Tag: clothes

A Difficult Journey

It’s been a really difficult few days for Levison and his colleagues. This blog tells the story…..

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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.

World Children’s Day

Today’s blog has great photos of happy children on World Children’s Day!

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Sarah’s blog 20/11/25

World Children’s Day …what does it mean? And is there a point? None of these children know about World Children’s Day. And does it apply to them? Or is it for children not living in extreme poverty?

World Children’s Day, November 20th, marks the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It is for all children around the world. However, many children still do not have all the rights that they should do. UNCRC_summary-1_1.pdf

How many do not have a safe home? How many do not have enough to eat? How many do not have safe drinking water? How many do not have proper health care? The list could go on.

We are doing what we can to help hundreds of the most vulnerable children, living in extreme poverty, in rural northern Malawi. Things are better, but they aren’t good enough, there is still so much to do. That is why we are very grateful for all our supporters as it is always about teamwork and together we can continue Changing Lives (in) Malawi.

These are some great photos that were sent to me a couple of days ago. These children are in p5-p7 at Chambo Primary School. There are so many children needing support that the best way is to help a few at a time. They all received new clothes. The team cannot give out too many things at once as families are so desperately poor they would sell some of the clothes to try to buy some food. So, periodically, Levison and his team give out clothes to those most in need.

I can see donations from Balfron Primary School, Strathblane Primary School, Cherry Tree Nursery and All Saints C of E Junior School in Maidenhead. Can you see any other schools or nurseries I have missed? If you message me then I’ll add them in contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Many thanks to everyone who has donated clothes and school uniform to make the lives of these children a little bit better.

These are a couple of ways you can help support children to have a better and brighter future. https://gofund.me/72d809c06 or https://donorsee.com/project/28717?share=1 or you can email me for bank details contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

Thank you for helping to make these children smile, Sarah x

Supporting New Mothers in Malawi: The Mother & Baby Project

Today’s blog has photos and videos from a visit to the maternity ward at Chambo Health Centre.

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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

Bright Futures: Helping Vulnerable Students Thrive

Bright Futures: Helping Vulnerable Students Thrive

Thanks so much to All Saints CofE School, Maidenhead and to the charity Sal’s Shoes for making a difference to these vulnerable teenagers.

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Sarah’s blog 8/10/25

When I was a teenager, I always loved going to choose new stationery ready for returning to school after the summer holidays and, most years, I’d get a new school bag and unform and shoes too…although I really disliked our brown school uniform! There was no question that, although there wasn’t lots of spare money, there was always enough to buy the things that my siblings and I needed.

The students that have just started in S1 at Bright Futures Secondary School are living in extreme poverty. Their families cannot afford enough food, let alone any money to buy school uniform, shoes and stationery. So, last week, they were overwhelmed when gifts were handed out to each of them. They’ve never had presents like this, that we and our children all take for granted.

Thanks to individual supporters, we were able to send new and preloved school uniform; shirts and blouses and skirts and trousers. I got in touch with a wonderful charity called Sal’s Shoes who have helped us out once before. They kindly agreed to give us shoes for the students at Bright Futures Secondary School. We (and the students) are so grateful for this support. Thank you for the wonderful work you do at Sal’s Shoes, collecting and sorting preloved outgrown shoes and sending them on to protect vulnerable children’s feet.

Also, All Saints C of E School, Maidenhead, had contacted us to see if we could use some uniform that they no longer needed as they had changed their school badge. Of course we said yes and were delighted with everything that they sent. The S1 students were delighted to receive their new back packs which they had no idea they would be getting. Thanks so much for these! The clothes from All Saints C of E School, Maidenhead, will be distributed over the next few weeks amongst other vulnerable children.

I had bought water bottles for the new students which I filled with; toothbrush & toothpaste, small bars of soap, pens, pencils, rulers, erasers and sharpeners. Each student was also given some exercise books. They were amazed as they’ve never had a day of receiving this many gifts all at once and certainly not lovely new presents like this. These donations will really help to motivate them to work hard. You can see in one of the photos, one of the girls is overcome with tears of happiness because she didn’t expect to receive all these lovely gifts.

There are two videos in which the S1 students are thanking Sal’s Shoes for their new shoes and also thanking All Saints School for their school bags. If you have donated school uniform, shoes, pencils etc…you can see where your donations are going and how much it means to the recipients. Thank you everyone.

We try to match each of these vulnerable students with a sponsor to help support financially with their education. As well as paying the teachers, part of the sponsorship money goes towards providing a substantial free school lunch each day. For most of these students, it is their only meal of the day and their families can share the small amount of food they have with the remaining family members. Many of these students are orphans, living with extended family. Many in the community have been affected by AIDS and HIV.

We still need to match the following students with sponsors; Veronica, Susan, Nellie, John, Wakisa, Lindwell, Schollastica, Robert, Brian, Lumbiro, Esther, Tusalifye and Ethel. That’s 13 vulnerable young people who need your help. There is an old saying ‘It takes a village to raise a child’…..can we be part of the ‘village’ for these teenagers who really need our support? It’s only £25 per month to sponsor a young person. You can sponsor as an individual, share the cost with a friend or sponsor a young person through your club or business. Get in touch to make a difference and give a student a brighter future contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Enjoy the photos and videos and I look forward to receiving your email if you’d like to give the gift of education to one of these students. Thank you, Sarah x

Students thanking the charity Sal’s Shoes for their new shoes
The S1 students are thanking All Saints School, Maidenhead, for their new school bags
Uniform Donation – All Saints Junior School, Maidenhead
Please help sponsor my education at Bright Futures Secondary School

Lots of boxes to send- please help

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Sarah’s blog 29/08/24

Today has been all about boxes. Thank you to Stuart for driving another carload of boxes to The Bananabox Trust warehouse in Dundee. Once their warehouse is full, they order the next container. We are always grateful to all their volunteers who process the boxes and pack the container. Once Stuart returned from Dundee, he and I spent time packing more boxes this afternoon. Jackie, our numbers guru, and I have just been discussing how much money we have available to send boxes on the next container. Unfortunately, there is never enough in the kitty, so we have to appeal for your help (bank details are at the end of my blog).

Some of our boxes at The Bananabox Trust Warehouse in Dundee

Sending boxes of aid to Malawi is always a bit challenging. Is it economical to send boxes via a container ship then truck to the orphans and other vulnerable children? Should they be buying goods in Malawi instead? There are lots of issues but I’ll try and explain our reasoning for doing what we do.

There are over 500 orphans and other vulnerable children who are living in extreme poverty. Lots of families have been affected by AIDS/HIV so many orphans are living with extended family and are trying to earn a pittance to feed themselves. Therefore, they do not have any spare money to buy clothes. Before we started sending clothes, children were wearing rags. Desperate mothers, who come with their children to ask for help, are able to receive clothes thanks to our supporters.

hundreds of vulnerable children receive preloved school uniform and their self confidence has improved now they have nice clothes to wear.
  1. We appeal for preloved school uniform as it is hardwearing and is usually outgrown while it is still in good condition. It is a way for more people to learn about us and what we do. It is a way to recycle preloved clothes. We also send shoes, baby clothes and blankets which new mothers are so grateful for.
  2. If we didn’t send clothes for the children but sent some money instead, Levison would not be able to buy enough suitable clothing at local markets for the children. Because of the very rural location, this makes accessing shops difficult too. Also purchasing clothes for all those children would cost far too much.
  3. It can get cold at night and as children don’t have enough warm blankets, they need jumpers and hats to keep them warm as they sleep on the floor cuddled with their siblings.
  4. Eventually, because we have sent sewing machines, there won’t be as much need to send as many clothes as they will have the skills to make clothes.
  5. A large percentage of the boxes going on the next container are boxes of children’s books for the School Literacy Project. Primary Schools in rural northern Malawi have minimal resources. We are hoping to raise attainment levels and help children to become confident readers. The books are preloved, from individuals and from local schools and nurseries, so they haven’t cost us anything. We only have to buy the strong boxes to pack them in and pay for transportation. There would be no way of providing books for our project like this if we were to purchase them in Malawi. There aren’t second hand books readily available because owning a book is a precious thing and people, if they are lucky enough to have a book, keep their books. Education is the way out of poverty for thousands of children who will benefit from the School Literacy Project. For £17.50 per box of books – that is a low cost project with the potential to make huge changes.
The first 17 boxes of books gifted to Chambo Primary School. Preschool children in the library had trouble knowing how to turn the pages of these books as they hadn’t had the opportunity to read books before. Some resources I made from bottle tops to support literacy.

Once the community is more self-sufficient and more people have paid employment then they will be able to provide for their own children, both food and clothes. Even daily food is out of reach of some of the people we are helping to support. When the children have better exam results because they’ve had more opportunity to read many more books, they will be able to go on to secondary education (if we can match them with sponsors as secondary education is not free in Malawi).

We will not always send as many boxes as we do currently. The end goal is and has always been helping the community towards self-sufficiency. Hopefully, you will see from this explanation the thought process involved in sending boxes and the huge amount of children who benefit thanks to our supporters. However, we do need financial support to continue helping so many children through all the different projects. It costs £17.50 per box on the container then there are the transport costs in Malawi to collect the boxes from the container. This is such a long journey that it always involves an overnight trip.

So if you are able to help support the sending of preloved shoes and school uniform or to support our School Literacy project we would be very grateful. Financial donations can be made via the website or here are our bank details: Changing Lives Malawi, Bank of Scotland, Sort Code 80-22-60, Account Number 21081462. We always say it’s about teamwork and we couldn’t do what we do without your help and support. If you’d like to get in touch then please email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com . Thank you, Sarah x

I always remember this photo of Lucia and Rodrick…him wth no top and just one shoe. Lucia with no shoes, their tummies distended due to malnutrition. There are six children in their family. Thankfully, they were given clothes and we were able to get sponsors for three of them, meaning more food goes into their home each month to supplement the food they already have. Please let me know if you would like to sponsor a young person.

Gifts for the Children

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Sarah’s blog 12/08/24

Levison and his team have been busy opening the boxes that arrived recently. As Sunday is the day to run the feeding programme, word had got round that there might be some gifts given out yesterday. However, far more children turned up than was expected… there were well over 500…many arrived early…so it was just going to be too much to give clothes out in a sensible way, ensuring everyone got something that fitted them. Everyone will get something, but it will have to be done over different days.

These children are all living in extreme poverty. Many are orphans who live with extended family. Families struggle to feed children every day… so the feeding programme is vital. Once a week isn’t nearly enough but it’s all we can afford at the moment. As families struggle to eat, they certainly don’t have money to buy clothes.

We didn’t send as many boxes as usual on that container as we had sent lots of tables and chairs for the classrooms. On the next container there will be more boxes and, as well as preloved clothes for the children, there will be lots of boxes of books for the school literacy project.

There were over 70 nursery age children today (most of whom go to Bright Futures Nursery). It was decided that they would be the easiest age group to give gifts to first. They all received new clothes and a soft toy each and Levison took these lovely photos of some of the children who are aged between 4 and 6.

After the youngest children had their gifts, then the next age group received clothes too. If you’d like to make a donation to help the feeding programme or help with the cost of sending boxes then please do email me contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

We hope you enjoy these photos and videos and do let me know if you recognise any of the soft toys as having being donated by you! Thanks to everyone who supports us to help hundreds of children and young people, Sarah x

Bright Futures Campus – hundreds of children turned up early this morning hoping for gifts as well as being fed.
Over 70 children age 4-6 received clothes and soft toys

You can hear the excitement and chatter as the children come together to be with their friends and know that they will have a good meal today. We wish we could feed them more often than once a week but we need more financial support for the feeding programme
The children and young people are thanking everyone for the donations and support
5 weeks to find sponsors for 11 vulnerable students

Two little boys

Look at the difference in these two little boys. Having sponsors to give them a helping hand has changed their lives. Could you make a child smile by being their sponsor?

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Sarah’s blog 1/1/24

Firstly let me start by wishing everyone a very Happy New Year. May we all be healthy and happy and have enough to share with those who are in need.

I want to start 2024 off by sharing photos of two little boys. You will see the difference in them.. The reason? They both have sponsors. This means that a monthly food parcel goes to their home to supplement whatever food the family have. They also receive clothes, shoes, soap, toothbrush & toothpaste.

Of course, they have access to the weekly feeding programme where 500 of the most vulnerable children are fed a substantial and nutritious meal. For many, this is their only proper meal of the week. Unfortunately, we do not have enough money to run the feeding programme more often and no big charities are feeding children in schools in that area, meaning most are suffering from malnutrition.

When we first met Brighton, he was in rags and starving. He had to be showered as he was dirty and his hair was covered in lice.

Elijah was also wearing rags and malnourished and his parents were very embarrassed that they couldn’t feed him or his siblings properly.

Thanks to two kind sponsors who came forward in answer to our appeal these two boys are doing so much better. Elijah and Brighton both have lovely smiles. They are attending school regularly and doing well.

This is the difference having a sponsor can make. Wouldn’t you like to give a vulnerable child a chance at a better and brighter future? Wouldn’t you like to make a child smile?

It’s only £25 per month to sponsor a child or young person. You can sponsor as an individual, a family or two friends can split the cost. It might be the most important decision you ever make for a child like Elijah or Brighton. Hundreds of children & young people need a helping hand. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

Thank you to all our sponsors for the difference their help is making. Levison started taking photos of the sponsored children and young people yesterday, so hopefully we will have a new photo of all of them very soon. Many thanks, Sarah x

At last Elijah has something to smile about…and what a lovely smile!
Brighton looks so much better & it’s lovely to see him smile.

Merry Christmas from Malawi – photos from 24/12 & 25/12

Lots of photos of hundreds of vulnerable children receiving clothes & food this Christmas.

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Sarah’s blog 26/12/23

On Christmas Eve, 500 orphans and other vulnerable children of all ages came to the Foundation as they knew that they would be receiving gifts of new clothes. Many thanks to the team of volunteers for ensuring that this was able to happen. Such a lot of work, sorting clothes in advance and trying to secure enough food. Then on the days; distributing clothing, cooking ensuring that everyone was fed.

We were delighted to be able to send some great donations for these children, however it does cost £17.50 per box on the container so we really do need help with covering these costs please. When looking at the photos, have a look at some of the children’s feet. Many have broken shoes or their shoes are far too small for them. We would love donations of trainers, school shoes, flipflops and sliders please – sizes for young children to adults. Again, we need to ask for £1 per pair of shoes to cover the cost of sending them on the container. Can you help?

On Christmas Day, all the children returned to receive food for Christmas Lunch. This had been paid for by a very kind couple who are supporters of our charity. As you can see the children were very happy to receive food and enjoyed wearing the Christmas hats. It was decided that the children would actually have their party on Christmas Day as Levison has said that more and more families are struggling with food insecurity and are unable to feed their children properly. They wanted it to be a happy Christmas Day for the children. After everyone was fed, they were able to play a few games but on both days the children had to be sent home early because of heavy rain.

There are several shallow rivers that many of the children cross to reach the Foundation. There are no bridges. Every time it looks like rain is starting children have to leave either school or activities as the rivers will swell with the amount of rain and no one wants to risk children being swept away with the force of the water. Building bridges is something else on our list of things that will help this community.

We are getting more and more concerned about how food prices continuing to rise and the currency being devalued are affecting people living in extreme poverty. As well as food being scarce, people just don’t have any means to feed their families and it is only going to get worse. If you can spare £5 or £10 per month to help us continue to feed 500 children once a week then please do get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com, or could you make a one off donation? It’s got to be a team effort, and we cannot do everything on our own. Or you could donate via our fundraiser https://gofund.me/d3cf8c3a  Thank you for reading and continuing to support us and believe in us. Merry Christmas from here and Malawi, Sarah x

Chambo Primary: Clean Water/Latrines/Desks & BFSS gifts of clothes for students

Thanks to all who helped change lives for the students at Chambo Primary and Bright Futures Secondary School…some amazing photos!

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Sarah’s blog 23/12/23

Levison has had such a busy week this last week as both primary schools and secondary schools have been doing exams recently so visits to the schools had to wait until the students had finished their exams.

I am going to do a proper post on these visits after Christmas as I don’t have enough time today to write them up in detail.

Firstly Chambo Primary School. It’s a government run primary school with approximately 500 students over 8 classes. There are hardly any resources. Only classroom 8 had desks – the rest of the students sit on the floor. No big charities are feeding children in schools in this area. Many children are malnourished. There was no clean water and no latrines. This is the primary school where many of the orphans and vulnerable children that the Foundation supports attend. We had already donated boxes of books through our School Literacy Project, given clothes to students but we knew they needed more.

We were thankful to get a grant for £1,000 from The Eleanor Rathbone Trust to build a girls’ latrine, ensuring that girls have dignity, privacy and safety.

Thinking outside the box with the £6,000 grant we gratefully received from The Kitchen Table Charity Trust, we facilitated clean water being piped from Chambo Health Centre water supply after Changing Lives Malawi paying for a survey to ensure that this was possible. They are now taps outside Chambo Primary School with clean water for drinking and handwashing. Buckets and cups were also bought with the grant money and we provided soap for students and teachers.

Some of the grant money from The Kitchen Table Charity Trust was used for making desks for two of the classrooms, so there are now three classrooms with desks to sit at. A few of the young people that the Foundation supports helped the carpenters with making these desks and therefore were able to earn some money and learn some basic skills. The carpenters still have four bookshelves to make when they are finished working on a project at The Foundation. We provided exercise books and pencils for the students, and for the teachers we provided exercise books, clipboards, pens and boxes of chalk. Everyone was delighted and very thankful. Lots more information and photos will follow next week.

At Bright Futures Secondary School yesterday, students were tasked with writing essays in the morning about what they like about Bright Futures Secondary School and their hopes for 2024. In the afternoon they were given toothbrushes, toothpaste and soap supplied by Changing Lives Malawi. They were also gifted polo shirts from Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh. We are grateful for lots of preloved sports kit they have gifted to us.

Via, Tony Phillips at Replay Sport Scotland charity in Stirling, we were gifted t-shirts and jackets from Scottish Swimming and also grey trousers from The Queen’s baton relay. We are very pleased to have been able to pass on these clothes to vulnerable teenagers and you can see how happy they are to have these gifts of new clothes. Thank you Tony for gifting these to us.

So as you can see from these photos there are lots of happy children and, with the help of our supporters, we are Changing Lives (in) Malawi. Thank you so much everyone who helps us…. it’s teamwork! Thank you Levison for project managing all the work and taking all the photos. Happy Christmas everyone, Sarah x

Advent Calendar – highlighting projects & children – day 16

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Sarah’s blog 16/12/23

Every day people like Mrs Ng’ambi and her children come to the foundation asking for help. They have no money, no food and, much of the time, are dressed in rags. It is heart breaking to see the amount of poverty that many in the community are living in. Children with their extended tummies are showing visible signs of malnutrition and are so hungry. Unfortunately, there is not enough money to help all of these vulnerable people.

Sometimes they can be given some new clothes or a small amount of food. They are able to have a shower. Sometimes they are given a small amount of money for doing some piece work like helping to weed a field. Life is so difficult, beyond what we can imagine.

Eventually, the aim is that the Foundation is self-sufficient and has enough food to feed the children. There will be more people employed meaning that more money is going back into the community. Until then, they need our help. Can you make a one off donation to support feeding malnourished children please? Or could you commit £5 or £10 per month to ensure the most vulnerable are fed despite food scarcity and prices continuing to rise?

People like Mrs Ng’ambi and her children deserve some happiness and to be healthy and to know that people care about them. If you can help please donate to https://gofund.me/d3cf8c3a contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Together we can make a difference and continue Changing Lives Malawi. Thank you, Sarah x

Queens Baton Relay Clothes & Scottish Swimming Team Clothes

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Sarah’s blog 13/3/23

It’s been another busy day today. We met some new people and made some new connections which is always great. Today we were in Stirling to meet Tony at Replay Sport Scotland. They are a small charity who donate sports clothes and equipment to those in need and recycling/reusing/repairing sports equipment and sports clothes to ensure that, as much as possible, nothing ends up in landfill.

Replay Sports Scotland had a huge donation of clothing from The Queen’s Baton Relay and also from The Scottish Swimming Team. They have been able to distribute these to a variety of organisations in the Stirling area. I contacted Tony and told him about the projects we are supporting in Malawi and he was especially interested in the sports projects; football, netball and rugby.

So this morning we were given trousers from the Queens’ Baton Relay, and also t-shirts and jackets from the Scottish Swimming Team. Two boxes of these will be going to the students at Bright Futures Secondary School….and it just so happens to be the same blue as their school uniform!

Thanks so much to Tony and everyone else involved for allowing our charity to repurpose some of this kit to send to the students at Bright Futures Secondary School in rural northern Malawi. We will ensure that we receive lots of photos when this kit eventually arrives. The young people will be delighted.

I am putting a link to Bright Futures Secondary school here for those who might not have seen the new school Bright Futures Secondary School – desks, chairs, uniform & exams – Changing Lives Malawi

and also the link to the fundraiser for two more classrooms https://gofund.me/ece5753a .Our email address is contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com . Thanks for your support, Sarah x

A family in need – no food to give

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Sarah’s blog 06/03/23

People in need arrive at The Foundation every day. Things are tough. The rainy season makes an already difficult existence even harder. Food is scarce and prices have rocketed. Some people Levison can help, others he can’t. Everyone is given time for a chat. Levison, as well as being a teacher and having a degree in Agriculture, is a trained councillor. His skills are regularly put to good use.

Mrs Ng’ambi arrived at The Foundation this afternoon with her three children. Her husband is ill and they are struggling. Mrs Ng’ambi cried and cried after she and her children were given clothes, blankets and soap. Look at the happiness on the faces of these children because they have some new clothes and some flipflops instead of bare feet. Christina is holding a pack of 4 bars of soap.

Levison said sadly there is no spare food at The Foundation so he was unable to give them any food. Prices of everything have increased hugely in Malawi. Food prices usually go up in the rainy season when food becomes more scarce. However, Levison has told me that maize, their staple food, has more than doubled in price. How can people, earning a pittance, continue to buy food? The situation is getting harder and we must continue to be able to at least continue feeding the 500 children once a week. Please help us. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

Showing kindness in small ways makes a big difference to people like the Ng’ambi family. That’s why we need people to sign up to commit £1 per week to help us to continue to feed the 500 vulnerable children at the Feeding Programme which runs once a week. Children of all ages receive a nutritious, substantial meal once a week. Some children walk up to 20km for this meal. There are no charities feeding children in primary schools in this area. Children are malnourished and hungry. We need your help to continue feeding the 75 nursery children to give them a better start in life. We need your help to continue feeding the vulnerable students at Bright Futures Secondary School. We need your help to have some ‘emergency food‘ for people in need like Mrs Ng’ambi and her family.

If we can get 100 people committing to £1 per week, that will help us ensure the Feeding Programme keeps running as well as ensuring that the pre-school children are fed. The students at Bright Futures Secondary School need breakfast and lunch to help them study properly as they don’t eat when they go home. And we need some ‘extra’ food for families like Mrs Ng’ambi and her children.

Will you commit to £1 per week please? That’s not much at all to us…. to Mrs Ng’ambi and her children, it means the gift of a meal. Will you please join our team and commit just £1 per month to feed the hungry? Thanks for reading, Sarah x contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

New clothes and flipflops for Benayi and Christina
as you can see, the children’s clothes no longer fit and they are barefoot
Mrs Ng’ambi cried when she and her children were given clothes, a blanket and soap
Such a happy face even though Christina is hungry and her dad is ill
Benayi is happy with his new clothes
please, please give £1 per week to help us feed these vulnerable children
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