It’s been another busy day for Levison. In preparation for the long journey to collect the boxes from the next container, which will hopefully be arriving very soon, Levison took the truck to get two new batteries today.
He also called in at the carpenter who is making some desks for one of the classrooms. We were delighted to have received a donation towards these desks and, as always, we are very grateful for the support. The carpenter agreed to make the desks for £20 each and they will be ready for collection on Tuesday. If anyone would like to purchase a desk for the other classroom, then please do let me know. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com 130 chairs are in the container that is arriving very soon, so the school is really taking shape and pupils will have more uniform and school bags.
There is still a lot to buy and also continuous costs for Bright Futures Secondary School, so here is the link for our fundraiser https://gofund.me/44a92444 if you would like to make a donation. We are hoping that the builder will be back at The Foundation this week to start measuring out the area for the next classroom block.
Here is the link to the post about our fundraising gifts and cards. We still have some of our lovely calendars for sale and they would make a great gift at only £10 plus £2 p&p with all money going to the school project. Christmas Cards & Gifts – Changing Lives Malawi I hope everyone is having a good weekend and thank you again for supporting us to help the vulnerable children in Malawi. Thanks, Sarah x
Wow! The building of phase 1 of Bright Futures Secondary School is complete. Thank you to each of you who have helped and supported us and the team in Malawi. It’s an amazing achievement and so exciting.
At times we thought this dream was just too big and that we were going to have to wait until next year for it to be a reality. However, the fact that there aren’t enough places in the nearest secondary schools spurred us on. Even though children were passing their primary school leavers exams, if they didn’t get picked for a place at secondary school then they couldn’t go. Education is the way out of poverty for these children and a chance of a brighter future. We had to keep going. So here is an update on where we are with the project.
phase 1 – Two classrooms have been built. The steps and ramp will be started now the actual building is finished. Some teachers’ accommodation has been built. Due to the very rural location this is a necessity. A latrine block for adults will be completed in the next few days. The school is called Bright Futures Secondary School, in memory of a special lady and the school will offer the most vulnerable teenagers a brighter future.
The class sizes will be far smaller than other secondary schools, 45 children per class maximum. In other schools it can be up to 90. There will be a full class of S1 and S2 students. Until we are able to raise more funds for more classrooms the S3 students will be using the library as their learning space or alternating with the other classes when they are accessing the library.
We are by no means finished and must raise more funds to ensure Bright Futures Secondary School is a success. We had a generous grant from The Souter Charitable Trust for £3,250 which was for textbooks. However, we do still need to spend approximately £1,000 on more textbooks. Unfortunately, because of the poverty in Malawi there are never second-hand textbooks for sale so we will have to buy new ones. With your help we can do this. https://gofund.me/44a92444
130 chairs and 8 tables are on the container that will arrive within the next month. We need your help with building desks. There are school jumpers, school bags, filled pencil cases, dictionaries, small windup torches, and other supplies for the students who will be starting at Bright Futures Secondary School. We will need to buy notebooks for the students too. We also need to provide a snack for each student to ensure that everyone has eaten something every day. Teachers are being interviewed and it won’t be long before the school doors are open for learning to begin! Bright Futures and Changing Lives! https://gofund.me/44a92444
All of this would not be possible without the wonderful support we’ve had. Thank you to each and every one of you who has contributed. Going forward, in years to come, thousands of children will benefit from this new school project and benefit from your help. So, on behalf of each and every one of them a HUGE THANK YOU. You have made a difference.
phase 2 – we are fundraising for the next phase of the school already so please do donate if you can. We intend to add; two new classrooms, two new latrine blocks, and a staffroom in phase 2. Each classroom in phase 1 build has cost £10,000 so we have another big challenge ahead. With your help we can continue changing lives.
phase 3 and 4 – this involves more classrooms, dedicated computer and science classrooms and hopefully dormitories for the most vulnerable who have nowhere else to stay or live too far away.
Kilometre Challenge – We are trying to race against the container ship that is on it’s way to Malawi with our boxes. I’ll find out the exact location for an update tomorrow. We are asking people to add their kilometres to our total…you don’t need to be sponsored….just get in touch and tell us how many kilometres you’ve been walking to and from school, walking the dog, cycling, or running…whatever it is that you’ve been doing everyday….take an average and let us know and we will add it to our total. We have now collectively completed 6,612.701 kilometres which works out at 50.31% Woohoo!!! We’ve reached the halfway mark!! Very well done everyone. Email me please with your kilometres and I’ll do another post about this challenge tomorrow. It would be fantastic to have more kilometres to add to the total before then! contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
Thank you again to each of you. Thank you for being on this journey with us. Thank you for trusting us. Now we need to keep going to ensure that the school keeps growing. https://gofund.me/44a92444 to donate and make a big difference to the lives of the most vulnerable children in rural northern Malawi.
Here are more photos of the school build and it won’t be long until we are showing photos of the students and teachers! Every donation of £500 or over will be able to name a classroom, every donation of £100 or over will be able to have their name on a wall. If you’d like to make a corporate donation or donate in memory of a loved one, then please do get in touch. Or why not give a Christmas Gift to your family of having a name written on the wall or a classroom named after them? Enjoy the photos, Sarah x
This is a secondary school for the most vulnerable children that the Foundation supports. Children who are orphans or their families are extremely poor. Also some other very vulnerable children from nearby villages will be able to attend.
The school will start with S1 classrooms and teachers accommodation and more of the school will be built over the next few years for S2, S3 and S4.
This is a community school for the most vulnerable in the community. This school is the key to a brighter future for this community. They need a helping hand to achieve this and that is where all of us can help.
£1,400 has already been sent to help pay the wages of locals who are making bricks and clearing land….so that is creating employment. More money will be needed for wages to complete the process of building the school.
Here are some of the ways you can help. It is a huge project for a small organisation to undertake but the children have always been the priority and all children have the right to an education. Please help us continue Changing Lives Malawi. I’ll be posting photos in the next few days of the land clearing and brick making. Thank you so much for your continuing support. Even a few £££ will make a difference so please give if you can. Sarah x
Let’s Build A School!
Help us give the gift of education. Help us build a school in Ibuluma.
Currently there are not enough secondary school places so, even if you pass your primary school exams, if you aren’t picked for a place at secondary then you can’t go. Education should be available to all and is the way to a better future. Please help us build a school.
Please buy from the following list to help us continue Changing Lives Malawi. We can send a card (from an original painting by Christine Cresswell, trustee) to the recipient on your behalf if you’d like this to be a gift, or post to yourself to give, for £1 extra. (costs can be saved on desks if anyone knows of any high schools of similar getting rid of desks/tables to send via the Bananabox Trust rather than ones being made in Malawi)
If only it were that easy! It’s going to take a lot of fundraising and a lot of money and some very generous people to make this work. We can do this, together!
There are just not enough secondary school places. Even though children are passing primary leavers exams and have sponsors to pay their fees, if they don’t get picked then there’s nothing they can do! We have 11 such children who have sponsors kindly paying their fees but they have had to resit p8 as they didn’t get a place in secondary school. It’s heart-breaking for them when they are working hard and know that education is a way out of the dire poverty they are living in. We have bought text books and Levison is tutoring them each week to try to ensure they get better passes and are picked for a place at secondary school in January. Life is hard and not fair for these young people. We can help them if you join us.
As you will see from some of the young people’s writing, nearly all of them want to see a secondary school in their village. All the young people who had passed their primary school leavers exams would be given a place. As a lot of the young people are orphans, living with a single parent or grandparent, the fact that they could stay at home whilst attending secondary school would be a bonus as they would still be able to help with some chores at home. Let’s make their wishes come true.
This is us getting started but we need help. We need you. What are your skills? Are you good at applying for grants? Do you have the energy and enthusiasm for fundraising? Do you know anyone famous? Or do you have a large following on social media? Please get in touch and we can do this together. We can build a school. We can change lives. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thanks for reading, Sarah x fundraisingschool.docx
