Tag: chisenga

The Wear A Sports Shirt Day Football Tournament

Sarah’s blog 23/09/22

We have been extremely fortunate to have had donations of football kit and other sports kit from a variety of sources and we are very grateful for the donations and support we have received. If you see a kit that you recognise/donated in the photos or videos from this tournament, then feel free to share and tag teams or people.

The Foundation has hosted the first football tournament that will be held annually. It has been named after one of our supporters. Julian Chenery works tirelessly every weekend collecting preloved football kit and other sports kits to send to those who need them. Julian’s charity is called ‘Wear a Sports Shirt Day’ and that is what this annual tournament is called as a thank you for the ongoing support that Julian has given.

It has been very successful, well attended and enjoyed by all. Five teams received gifts of new (to them) football kits. The players in the local teams taking part are all aged between 14 and 20 years old.

Well done to The Bombers who were the overall winners beating Mtelera in the final 3 – 1.

In one of the videos you will see a man talking to the crowd. This is Mr Msachi and he is the chairperson of The Area Development Committee for Chisenga District. I asked Levison to summarise what he had said. Levison said “He was saying this is the first well organised short tournament. He is really thankful to the donors. He is very happy.”

As I have been preparing this post, Levison has messaged to say that he has been contacted by a journalist from Tuntufye Radio who had heard about this football tournament!

Footballs are always needed so if anyone would like to donate money for footballs then please do email me contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

I’m so thankful that it has been a success and was well organised, well attended and everyone enjoyed this first tournament. And, of course, we couldn’t do what we do without the help and support of everyone who has donated kit to us to send to The Foundation. It’s always about teamwork….so thank you for being part of our team. If you recognise any of the kits in this blog, then please do tag and share. Thank you again and hope you enjoy looking at the photos and videos. Sarah x

Mr Msachi, Chair of The Area Development Committee for Chisenga thanking the donors for the football kits and saying how well this new tournament has been organised.

An interview on the radio

Sarah’s blog 2/2/22

Tuntufye Radio in Malawi interviewed Mr Msukwa the Education Advisor for the whole of Chisenga District in the north of Malawi where the Foundation is. I hope to be able to put his interview onto our facebook page but here is a summary of what he said about Levison, The Foundation and the sponsorship programme.

“Levison Mlambya does a lot of work here in Chisenga through lots of different projects. He has supporters in the UK (and elsewhere) we call it The William Stewart Foundation. There are 30 students in Chisenga school and 2 students in Wenya school. There are 19 girls sponsored and in school. I wholeheartedly appreciate the job this young man has done for us. It’s not easy to do what he does. Instead of girls getting married, they are being kept in school. Levison Mlambya already paid all the students fees at the beginning of term and all the learners are in school. I pray they work hard. I encourage them to work hard for university. He (Levison) has done a good job and hope he continues doing a good job. He has a good heart and he his a God fearing man.”

High praise indeed for Levison who works so hard for the hundreds of children supported by The Foundation. Praise that is extremely well deserved. We are extremely lucky to have him. As we keep saying, it’s all about team work. The Education Officer, Mr Msukwa, is so appreciative of how the sponsors are supporting these children, giving them opportunities and changing their lives and it is great to receive feedback like that from the authorities that they recognise that we are all making a difference to orphans and other vulnerable young people in rural northern Malawi.

We still have 11 young people who passed their primary school leavers exams who have sponsors but did not get selected for secondary school. We have been told to wait until the education authorities see what places become available due to students who cannot afford to take up their offered places at secondary school. Hopefully, our 11 will get places then. If not then we will look at hiring a teacher for them at The Foundation.

Levison’s phone hasn’t stopped ringing since that radio interview with people requesting funding for their children. Maybe one day he might be in a position to say ‘yes’ but at the moment there are still hundreds of children supported by The Foundation who need a sponsor. 80 children matched with sponsors is an amazing achievement but we do need to try to find sponsors for other orphans and vulnerable children and give them the chance of education too.

It’s only £25 per month to sponsor a young person. You can sponsor as an individual, a family, split the cost with a friend or your business could sponsor a child. Or you could commit to our Feeding Team and sign up for £5 or £10 per month to help feed the malnourished children more than once a week. On average 500 children are fed a substantial, nutritious meal every week. It’s a great start but not enough. It costs £100 to feed 500 children one meal. Some children don’t eat every day. We appreciate the help of every single person who has committed to these children…but we need to expand our team. Please can you help? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thanks for reading, Sarah x

Levison with some of the children at their Christmas party. They were given new raincoats that had been generously donated and a pencil and lollipop each.

Where in the world?

Sarah’s blog 20/10/21

Just a quick blog tonight. Malawi is a big place. We say we are supporting The William Stewart Foundation in Malawi….but where in Malawi? Well here are some maps and photos. Ibuluma is a rural village near Chitipa in the far North of Malawi.

From Chitipa to Chisenga (where the nearest secondary school is) is 25 miles.

From Chitipa to Ekwendeni (where the container goes to) is almost 200 miles which takes approximately 5 hours. So it is a very long day when Levison and team go to collect all the boxes. Hope you found these maps and photos interesting. You can sign up to the blog to keep up to date with the latest news. Thanks for reading, Sarah x

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