Tag: cooking

A Party for the Elderly

Sarah’s blog 24/12/25

Today’s post is going to be a bit of a photo and video dump as yesterday was a very busy day, but also very rewarding, for Levison and team. They held a party for the elderly.

Lots of vulnerable elderly people in the community were invited for Christmas lunch. As you may know, there is a food crisis in Malawi and all of these elderly villagers are living in extreme poverty. They don’t have enough to eat every day.

Thank you so much to the generous people who donated money to ensure this event was able to happen. There was money for a lovely lunch and for bars of soap for each person who attended. We had hoped to be able to give each of them a small food parcel to take home but hadn’t managed to raise enough to do this. Thankfully, the donations received provided for a substantial and nutritious meal. We would love to be able to do more for the elderly on an ongoing basis, maybe a party for the elderly once a month, but obviously this has a financial cost. If you would like to help with this please do get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com

These elderly people were so thankful to be invited to lunch and for being included. The lady with the walking pole in one of the photos with Levison, said to him

“I have been trying to get nice food for Christmas but to no avail. I didn’t know God, through your supporters, has prepared this for me. Only God knows.”

The lady in the red cardigan at the end of one of the tables told Levison

“This is the best meal I have ever had. So some people from far away value me as well? Is it for free or I must pay? I don’t have anything to pay for the food. God should bless them.”

Another lady said;

“Just a word for you my son. God should bless you and those who are supporting you.”

Senior Group Village Headman MweneIbuluma made a speech at the lunch. He said that he and all the villagers appreciate the efforts made by Levison, the Foundation and all the donors to support school attendance for the children. He said he is happy that the development is progressing well. He said;

“Who knew that this man will bring such a life changer to Ibuluma community reaching thousands of souls? Is this not a lesson to us all?”

Levison said some of the women had tears in their eyes as the headman was making his speech. Levison himself messaged me later to share the photos and videos and wanted to pass on his thanks to everyone for their support;

“I personally sincerely thank you so much for this wonderful event. These are the people who are vulnerable and most in need and they have felt joy today.”

As you can see, cooking isn’t straightforward and it is hard work. We are so grateful for those who give up their time to support feeding the vulnerable. This is why we need more cooking pots – they don’t last as long as our pots would last on an electric cooker – and the quantities of food needed are great. Your help would be appreciated. You can give via DonorSee https://donorsee.com/project/29519?share=1 or via our website Donate money and gifts to Changing Lives Malawi or contact me for our charity bank details contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Whilst we can’t change the whole world, we can help this community to have a better and brighter future by giving them a helping hand towards self-sufficiency.

Thank you for supporting Changing Lives Malawi and the projects we help with. Thanks to those who supported a party for the elderly. You are a vital part of our team and we couldn’t do what we do without you. Together we can continue Changing Lives (in) Malawi. With best wishes for a very Happy Christmas, Sarah and the team of volunteers at Changing Lives Malawi x

Advent Calendar – highlighting projects & children – day 11

Sarah’s blog 11/12/2023

It’s the 11th December already! Today we are highlighting the Eco Stove Project. Chancy is one of the young men who has been making eco stoves for the most vulnerable people in the community.

Eco stoves are made of brick and mud and are an enclosed method of cooking. These are far safer than cooking on an open fire, especially when children are around or elderly people are cooking. As it is an enclosed method of cooking, it holds heat for longer and can give off a lot of heat if sitting near it. Eco stoves use far less fuel because they are enclosed, so they are much better for the environment as less wood is needed for cooking.

If you’d like to support this project or one of our other projects then please donate at https://gofund.me/d3cf8c3a or email contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thank you for supporting us to continue Changing Lives Malawi, Sarah x

Cooking Club

The cooking club learning to cook sweet potatoes on an eco stove

Sarah’s blog 04/07/23

Levison sent these photos of The Cooking Club. They are all age 8-10 learning how to cook sweet potatoes. These sweet potatoes are the first of the crop that was planted by the students at Bright Futures Secondary School a few months ago. These children are being supported by Jean and Loveness and look so pleased with what they have achieved.

Growing their own food, learning skills for life and having choices and chances will surely lead to a brighter future for each of these vulnerable children? They are using an eco stove to cook on….it is far safer than an open fire for cooking on, it uses less wood and retains heat for longer. Welding Engineers had kindly supplied funds for several of these to be made. Thank you for reading, Sarah x

Fun, Clubs & Skills

Sarah’s blog 08/05/22

An holistic approach is taken to improving the lives of the hundreds of children supported by The Foundation. Levison has sent lots of photos from a busy Sunday.

Today was a feeding day and some of the children from the gardening club who had helped grow cabbages, were shown how to prepare and cook them as part of today’s meal. Children have started learning to weave baskets, others were weaving mats to sit on. Some children were playing rugby, some knitting and some sewing. These are all great skills to have for their futures. Children are having opportunities to learn new things that they wouldn’t otherwise have had the chance to try. These children are having fun with their friends whilst learning and are able to forget about their problems for a while.

I hope you enjoy looking at the photos. There is a lot happening at The Foundation. We don’t always see how much is happening or how busy it is. However, with so many children to support, every day at The Foundation is a busy one! I hope you enjoy the photos. Remember the link to my fundraiser to build a school for these children is https://gofund.me/ca9c1629 Thanks for reading, Sarah x

children learning basket weaving

Three young men, a sponsor & a plan (part 2)

Sarah’s blog 8/3/22

I recently told you that three young men; Chancy, Manase and Lameck were making eco stoves for the villagers. Traditionally it’s the women who do the cooking so these eco stoves are making a hard life just a little bit easier for these women. They are delighted with their new stoves that use less wood, retain more heat and are safer to cook on. So on International Women’s Day we are very glad these women have new stoves that also help the environment.

A generous sponsor is paying the wages of these three young men so they are being paid whilst they set up their business and gain in confidence. You will see the difference in Chancy from his previous photo. As well as eco stoves they are going to be making bricks for future buildings. If anyone would like to sponsor a young person to go to school or to start work then please do get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thanks for reading, Sarah x

Three Young Men, a Sponsor & a Plan

Sarah’s blog 22/02/22

When you are so poor you can’t even finish primary school as you have to try to earn some money to feed yourself as your family cannot afford to feed you….that is a level of poverty that is, for most of us, hard to comprehend.

When you don’t have enough money for food to eat every day, that is something that most of us cannot understand. This is the story of three young men who have faced hardship like that. They are living in extreme poverty but, thanks to their own initiative, and now thanks to their sponsor, there is a plan in place to improve their lives and make something of themselves.

Manase is in his early 20s. He and his brother had been pictured previously working hard labouring for the builders who were building the shower block. He has been helping out at The Foundation. Chancy (early 20s) also helps out and Levison is able to give them small amounts of money for their work.

Yesterday, Levison went to see some of the eco stoves that Manase and Chancy had made, free of charge, for people in the village. Because of their initiative, their hard work and thoughtfulness is being rewarded.

Lameck, a teenager, has been on my mind since Levison took a photo of him reading books at the Foundation Library a few months ago. He didn’t even finish primary school due to poverty and has been doing piece work to earn a pittance since, but there he was reading in the library and trying to learn. I’ve been wondering how we can support him since then and now an opportunity has arisen.

We have matched them with a sponsor who will provide some money for The Foundation to pay these three young men each month whilst they make eco stoves for those in the community who don’t yet have one.

Eco stoves are….as the name suggests….eco friendly. They are an enclosed method of cooking so are far safer for people than cooking on an open fire, especially when young children are around. They use less wood which is obviously better for the environment and they retain heat so they can give off heat when it’s colder weather. Because they use far less wood, people don’t have to spend so long searching and collecting wood, leaving them more time for work or other household chores. Along with planting lots of tree saplings, the team at The Foundation are doing their bit for a sustainable future for people and the planet.

Manase, Chancy and Lameck will work on these and also brick making. Hopefully, they will be able to make enough bricks for future buildings and, possibly, if they want to, they may be able to go to college or have a tutor come to the Foundation to teach them bricklaying and building.

Hope you enjoy looking at the photos. If you’d like to donate to one of our project or support a young person then please do get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thanks for reading, Sarah x

As it’s enclosed it is a far safer way of cooking and uses less wood than cooking on an open fire
Chancy with one of the eco stoves that he and Manase made
Manase with an eco stove that he built with Chancy
Lameck enjoys using the library to improve his reading and knowledge. He has just been doing piecework for a pittance. He will now be working with Chancy and Manase to build eco stoves.
Gogo is the respectful name for an older person, like grandmother or grandfather

The Feeding Programme

Sarah’s blog 17/10/21

Just thought we would bring you some photos of the feeding programme today. Approximately 400 children came and were fed today. The children have nsima (made from maize), beans, tomato relish and vegetables. This is their biggest and most nutritious meal of the week. As there are so many to feed, the children are fed by age groups. We are grateful for the volunteers who cook and serve the children.

You can sign up to receive updates from our website. Thanks, Sarah x

The big cooking pot of nsima (maize) cooked over an open fire. This method isn’t as safe as an enclosed stove and also uses more wood. The eco stoves that have been made are too small for this pot but hopefully a bigger one can be made to accommodate this huge container.

A great photo of one of the eco stoves, made by the apprentices, with a generous donation from Welding Engineers. Because they are enclosed, they are safer for the person cooking, and any children. They retain more heat and also use less wood which is much better for the environment. People also spend less time gathering wood each week.

some of the younger children enjoying their lunch
one of the younger children, Legina age 6, enjoying her food