their journeys to and from school will be a little bit easier.
Some students homes have a leaking roof, some students cannot cross swollen rivers after the heavy rains. Some students, who have a thatched roof on their basic homes, have bugs and mosquitoes living in the twigs and branches.
Here are a few photos from yesterday when students were surprised and delighted to receive these ponchos. Kindness matters and small acts of kindness go a long way to helping people feel valued and making the world just a little bit better. Thank you to everyone who continues to support us to help these vulnerable young people. Sarah x
Today’s blog is about tree planting taking place at Bright Futures Secondary School as part of their agriculture course. This is an ongoing project so financial donations are always very welcome.
Advertisements
Sarah’s blog 4/2/26
Last week, students at Bright Futures Secondary School have again been busy tree planting. It would have been hard work digging holes for 120 saplings. On this occasion the tree planting was for pine and acacia.
They are keen to take responsibility for their environment. This will help prevent future soil erosion and replace trees that have been cut down. Of course students want to help with the climate crisis. The tree planting was part of their agricultural lessons which are a core subject in the Malawian curriculum.
Soon they will be planting other types of saplings and we will share photos when that happens. We are grateful to the agriculture teachers at Bright Futures Secondary School for all the extra work they do to support their students. Of course, we are proud of the students and pleased to see them contributing in such a positive way to their community.
Thank you also to everyone who has donated money over the past year to support their tree planting project. As it’s the rainy season now, the ground is easier to dig and plant. Also the saplings won’t dry out so have a better chance of survival. So this is always the best time for planting saplings even though we are fundraising for this project all year round.
If anyone would like to make a donation then please do get in touch. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com for bank details or you can donate via our website or our QR code. If you would like to donate in memory of a loved one then we are happy to make a sign to place in part of the orchard. Or for a special birthday or anniversary?
Or would your business like to contribute to this project and have some advertising in the orchard? We’d love to partner with any nurseries/garden centres/Christmas tree farms.
Thank you again everyone. Enjoy the photos, Sarah x
One of the teachers and a student planting a saplingstudents holding tree saplings prior to plantinga student planting a pine tree saplingyou can see the rain clouds in the distance
Stuart and I made a donation to buy fruit tree saplings a few years ago in memory of his lovely mum. If anyone else would like a name on a sign and make a donation to the orchard then please do get in touch.
It’s been a really difficult few days for Levison and his colleagues. This blog tells the story…..
Advertisements
Sarah’s blog 2/2/26
I want to use today’s blog to explain how hard and exhausting things can be for Levison and his team in Malawi. I don’t think any of us can begin to understand quite how challenging life can be for Levison and his colleagues. Yet they continue to work hard to support their community. Despite the difficulties, they continue to be committed to making a difference. We are so thankful that we have such caring partners in Malawi. Thank you Levison and team. This is the story of a difficult journey.
As the village they live in is at the foot of the Mafinga Hills (near the borders with Zambia and Tanzania) they have to travel a long way to collect the boxes we send. It is approximately 300km each way but, as you will read, it is far from straightforward and is a difficult journey.
The truck set off from Ibuluma, between Chisenga and Chitipa, on Thursday early afternoon and travelled to Karonga. The three colleagues slept at Karonga and set off very early on Friday morning to reach Ekwendeni (near Mzuzu) by 10am when the container was due to be unloaded.
On the way they had a scheduled stop to get two new batteries for the truck. Once the batteries had been fitted, Levison then needed a welder to replace the bars covering the batteries which help prevent them from being stolen.
It is currently the rainy season. When it rains, it really rains. Recently, some bridges and roads have been damaged, houses and schools have been destroyed and crops washed away. Driving on country roads is always a difficult journey, but more so during the rains.
Thankfully, the lorry carrying the container arrived from Lilongwe after having to have a crack in its water tank repaired. Levison and his two colleagues collected all their boxes and loaded them onto the back of the truck. Everything was tied down and covered with tarpaulins to protect the boxes from the weather.
Levison had suggested to others travelling in the same direction that they go in convoy so that it would be safer in case of breakdowns, accidents or robberies. It gets dark in Malawi at 6pm all year round so much of their journey was undertaken in darkness, making it more dangerous.
Unfortunately, the people who had agreed to travel north with Levison changed their minds and drove off. Levison phoned them and they said they’d wait but again drove off. It’s disappointing when not everyone looks out of each other despite having had help and support from Levison previously.
As Levison’s truck was travelling slowly, in the dark, avoiding potholes at Jalawe, they were suddenly aware of people on the truck. They think there were a lot of people hiding in the bushes. They managed to chase two people off the truck once they stopped and got out of the cab. Unfortunately, the people had ripped the tarpaulin covering the boxes and made off with at least three boxes.
The thieves have had training shoes, school uniform for Bright Futures Secondary School and other clothes and shoes. A skirt was found at the side of the road that had been dropped as the robbers ran off. I am so thankful that Levison noticed quickly and they managed to scare the people away and that more things weren’t stolen or anyone hurt.
This incident has been reported to the police.
Once they arrived at Karonga, a new tarpaulin had to be bought to keep the worst of the rain from ruining the boxes and their contents. They rested at Karonga before continuing their journey. Something also broke on the truck due to the roads being so bumpy. Levison messaged to say that they were going to get the truck fixed once the torrential rain stopped.
Finally, exhausted, Levison and his two colleagues have arrived back safely at 4am on Sunday morning, the fourth day. As you can see, it’s a difficult journey. Nothing is straightforward. Could we do this for those in need? Would we go to all this effort?
All the boxes have had to be crosschecked to check what has been stolen. Many of the boxes are wet due to the tarpaulin being ripped open. Hours of extra work is now taking place trying to dry everything out before it all gets ruined. As we carefully label each box to say which project/who it is for and what it contains, all the wet things need to be kept together to ensure that they go to the correct place. It will take a lot of organisation and disruption to ensure everything is ok. This has taken all of today, both here and in Malawi, helping Levison with identifying boxes, what they contain and which project it is for. Tomorrow, all the wet items will need to be sorted and hung up to dry.
Despite all the challenges they carry on supporting the most vulnerable in their community. This is the story of a difficult journey. There are challenges every day; sourcing enough maize for the weekly feeding programme, finding fuel for the truck or having to wait days until the petrol stations have had a delivery. Daily, people are turning up asking for help. People cannot feed their families because of the food crisis in Malawi.
Hopefully, this gives blog more of an insight into just how challenging life can be for Levison and his team. This is one difficult journey. Every day there are difficult decisions. Things are getting better but there is still so much to do. We need your help and support to ensure that life continues to improve for the hundreds of vulnerable young people and their families. All are living in extreme poverty and need a helping hand through education, feeding and sustainable projects.
I apologise if I sound upset and frustrated. I am, on behalf of Levison and his team. So much extra work has been caused by these thieves ripping the tarpaulins. Many of the boxes have been soaked by heavy rain. Hopefully, most things can be dried and saved and that we will be able to share photos of items being given to those most in need over the next few weeks.
Thanks everyone for your continued support. To Levison and team, thank you for all your hard work and commitment. Also, thank you to all the volunteers at Bananabox Trust who organise the container. Together we can continue Changing Lives (in) Malawi, Sarah x If you’d like to get in touch our email is contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
Everything needs covering with tarpaulins and tied down. As it is the rainy season, it was raining whilst they were loading the truck. The tarpaulins are vital to keep the worst of the weather from the boxes of aid that have been sent.This is the tarpaulins after they have been ripped open by people climbing on the truck to steal what they could.
DonorSee is sadly closing for small projects but THANK YOU for supporting us. Here are some geat photos & ways you can continue to support us.
Advertisements
Sarah’s blog 21/1/26
DonorSee is sadly closing for small projects but Thank you for supporting us. We have received amazing generosity from all the donors who have supported our projects via that platform. We are very grateful for the opportunity we have received to be a partner charity. However, your help is very much still needed. Will you help us to continue to help the most vulnerable in northern Malawi?
In total, over $9,000 USD was raised for projects including; four agribusiness groups for vulnerable people to have a sustainable business. Notebooks and pens were bought for primary school students. One appeal helped support with sending boxes of books to Malawi for our School Literacy Project. Soap was gifted to vulnerable children and elderly people. We also received help with feeding children and elderly people living in extreme poverty. Also, for Bright Futures Secondary School, money was raised to provide tools for agriculture and carpentry, fruit tree and pine tree saplings, wood for building beehives, science equipment, and pigs and goats.
A mother was helped when DonorSee donors paid for a new roof for her single room house. This enabled the family to be dry during the rainy season. They were given some food and this lady was given a place on one of the Agribusiness Groups. We managed to get sponsorship for the four children via an appeal in one of my blogs. They all have food coming into their home each month to supplement their small amount of income.
We always say it is about teamwork. You are all an important part of our team. Whether you have donated money once, or are a regular supporter, or sponsor a young person, or even share our posts on social media. THANK YOU. You are important to us and we appreciate you. DonorSee is sadly closing for small projects but THANK YOU for supporting us.
DonorSee has been a very useful way of raising money for ‘extra’ small projects that have made a big difference to the people who benefitted. For example, students at Chambo Primary School cannot afford to buy themselves notebooks. If they don’t have notebooks to write in, they have to just sit and listen to the teacher. They have to hope that they can remember what they are being taught.
The elderly people wouldn’t have had a Christmas lunch and bars of soap if it wasn’t for the generosity of supporters on DonorSee. We have also been able to provide the funding for various sporting events. Children together from local schools take part in training and tournaments for rugby, football, netball and cricket. At any event like this, we want children to have food and drink so that they have enough energy to take part. Also, to make the day extra special for them. Because of the food crisis in Malawi getting worse, most of these children do not eat every day. They need our continued support. Will you help us please? Together we can ensure they have a brighter future through education and sustainable project.
We will be looking at ways that we can try to raise funds for small stand alone projects like the appeals that have been successful on DonorSee. But, in the meantime, if you would like to make a donation for feeding children, or any other project, you can email me contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com or donate through our website Donate money to Changing Lives Malawi .
We hope you enjoy these photos from some of the small projects. Many thanks again and please continue supporting us. You can sign up to receive my blogs and follow us on social media (facebook & instagram). Thanks, Sarah x
Children at Chambo Primary were delighted to receive notebooks and pensOne of the agribusiness groups working in their maize field. The lady on the right is a young mother and her little boy is playing in the background.One of the goats that has been bought to add to the breeding stock and will help bring in an income as well as teaching students at Bright Futures Secondary School how to care for goats in their agriculture lessons.Students at Bright Futures Secondary School making a beehive with tools and wood bought from donations via DonorSeePractical science classes at Bright Futures Secondary School are far more interesting now that they have more science equipment for experimentsSome of the young people who took part in the rugby training & tournament we helped to facilitate. These are some of the first youngsters in the north of Malawi to learn to play rugby.Everyone loves a football tournament, especially when you receive a nice lunch and a smart football strip! This preloved strip was donated by Riverside Football Club in Stirling, Central Scotland. Four students from Bright Futures Secondary School with some of the tools that were bought thanks to the appeal on DonorSee. We do need to try to raise funds for suitable footwear for the students to use to protect their feet from mud and the sharp tools they are using. Could you help please?One of the agribusiness groups were delighted with the tools, seeds and fertiliser they received.Mrs Ng’ambi and her four children were delighted to have a new roof on their home thanks to the donors who supported this project.Some of the students at Kalanga Primary School with preloved books that were gifted to the school as part of our School Literacy Project. Thank you to those donors who have donated funds to pay for a box of books on the container which is currently £17.50 per box.Vulnerable children enjoying a substantial and nutritious lunchWe need ongoing support to keep running the weekly feeding programme for 500 vulnerable children and young people.Some of the elderly people from the village enjoying their pre-Christmas lunch. We would love to have more funding to run a lunch club for them once a month to help prevent isolation.One of the girls enjoying learning to play rugbyYoung people caring for bananas that they planted as tubers
No bees in the new beehive…yet. Students have been to check the site where they placed their newly made hive.
Advertisements
Sarah’s blog 16/1/26
On Wednesday, a group of students went to look at the beehive they had built and placed in the local forest. Unfortunately, there were no bees…yet. They will check regularly. They will research if there is any more they can do to encourage bees to take up residence in their new hive.
We have received some funding so that more wood can be bought so students can make additional beehives. Thank you to the donors for supporting this project. If you would like to make a financial contribution to enable the students to make more beehives then please email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com The aim is that, as well as learning new skills, the school can become more self-sufficient. Projects like this can bring in an income and give students skills to be more confident about their futures. All they need now is bees!
Thank you also to the teachers who have supported the students to research, design and build the beehive. There is so much learning involved in this project. It’s great to see the students gaining skills and becoming more confident. They will be learning business skills too as well as becoming better at carpentry and beekeeping.
So, despite there being no bees…yet, I hope you enjoy the photos and videos I was sent by the teacher this morning. Let’s hope it isn’t too long before bees move in. Thanks, Sarah x
Thanks to their teachers, students at Bright Futures Secondary School have been growing and selling maize.
Advertisements
1/1/26
Firstly we would like to wish everyone a happy and healthy New Year! I had to double check that I’d written the date correctly…it’s going to take a few days to remember that it is now 2026! Bright Futures Secondary School students are learning business skills.
Today’s post is a short one but is filled with hope for a brighter future for students. They are all vulnerable, have nothing and are living in extreme poverty. We cannot begin to imagine just how hard life must be, especially with the current food crisis and the heavy rains which have destroyed homes and crops as well as infrastructure.
However, this post shows that, bit by bit, things can change for the better. This is just a tiny drop in the ocean compared to how things need to change and how much money is needed to help this community back on its feet. It is a start and is a small good news story worth sharing at the start of a new year.
Teachers at Bright Futures Secondary School have been supporting students to grow vegetables. The students had planted a field of maize and have just sold half of the fresh maize (corn on the cob) to traders to sell at the market. The students will use the money to buy more seeds and fertiliser to plant more crops. The students are learning business skills for their futures.
This is such a great cross-curricular learning experience. As well as the agricultural skills they have learned during a complete growing cycle, they are learning about business opportunities and working together as a team.
These students will have far more skills for their futures as they become increasingly confident and learn to be entrepreneurs. They live in such a rural location that it is very likely that many of them will be working on the land in some form when they leave school. Having the opportunity of secondary education means that their numeracy and literacy skills will be better and will help them whatever they do for work in future.
Look how happy they are to have achieved and have been trusted by their teachers to be part of this project. Their self-esteem is growing and, hopefully, there will be more good news stories like this to report. Your support is important to ensure these students can continue learning new skills and continue achieving. The end goal is always self-sufficiency but we need you as part of the team to ensure this can happen.
Levison specifically asked me to mention two teachers who have worked hard with the students on this project. Thank you to Mr Kanyimbo and Mr Msukwa for supporting the students in this ongoing project. Your hard work is greatly appreciated and you must be very proud of what your students are achieving.
Thanks for reading and supporting Changing Lives Malawi. If you’d like to support a specific project like this then please do email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thanks, Sarah x
The first video shows the maize being driven off to market by the person who purchased it. The second video shows students; Levi, Amos, Hilda and Bernard.
Thankfully, the Christmas lunch for 600 children took place before the devastating rains this week that have affected many parts of Malawi
Advertisements
Sarah’s blog 31/12/25
As 2025 comes to a close, we thank all those who have helped us to support the most vulnerable in rural Northern Malawi. A few days before Christmas there was a lunch for elderly people and then, delayed because of a local funeral, Christmas lunch for 600 children.
So Christmas Day was even busier than usual for Levison and his team of volunteers, no day off for them. There were hundreds of children in need of food looking forward to their party. Christmas Day was a mammoth task of providing Christmas Lunch for 600 children.
The food crisis in Malawi is impacting the vulnerable children we are helping to support. Most of them are orphans, living with extended family, and all are living in extreme poverty. Some don’t even have enough to eat once a day. The situation is extremely serious.
That’s why even more children than usual turned up on Christmas Day, knowing they would be given a substantial and nutritious meal. Some children are walking miles for this free food. Some are carrying younger siblings.
Preparing food, cooking and serving 600 meals is exhausting and backbreaking work…and must seem endless. We are so grateful for the volunteers, without whom none of the children would be fed. We can only afford to run the feeding programme once a week and there are no big charities feeding children in schools this far north. Thank you so much to the donors who donated funds to pay for the food for this year’s Christmas lunch for 600 children.
Whilst we are helping support sustainable projects like planting fruit tree saplings, beehive making and rearing chickens, unfortunately, these children also need our help now. So it is a juggling act, we need to support their future but they won’t have a future without nutrition now.
We are hoping people will understand the great need from reading my blogs and looking at the photos and videos. Prices continue to rise and food is scarce. Donate money to Changing Lives Malawi
We would really appreciate if people could contribute £5 or £10 per month to ensure the feeding programme can continue to feeding increased numbers of hungry and malnourished children once a week. We would love to be able to send an extra £200 per month for the feeding programme to cover extra food costs. Can you spare £5 or £10 per month? Can your friends and family help us too? Contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com for our charity bank details.
Why not organise a 100 square competition or a weekly bonus ball competition with the proceeds going to our feeding programme? Or what about a football scratch card? There are many ways you could get involved even if you don’t think you have much time to spare.
We hope you enjoy looking at all these photos and videos from Christmas Day. These children know that they can come and will not be turned away. It is their safe place where they can play with their friends and fill their empty tummies. They don’t have many highlights in their lives…but this is one of them.
Especially over the Christmas and New Year holiday time, when most of us have far more than we need, will you join our team of supporters for the feeding programme please? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com for bank details or to donate via our website Donate money to Changing Lives Malawi
Thankfully, the rains hadn’t been too heavy when these two parties took place. However, since then there has been devastation across Malawi. Infrastructure has been washed away, houses damaged, crops washed away etc etc. I will share some photos in a separate post. The people who do the least damage to our planet are always the ones to suffer most.
Enjoy these videos and photos of a happy day for all of these children who are all living in extreme poverty. Thank you again to those who financially supported Christmas Lunch for 600 children. And, of course, to Levison and his team for all their hard work and support for the most vulnerable in their community.
Wishing everyone health and happiness in 2026 and another busy year of Changing Lives (in) Malawi. Come and join us…it’s always about teamwork! Happy New Year and thanks again, Sarah x
Today’s blog has photos and videos from a visit to the maternity ward at Chambo Health Centre.
Advertisements
Sarah’s blog 7/11/25
There is a maternity ward at the local health centre. Many of the new mums are living in extreme poverty and don’t have clothes & blankets for their babies, hence the need for the Mother & Baby Project.
We have some lovely supporters who are talented at knitting and crocheting and others who have donated clothes that their babies have outgrown. So we have been able to send lots of baby hats, clothes and blankets.
The idea is that, as well as receiving clothes at birth, if mum and baby return after a few weeks to collect some more clothes, the health care staff will have an additional opportunity to check that mother and baby are well.
Students from Bright Futures Secondary School visited Chambo Health Centre with some of the boxes of donated baby clothes & blankets. Everyone was very thankful for their visit and delighted to receive gifts for their babies. The new mothers are exhausted and in pain but had expressed their gratitude on receiving the lovely gifts for their newborn babies.
After students had helped sort out some gifts for the babies, they also helped by tidying and sweeping round the exterior of the health centre.
The lady speaking in the video is a relative of one of the newborn babies. She said she wished that when she had her babies that there were gifts like these and help available. It is her prayer that changes like this continue to happen in her grandchildren’s lifetime. She is speaking the local language, Chichewa.
The young man who is speaking in English is Mphatso, one of the students at Bright Futures Secondary School.
Many, many thanks to everyone who is supporting this very important project and letting new mums know that they, and their babies, are important and special. Without your help and ongoing support there would be no Mother & Baby Project.
I am planning to visit Malawi in June next year. The Mother & Baby Project is one of the projects I am passionate about. It’s making a difference to the vulnerable mothers and their babies. I would also love it if we were able to gift bars of soap to the new mums. This is one of the projects I am raising funds for in my GoFundMe ahead of my visit next year. It would be amazing if you could make a small donation to make a big difference. https://gofund.me/b8e7bf36c
I hope you enjoy the great photos and videos, Sarah x
Tidying and sweeping outside the health centre Students from Bright Futures Secondary School outside Chambo Health Centre
To donate to the sewing project to purchase more material for sewing reusable sanitary towels to beat Period Poverty here is the link https://donorsee.com/project/29253?share=1
Sewing classes at Bright Futures Secondary School are helping S3 and S4 students learn extra skills.
Advertisements
Sarah’s blog 26/10/25
Levison Mlambya, the Director of Bright Futures Secondary School, has sent these great photos and a video of S3 and S4 students who are taking sewing lessons and carpentry classes to learn skills for life.
In the sewing lessons they are learning to use the sewing machines that have been donated and sent on the container via The Bananabox Trust.
Learning skills for life will equip these vulnerable students, who are all living in extreme poverty, with a way to earn money in future, giving them choices and chances they wouldn’t have had previously. Many thanks to the donors of the sewing machines & sewing supplies.
The plan is that during sewing lessons at BFSS, they make reusable sanitary pads and bags to put these in and, when there are enough, give them out to those who need them in various local schools. Your financial support will be so helpful.
Celebrating success at Bright Futures Secondary school is becoming a tradition. All students in S3 had passed their national exams at the end of S2 – Junior Certificate of Education. They were given a party on Friday. Other students joined in at lunchtime but the S3 class were given the afternoon off and were free to continue celebrating and having fun.
Knowing that hard work and effort is celebrated at Bright Futures Secondary School helps to motivate the S1 and S2 students as they look forward to having a party to celebrate their success.
None of these young people have enough food at their homes. Most are orphans living with extended family. All are living in extreme poverty and have suffered trauma. None have money for school fees, new clothes or shoes, stationery or school lunches. That is all free at Bright Futures Secondary School, thanks to their sponsors.
So celebrating their achievements is important. Helping them feel valued is important. Raising their self-esteem is important. Nurturing them to be the best they can be is important. Counselling students and listening to them when they are struggling is important. Supporting these students holistically is important.
A student at Bright Futures Secondary School can expect more than just lessons and passing exams. They can expect support. They can expect understanding. They can expect encouragement. They can expect to be listened to. They can expect the best at Bright Futures Secondary School.
That’s why the staff at BFSS are far more than teachers. We are so grateful for the care and understanding they give to these vulnerable students who have been through so much already. These teachers can and do make a difference and their support and encouragement for the students in their care and the ethos of the school will give these vulnerable teenagers a much brighter future. They are positive role models for these students and we are pleased that they want to help students be the best that they can be.
There are still some new students in S1 who are waiting for a sponsor to help us support their education. Could you give the gift of education and help us continue Changing Lives (in) Malawi? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
Celebrating success at Bright Futures Secondary School is important… and look at these smiles which are wonderful to see. Thank you for reading and supporting our work. We need you as part of the team supporting these vulnerable teenagers. Enjoy the photos and videos, Sarah x
We have some projects on fundraising site DonorSee for Bright Futures Secondary School. You can donate via the link or email us for bank details. https://donorsee.com/project/29095?share=1
