Uniform Donation – All Saints Junior School, Maidenhead

Thanks so much to All Saints CE Junior School, Maidenhead for this great donation of school uniform for vulnerable children in Malawi.

Sarah’s blog 12/11/24

We love making new connections like this one and are delighted that we have another school supporting our charity.

On Friday we received a delivery of four large boxes of school uniform from All Saints C E Junior School in Maidenhead. In the boxes there were t-shirts, jumpers and cardigans, fleeces and school bags. We love donations like this as they will be perfect for gifting to the vulnerable children we help to support. As there are approx 500+ of them, that is a lot of children to clothe, so this donation will really help towards that project.

I had first been contacted by the school before the summer holidays, asking if we would like some uniform from them. Once school returned in September, they planned a non uniform day to raise funds to help cover the cost of sending the uniform to Malawi. We are so grateful as they raised £140. There will be some money left over from the money collected which we are going to put towards buying tree saplings like pine, eucalyptus and umbrella trees.

Planting trees is so important for several reasons; to prevent soil erosion during heavy rains, trees can be planted at field boundaries. During the hottest days, trees provide very welcoming shade. Obviously we know how vital planting trees are for combatting climate change and also to replace trees that were used for fuel. Students from Bright Futures Secondary School will be able to help manage this project as part of their Agricultural Classes.

We are delighted that the school will be helping us with this initiative and look forward to bringing photos of the saplings being planted and then when they grow.

In the meantime, here are the photos of the school uniform donations which will be going to the very vulnerable children we help to support. Again, there will be photos when the items are distributed.

Many thanks to all at All Saints Junior School in Maidenhead for supporting us. Here are twp small projects we are raising funds for; science equipment at Bright Futures Secondary School https://donorsee.com/project/25307?share=1 and https://donorsee.com/project/25004?share=1 to donate to fund a Christmas Party with food for 500 very vulnerable children. Or you can email for bank details contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com . Thank you for your support, Sarah x #SustainableDevelopmentGoals #QualityEducation #LifeOnLand #GoodHealth

Science at Bright Futures Secondary School

Some great photos from an S2 practical science lesson at Bright Futures Secondary School. Will you help us provide more equipment please?

Sarah’s blog 31/10/24

Thanks to our donors and supporters, we have achieved a great deal on a relatively small budget. There was only a very small amount of money for supporting practical science experiments at Bright Futures Secondary School.

We are grateful to one of our supporters who bought some more science equipment which arrived on the last container. These items were used in lessons this week for practical experiments. As you will see from the photos and what the teacher has told me, students being able to learn practically as well as theoretically, makes lessons far more exciting and easier to understand!

However, although everyone is delighted that they now have some equipment for performing science experiments, they do need to buy many more items to cover practical lessons in physics, biology and chemistry for all four years of the curriculum. Will you help us please? In addition to another microscope, circuits, beakers, burners, magnets etc…there will be an ongoing need for a selection of chemicals to be bought each year. Will you help us so that the students have what they need to achieve their potential?

contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com for our bank details or if you have any items we might need. We have a fundraiser on DonorSee specifically for science equipment and any donations will be very much appreciated. https://donorsee.com/project/25307?share=1

I asked Mr Kanyimbo, one of the science teachers at Bright Futures Secondary School, for some feedback from the students and himself after his lesson using the new equipment in his lesson. I was delighted to receive such a comprehensive response from him.

Mr Kanyimbo reflected on the lesson. “From the students’ perspective, many of the students seemed genuinely excited to work with new equipment, saying things like ‘I didn’t know experiments could be this fun!‘ They were clearly engaged, asking more questions and showing greater curiosity about the science behind what they were doing. They were also taking more initiative, setting up their experiments carefully and troubleshooting alongside their peers.”

“One student noted, ‘Having the equipment makes understanding this so much easier’, which highlights how hands-on resources help clarify abstract concepts and others said ‘this is way better than just reading about it’, which captures the enthusiasm and deeper understanding gained through practical work.”

“From my side, the addition of practical equipment brings new ways on how we can approach teaching. Instead of only relying on theoretical explanations, we are able to bring lessons to life, allowing students to make tangible connections between concepts and real-world applications. With practical lessons, students engage more deeply, ask more critical questions, and demonstrate a much stronger grasp of the material. I have already noticed a difference in their confidence and interest in science.”

“Additionally, with hands-on experiments, students become active learners. It is one thing to discuss theories, but quite another to let them test and observe these concepts in action. This approach doesn’t just make learning enjoyable but also builds problem-solving skills, deepens comprehension, and fosters a love of science that goes beyond the classroom. If we can have more equipment for practical lessons, for form 3 and form 4 work, we can have some better improvements in our science department. We currently do not carry out experiments with form 3 due to lack of chemicals and other apparatus.”

Please help us ensure that the students (and teachers) have what they need to be successful this year! https://donorsee.com/project/25307?share=1

Thanks to Mr Kanyimbo and his S2 students for the photos and feedback from what looks to have been a fun and informative lesson! Enjoy the photos and video (sorry about poor sound quality of the video) and please donate if you can, Sarah x

Sorry about the poor sound quality. The students are thanking donors for the new equipment and explaining what they are holding. They are asking for some additional equipment to be sent so they can complete more practical science lessons.

Bright Futures Secondary School Expansion

With many thanks to The Clive Richards Foundation for their grant of £9,000 towards the expansion project of Bright Futures Secondary School.

Sarah’s blog 16/08/24

Today we are absolutely delighted that £9,000 has been transferred to the charity bank account by The Clive Richards Foundation. This is the second grant we have received from them, having had a successful grant application last year for £11,000 which paid for the teachers’ accommodation block for four teachers. Each teacher has their own sitting room and bedroom. Thank you so much for your support again this year.

We are so grateful to The Clive Richards Foundation for this second grant. They understood the issues we have of being able to attract teachers to Bright Futures Secondary School because of the very rural location. The extreme poverty means that there is nowhere suitable for teachers to rent nearby.

A brief recap for those who may not know. Bright Futures Secondary School was built because none of the orphans and other young people could afford school fees. Secondary school in Malawi is not free so all of the young people were having to leave school at the end of primary school whether they had passed their primary school leavers exams or not. Some young people whom we matched with sponsors were able to attend the nearest government school if they were chosen to have a place…but there were not enough places for everyone.

Thanks to lots of support, the first two classrooms at Bright Futures Secondary School were built and the school opened on 7th November 2022. Classrooms 3 and 4 where built and ready for term starting in September 2023. As there were only 3 year groups last year, classroom 4 was able to be used as a staffroom and for some other non academic skills classes.

Next month (Sept 24) will see 4 year groups at Bright Futures Secondary School. This obviously means all classrooms will be in use and more teachers will be employed…hence the need for the expansion. So, after having lots of quotes and writing lots of grant applications and fundraising…we have embarked on a £33,000 expansion for Bright Futures Secondary School.

Work has started on another motel style accommodation block – this time for 6 teachers. There will also be further latrines/washing facilities and solar power for the accommodation block and the school. Obviously this is a huge amount of money and we are so grateful for everyone’s support. It means so much that people believe us and the community we are helping to support.

The students know that education is the way out of the extreme poverty they are living in and this is an investment in their future. They will have a brighter future with choices and chances that they would not previously have had. A huge part of the school day for these young people is a free school lunch. Their families cannot afford to feed them properly. The substantial, nutritious lunch they have at school each day means at least they have eaten. They are able to concentrate because of the food they receive at school. Their families can concentrate on trying to feed the other members of the family and have one less mouth to feed.

Did you also know that, by keeping these young people in education, we are helping to prevent child marriages? When families cannot afford to feed their children, often they will agree to the eldest daughter being married far too young. Levison and team have supported lots of girls by matching them with a sponsor and easing the financial burden on the family slightly. Some of these girls have been as young as 11. Many children and young people regard Bright Futures Campus as their safe space and girls have run there in tears to tell Levison about proposed child marriages. Another benefit is preventing teen pregnancies as young people are focused and working hard to better themselves.

National exams are at the end of S2 and S4. Even if students do not manage to pass their s4 exams, they are far more literate and numerate than they were before attending secondary school…which will benefit them in whatever job they get after leaving school. They also learn practical skills like agriculture so will know how to grow their own food.

These young people need to be nurtured because of the trauma they have faced in their young lives. They are all living in extreme poverty, most have suffered from malnutrition, all are hungry. Most have lost family members and are living with extended family. Some families have been affected by HIV and Aids. So an holistic approach is taken at Bright Futures Secondary School. These young people need adults to believe in them. To help their confidence and self-esteem. To be positive role models. To know that they are as important as other young people. This is why Bright Futures Secondary School has been built and is now expanding…to give current students, and the hundreds that will benefit in future, a brighter future.

My previous blog looking for sponsors to support vulnerable students to take up their place at Bright Futures Secondary School is here: 5 weeks to find sponsors for 11 vulnerable students – Changing Lives Malawi

This is the link to help to provide seeds for the students to grow their own food: https://donorsee.com/project/24114?share=1

If you’d like to help by holding a fundraiser or would like us to attend an event or you’d like to make a financial donation please get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thank you again, Sarah x

The ground has been cleared of rocks, boulders and vegetation
Thousands of bricks are being made by hand
Bricks are covered to stop them drying out too quickly in the sun and cracking. Then they are stacked to make a kiln and covered in mud. Fires are lit in the gaps underneath.
The difficult work of digging the foundations
Some bricks were bought to use for the foundations, then the others will be used when they have cooled down enough next week
The men are working hard to get the accommodation block built during the school holidays
The builders are hard at work
Progress every day
Such hard work digging the foundations
Some bricks were bought to start off the building
The truck has been invaluable to fetch supplies although there is a fuel shortage and they had to wait in a long queue for fuel to arrive and to get a tank of fuel (no extra cans were allowed which is a real nuisance as they are in such a rural location)
such hard work
water is needed to be brought from the river as the borehole only has enough water for domestic use during the dry season
the builders are making great progress
collecting planks of wood which will be used for the roof

5 weeks to find sponsors for 11 vulnerable students

These young people need a sponsor to help them access secondary education which isn’t free in Malawi. Will you help please?

Sarah’s blog 10/8/24

Thank you so much to the generous people who have come forward and offered to sponsor a young person to go to Bright Futures Secondary School. We are so grateful for everyone who sponsors one of the young people we help to support.

Secondary school is not free in Malawi. So, unless these young people receive help, their education stops at the end of primary school whether they pass their primary school leavers exams or not. This doesn’t seem fair. They are all living in extreme poverty. Many are orphans living with extended family. None can pay school fees. All of them know that education is their way out of poverty and to a brighter future with choices and chances.

The new school term in Malawi starts on 16th September. Will you help us please? We need to find sponsors for all of these young people. You can sponsor as an individual, a family or two friends can share the cost. It’s only £25 per month to change a young person’s life. Or if 5 friends shared sponsorship of a young person then that’s only £5 each per month. Please could you ask your friends?

Apart from paying the teachers’ salaries, the biggest cost is food. At Bright Futures Secondary School each student gets a substantial, nutritious meal each lunchtime. For most this is their only meal of the day, so it is vital. Families, knowing that the students are fed at school, don’t have to worry about feeding them at home. This is how poor families are. They just do not have enough to go round.

I’ve enclosed the link to my original blog about looking for sponsors but the photos in this blog are the young people who still need your help. Please contact me to ensure we can help. It takes teamwork. Thank you so much, Sarah x contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

Some good news & shoes!

Sarah’s blog 16/7/24

School holidays always mean that I don’t have as much time to devote to Changing Lives Malawi but that doesn’t mean nothing happens. I’ve applied for two grants this week. There are so many people chasing the same money that it’s not often that we get lucky…but fingers crossed!

At the end of last week, I received a cheque for £4,500 from The Inverclyde Trust, for which we are very grateful. This is the third time they have supported our work and this donation will go towards the next phase of teachers’ accommodation and latrines as more teachers will be needed at Bright Futures Secondary School in September. Thank you so much for making a difference again.

I’ve received two parcels of preloved shoes in the post and also two bags of shoes have been dropped off at our house. These will be great for the teenagers at Bright Futures Secondary School. Thank you again!

All Saints Junior School in Maidenhead emailed me to ask if we are still collecting preloved school uniform. They are changing their uniform and have some new and preloved clothes to send us as well as some new backpacks. This is a great donation and so many of the orphans we support will benefit from some lovely new clothes. All Saints are about to break up for their summer holidays but, once they are back, we look forward to bringing updates of the donations and also some fundraising that the children will be helping with. We are so glad that you got in touch and look forward to partnering with you after the school holidays.

Hopefully, later in the week, there will be photos of the next lot of boxes arriving at their destination. We have heard that the container has reached the capital of Malawi, Lilongwe, and is waiting to be released by customs. Once that happens, the container will reach its final destination at Ekwendeni, near Mzuzu. It’s always very exciting waiting for boxes and other supplies to arrive. Sometimes boxes were packed so long ago that we’ve forgotten what was in some of them – although I do keep an overall note of what is in the boxes and who things are for. I’m looking forward to seeing the preschool children with some new resources and also students at Bright Futures Secondary School with some topic books they requested.

We are still trying to raise funds for lots of small projects so any donations will be very much appreciated. Thanks for reading and supporting, Sarah x https://donorsee.com/project/23995?share=1

And then there were ten…

10 vulnerable students are needing sponsors to help with their secondary education. Will you help? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

Sarah’s blog 6/7/24

10 students needing sponsors with 9 weeks until the new term!

I’d like to start by saying THANK YOU to the lovely people who answered the call for help for new sponsors. I was set the challenge of finding sponsors for 18 young people who have just left primary school. Now there are 10 to find sponsors for and we are very grateful that eight have now been matched with sponsors to support their education.

In Malawi, secondary education needs to be paid for. None of the young people we help to support would be able to have a secondary education if they don’t have a sponsor to help with the cost of their place at secondary school. Bright Futures Secondary School was built for these students who had no hope of a brighter future….but, with your help, they now can see a way out of the extreme poverty they are living in.

One of the biggest daily costs at Bright Futures Secondary School is food. These young people do not eat a proper meal at home each day. They receive a nutritious, filling lunch each day they are at school. This is their only meal of the day and saves their families having to feed them. So it is vital that they are all fed at school. Apart from their free lunches, they receive free education, free uniform and shoes, stationery and water bottles.

It costs £25 per month to sponsor a young person. You can be a sponsor as an individual or a family or you could share the cost of being a sponsor with your friends or club. Anyone can help and it’s less than £1 per day. That might not seem a lot to us, but it is probably one of the most important things you can do for one of these young people….the gift of education. Please do get in touch if you think you can help or you’d like more information. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thank you for reading and supporting us to help these vulnerable young people, Sarah x

This was my original post asking for help to support the education of these vulnerable young people

https://donorsee.com/project/24114?share=1 Here is a link to donate to provide vegetable seeds and sweet potato vines to support the agricultural classes at Bright Futures Secondary School. Brian, an S2 student, is saying how much he enjoys agricultural classes and asks for continued support. Growing their own vegetables to supplement their school lunches is something for them to be proud of!

The gift of a bar of soap at nursery

Thanks to generous donors that’s another project fully funded on DonorSee. These children are delighted with their bar of soap.

Sarah’s blog 25/06/24

Another one of our small projects that is on our DonorSee page has been fully funded by generous donors….thank you so much. We appealed for money to buy bars of soap for Bright Futures Nursery, Chambo Primary School and Bright Futures Secondary School. All of these now have clean water to drink and wash hands but soap is also necessary for keeping infection and germs from spreading.

Soap is also provided in the shower block. This is such a useful facility for so many children so that they are able to get clean and get rid of the dust and dirt. By taking a bar of soap home, their caregivers will be able to wash their clothes. They probably don’t have soap very often. Something we take for granted. So enjoy these photos and video of the nursery children who are delighted that they have been given a bar of soap. If you contributed – thank you for making their lives just a little bit better.

As you can see from the building behind – it needs repainting. All the sun and then heavy rain have faded the paint and it’s looking a little bit worn. The writing says ‘Emma’s Rainbow Library’ named for Emma Buchanan who was taken too soon. She loved reading and would have loved to go to Malawi on a school trip but her health prevented that. After Emma passed, a beautiful rainbow appeared. Her family helped fundraise for the library building. So painting is on the list of jobs that needs doing!

Here is the link to our DonorSee page… perhaps you’d like to make a small donation to one of our other projects? DonorSee Thanks, Sarah x

Happy nursery children with their bars of soap – thank you!
Two very happy smiley boys
These children are aged between 4 and 6 years old. They start school at age 6.
Holding their precious gifts up high
Thank you for the soap
58 happy children having each received a bar of soap this morning

BFSS Essays June 24 – S3

BFSS – June’s essays from some of the S3 students

Sarah’s blog 21/06/24

Some of the S3 students at Bright Futures Secondary School have had their first attempt at writing a book review. This wasn’t a compulsory exercise as some of them weren’t sure about this type of essay. It’s all good practice for them and we think there are some good results! Well done everyone! Hopefully, you are able to read most of them. Thanks to their sponsors for giving them opportunities they wouldn’t have had, Sarah x

BFSS S2 Essay Competition – June 24

BFSS S2 essays & photos June 24 – could you sponsor a student to have the opportunity of a secondary education please?

Sarah’s blog 19/6/24

Here are essays and photos from the S2 class at Bright Futures Secondary School. They are feeling very relieved to have just finished their national exams. The students will, hopefully, gain their Junior Certificate of Education, and then proceed to S3 in September. As you will see, many of them are older than usual…the older they are the more poverty they live in. They have missed years of school to work for a pittance and are now valuing being given the opportunity to catch up on their education.

Class sizes at Bright Futures Secondary School will always be smaller than average class sizes in Malawi but, as you can see, there is plenty of space at Bright Futures Secondary School for more students. The biggest cost we face is feeding the students a nutritious, substantial school lunch every day. For most students, this is their only meal each day….so free school lunches are vital for their health & wellbeing, concentration and motivation.

If you’d like to help us get more vulnerable students into secondary education next year at Bright Futures Secondary School, then please do get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Secondary education is not free in Malawi and none of these students would be at school without support.

https://changinglivesmalawi.com/2024/06/14/12-weeks-to-find-sponsors-for-14-vunerable-students/ Thank you to our wonderful sponsors for helping to change the life of the young person you support and for giving them a brighter future, Sarah x

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!

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

Another student matched with a sponsor to go to Bright Futures SS

An update on the students who need sponsors to be able to take up their places at Bright Futures Secondary School.

Sarah’s blog 6/6/24

Recently, I shared a post about 18 young people, who were about to leave Chambo Primary School and expected to pass their primary school leavers exams, needing to be matched with sponsors to help support their secondary school education which has to be paid for in Malawi. None of these young people can afford to pay so unless they have help they won’t be able to continue with their education.

I’m delighted to share that 4 of those young people have now been matched with sponsors and will be able to take up their places at Bright Futures Secondary School in September. Agness, Silvia, John and Myless all have sponsors and we are very grateful to them for offering to support these young people. Agness was matched today with her sponsor which is why I’m using her picture in this post.

It only costs £25 per month per student, less than £1 per day, and you can sponsor as an individual, split the cost with friends, sponsor as a business or a club… anyone can make a difference to these young people, giving them choices and chances they wouldn’t normally have had…giving them a brighter future.

I have the huge responsibility of trying to match the other 12 young people with sponsors before the end of August, which is only a couple of months away, so that they too can attend Bright Futures Secondary School and receive free education, school uniform, stationery and a free nutritious lunch each day – for most this is the only meal that most of them have each day so your support is vital for their wellbeing.

Here is the link to the previous post with all the young people who need your help. Please do contact me if you want be a helping hand for one of these vulnerable young people contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com . Thank you to each and every one of our sponsors… your generosity really does help. Please do get in touch if you’d like more info or to tell me you’d love to help. Thanks, Sarah x

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

If you haven’t seen our small fundraisers on DonorSee please do click on the link. Thanks, Sarah x

CLM is 5 years old today!

Changing Lives Malawi is 5 years old! Thanks for your support and here’s to the next 5 years!

Sarah’s blog 29/5/24

Happy 5th birthday to us! Changing Lives Malawi is 5 years old today. We are very grateful for all the support we have had along the way and thankful for everyone who has sponsored a vulnerable child or young person.

A lovely happy birthday message from some of the students at Bright Futures Secondary School

Here are a few highlights;

  • 500 children and young people are being fed a nutritious meal once a week at the Feeding Programme. This is the only proper meal of the week for some and children are walking 15km-20km to receive this food. Some young people carry their younger siblings with them. Once a week isn’t enough but all we can afford while we are helping with setting up other projects. No big charities are feeding children in primary schools in that area so most are malnourished and all are hungry.
  • All who need them have been given reusable sanitary towels so they don’t miss a week of school every month. Girls now have equality with regards to their education and school attendance. These sanitary towels have been made by a group of girls who have been using the hand turn Singer sewing machines we sent. They want to start making clothes to sell.
  • up to 75 pre-school children attend Bright Futures nursery and are being fed breakfast each day.
    • Vulnerable young people, whom we match with sponsors, are able to attend Bright Futures Secondary School free of charge. BFSS was built with the help of our supporters and opened in November 2022. More sponsors are needed for the students that want to take up their places in September 2024 contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com It’s less than £1 per day. Students receive a free education, uniform, stationery and a free nutritious lunch each day. For most, this is their only meal of the day.
    • There is clean drinking water, and a shower block for all the young people to use.
    • Our school literacy project is supplying primary schools with boxes of preloved books to help students become more confident readers and to raise literacy levels.
    • Fruit tree saplings have been planted for a sustainable future food source.
    • Crops have been planted to be used in the feeding programme and students are learning how to care for them and the chickens as part of their agricultural lessons.
    • Mother & baby project – we have some very talented people knitting beautiful blankets and clothes for the new babies on the maternity ward at Chambo Health Centre. The mums are extremely grateful for these beautiful things. If they go back a few weeks later, they are given other gifts for their babies and this is another chance for health professionals to see that mother and baby are well.

The above are just some of the ways that your support goes to help the most vulnerable people in Ibuluma. It’s always about teamwork and we very much appreciate everyone’s support.

There is still so much that needs to be done to help this community to get back on its feet. They want to be self-sufficient and just need a helping hand to get there. We will continue reaching out to try to connect with more people over the next five years so that there is a bigger team enabling more work to be done.

Thanks also to the core team of volunteers – you are an amazing support!

We have a few projects on DonorSee that we are raising money for and would appreciate your help. If you could ‘follow’ and give us a review on DonorSee that would be great, as it helps us get seen by more potential donors.

https://donorsee.com/project/23503?share=1

DonorSee

Thank you all again and here’s to the next five years! Sarah x