A lovely surprise was delivered to my front door this week…. a big bag of junior rugby kit courtesy of our brilliant local team – Strathendrick Rugby Club. Thank you very much as this kit will be gratefully received and well used by some of the vulnerable young people we help to support in rural northern Malawi.
Strathendrick have supported us before having raised money through a bake sale and raffling Scotland rugby shirts for us. It’s great to have local support. Thank you so much, Sarah x
Here is the link to the Scotland Rugby Team kit that was donated and modelled by some of the young people last week. Some of these kit donations are kept for use at the foundation, others are shared with local primary schools and grassroots teams. https://changinglivesmalawi.com/2024/02/05/scotland-rugby-kit/
Photos have been taken of the S1 and S2 students at Bright Futures Secondary School. However, there are some students who are struggling to attend just now.
It’s currently the rainy season and when it rains it really rains. Streams or small rivers that the students cross to get to school are swollen and too dangerous to cross. Some of the young people (as in the recent S3 essays) walk for a couple of hours to get to school and some up to 20km. They are that desperate for an education. They are desperate to climb out of the extreme poverty they live in. If you don’t see your sponsored young person then they must be one of the ones who lives a bit further away and we will try to get a photo of them soon. Getting funding to build bridges is on our list of things to do…but, unfortunately, we can’t do it all at once.
There are some students in these photos (names in black writing) who do not yet have sponsors. All of the students have missed out on education to work for a pittance to try to get some food for themselves and their families. The older they are the worse their home situation is. Bright Futures Secondary School is their last hope for a better and brighter future. They really need someone to sponsor their education. Please could you help? It’s only £25 per month to sponsor a young person…that’s less than £1 per day. Will you help? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thank you for the continued support we receive to help these vulnerable teenagers. Sarah x
Good morning! A timely post during the Six Nations Rugby Tournament. Did everyone enjoy the first weekend of games?
There were some willing young people, happy to model these new kits….. a very generous donation from Scottish Rugby Union. Thank you so much for this fantastic opportunity for the children and young people we help to support to have new, matching, colourful kit from the SRU.
As you may remember, we facilitated a two week Rugby Festival in October. Touch rugby has only recently been introduced in the north of Malawi and this is the second time that Jack Mphande, MRU Development Officer, has travelled north to spend time with young people and their teachers/coaches to introduce rugby within schools as a new sport.
Thanks to our supporters, we were able to pay for Jack’s travel, accommodation, expenses as well as food & drink for all the participants in the training sessions and tournaments. Sports kit & rugby balls that had been donated to us were gifted to each of the teams involved in the Rugby Festival.
Grassroots rugby is well and truly established now, thanks to Jack Mphande’s time, skills and dedication. Thanks also goes to all the people who donated to help make that experience happen for the hundreds of vulnerable children who took part. https://gofund.me/22e38b07
We would like to be able to host another Rugby Festival this year. We have two signed Scotland Rugby Shirts which SRU kindly donated. The link is here to donate…it’s £5 per turn. https://gofund.me/22e38b07 All money we receive will go towards next year’s Rugby Festival. For children who are living in extreme poverty, this will be something to really look forward to again. They aren’t used to people coming to spend time with them.
Once the weather improves (it’s the rainy season) I am sure there will be lots of action shots of the young people enjoying playing rugby. Thank you again, Sarah x (I’ve attached two of my blogs from the rugby festival…there are lots of photos in each. But there are more blogs from Jack’s visits on my blog page on our website).
The S3 class at Bright Futures Secondary School were asked to write about ‘my journey to school’ and the content of some of these essays was really difficult to read.
Some students are walking a huge distance to get to Bright Futures Secondary School, others cannot get to school when it has been raining as it isn’t safe to cross the swollen rivers. Risk of girls being attacked and also being bitten by snakes are some of the difficulties these young people face. Even having no raincoat to wear is just something we cannot comprehend when it is the rainy season. Yet they are desperate for a good education. They are desperate to have the chance to have a better life.
Obviously the answer to a lot of the issues that have been mentioned is to build dormitories at Bright Futures Secondary School. These are already on the list for future projects as we knew about the difficulties the young people were facing. However, reading their essays makes their struggles more real. How we wish we had the money to build dormitories immediately, but we have to be realistic. Unfortunately, we cannot do everything at once. Things are improving for these young people but it makes me sad that they still have huge challenges and struggles. Nothing is straightforward or easy for them. Dormitories will be built but not this year (unless someone wins the lottery or has a magic wand!!).
Mathius Nyondo was the winner of January’s essay competition. I hope you enjoy reading his, and the other S3 students’ essays. Thanks, Sarah x
Joanne Byrne, my sister (on right of photo) and her best friend, Alison Rennie, decided in a moment of madness that they were up for the challenge of firewalking!! Thank you so much to both of them for being brilliant sports.
Alison Rennie (left) and Joanne Byrne are our first team of firewalkers!
Allander Rotary Club in Milngavie is hosting this Firewalk event on Sunday 24th March. Alison and Joanne will be doing the firewalk on behalf of Changing Lives Malawi. We are raising money for a teachers’ staffroom at Bright Futures Secondary School – teachers are currently using classroom four as we only have students in years 1-3. However, in September, with the next intake of students, all four classrooms will be needed. More teachers will be employed, hence the need for a dedicated staffroom. We are also needing S4 textbooks as we don’t have any of these yet.
So here is the link to Joanne and Alison’s fundraiser. We will be sharing more information about them and our goals over the next few weeks. https://gofund.me/c127c5e9
We are very fortunate to have two teams of firewalkers…the second team will be introduced next week.
We know we ask a lot of our supporters and we are extremely grateful for all the help we get…it is a real team effort and we appreciate each and every one of you. However, if you can share posts so we can reach a wider audience that would be really helpful and if you are able to make a donation to support the girls, that would be amazing. Thanks everyone, Sarah x
We were looking at the layout of the buildings at the Foundation today and I thought it would be a good time to show you again where the community is that we support and how things have changed in a few short years.
Ibuluma Villages are near Chisenga on the banks of the Chambo River right at the top of the map of Malawi. It is a very rural area. When Levison collects boxes from the container he has to travel all the way to Ekwendeni by Mzuzu.
This was the Foundation a few short years agoThis was taken from Google today and the buildings labelled
As you can see there has been a huge amount of achievement and we thank everyone who has helped make these changes happen for this rural community living in extreme poverty. They now have hope for a brighter future.
As well as the four classrooms of Bright Futures Secondary School, there is staff accommodation (the first house is already shown on the map), the second accommodation block will be completed this week and is marked in blue at the bottom of the photo along with a new latrine for the teachers. There is a shower block at the top of the photo and a library and general purpose room in the middle. There are two chicken sheds, office blocks and a kitchen and marked are two more latrine blocks that are about to be started.
The existing latrine blocks, which were build early on, sit at the left of the photos. However, early this morning something happened.
The boys’ latrines that were built a few years agoThe boys’ latrine block this morning
As you can see, sadly, the boys’ latrine block no longer exists. Due to the very heavy rains and termite activity, the ground became unstable and subsided. Thankfully, no one was hurt. Some bricks, doors and roofing sheets have been saved for use in rebuilding and the hole was filled in as a priority to make it safe. All the more recent buildings have been treated to keep the termites away.
Sometimes it feels like two steps forward and one step back when things like this happen. The heavy rains also prevent children and young people attending school as it isn’t safe for them to cross the swollen rivers. Foot bridges are on our list of improvements which sometimes feels like it’s never ending. It will, unfortunately, be a while until we get to that stage.
Thankfully, the latrine diggers and builders are on site already and we had just enough money to be building a latrine block for teachers, a boys’ latrine and a girls’ latrine. Obviously now we will have to build an additional boys’ latrine so the younger boys and older boys have separate facilities.
Although today hasn’t been good because of the boys’ latrine block being destroyed, as the second photo reminds us that, thanks to the continued support we receive, teamwork and a lot of determination, this community is changing. We are grateful to everyone who helps us. Below is a short video of the torrential rain this morning which brings everything to a standstill. We are Changing Lives (in) Malawi. Thanks, Sarah x
Now is the time to plant trees. Communities all over Malawi are doing this in January. There are numerous reasons for planting trees and obviously for future food, self-sufficiency and because it’s good for the planet all rate highly along with other benefits like helping to prevent soil erosion. Thank you to everyone who contributed to help us send money to purchase these fruit tree saplings.
However, I want to share with you a piece of work that two of the teachers at Bright Futures Secondary School have facilitated. We are delighted to have enthusiastic teachers who understand the need for sustainable food sources and that children and young people will learn more by taking part in practical learning. We are hoping that the saplings grow well and will provide much needed food and also a sustainable income for years to come.
More fruit tree saplings are needed still and also hundreds of pine tree saplings are needing to be planted to replace trees that the community have used for fuel and building. Are you able to help provide some money to buy more saplings? Would your business like to have a sign in the orchard if you sponsor planting some saplings? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
I hope you enjoy reading part of the report from the agriculture teachers and looking at the photos of young people busy planting the fruit tree saplings. Thanks, Sarah x
We are fortunate that over 80 of the most vulnerable children and young people that we help to support have been matched with sponsors. We can not begin to imagine the impact that this has….just knowing that someone wants to help you out of a situation that must have seemed without any hope. It’s been a very busy year both here and in Malawi and we’ve not taken photos of sponsored young people for a while…sorry. But we are getting back on track and here are a few more of our sponsored young people.
Food is scarce and prices are rising all the time and the currency has been devalued. Things are tough. Most of the children and young people are orphans, living with extended family. We have found foster parents for a few children who had no one. Some children are living with their parents but there is not enough money coming into the home to feed everyone. Children can go days without eating properly.
Having a sponsor means that children receive some food each month to supplement what is coming into the home each month or, for those who are students at Bright Futures Secondary School, they receive free nutritious school lunches. Secondary education needs to be paid for in Malawi. None of the students at Bright Futures Secondary School would be at school if it wasn’t for their sponsors’ support.
Could you help a young person today? We hope to match more young people so that they have the opportunity to go to Bright Futures Secondary School. It’s only £25 per month to be a sponsor. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com Thanks to all our sponsors and people who donate financially…it’s teamwork and we couldn’t help this community without you. Thanks, Sarah x
Food insecurity is getting worse. Families cannot afford to feed their children. Education is their way out of extreme poverty. Can you sponsor a child or support the feeding programme please? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
Sarah’s blog 2/1/24
There is a vast difference in ages of the children and young people who are fortunate to have sponsors to support them. However, two factors that are the same with all of them is that none have enough to eat and all are living in extreme poverty. Levison is working his way through the list and taking photos of them all for their sponsors.
Some of the youngest children are benefitting from receiving a monthly food parcel at their home to supplement what their parents/carers have. They are also benefitting from receiving clothes, shoes, soap and toothbrush & toothpaste.
Teenagers are receiving free education at Bright Futures Secondary School, free school lunches and free clothes. Secondary education needs to be paid for in Malawi so none of these young people would have the opportunity of secondary education without receiving financial support.
There are some young people who are supported who are not at secondary school but are learning skills and are receiving financial support, clothes etc.
All are able to access the weekly feeding programme. Five hundred children and young people come to the Foundation once a week to receive a substantial, nutritious meal….some walking for 15km to 20km to get there. No big charities are feeding children in schools in this area so your help is vital to these children and young people.
Could you be a sponsor and bring a smile to a vulnerable child’s face today? It’s only £25 per month to be a sponsor….or you could share that cost with a friend for only £12.50 p/m each. It’s not much to us but it is a huge gift for those we help to support. There are hundreds waiting to be matched with a sponsor to enable them to have a brighter future.
Or could you commit to just £5 or £10 per month to help ensure we can continue feeding the children? Food insecurity is becoming worse in Malawi, prices are rising and families cannot feed their children. Some girls are at risk of being married off because their families cannot feed them. Join our team of supporters and help us to help them. For bank details contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com or you can make a donation here https://gofund.me/d3cf8c3a . Thank you for supporting us to help these most vulnerable children and young people, Sarah x
Please read about our successes and challenges and look at all the great photos of the children we help to support.
Sarah’s blog 31/12/23
Firstly, I would like to thank everyone who has supported us in 2023. As I always say, it’s teamwork. We couldn’t do what we do without our generous supporters. Much has happened in 2023 and we need you even more in 2024 and need to reach more supporters to ensure that the hundreds of vulnerable children we support continue to have brighter and better futures.
Here are just some of the success stories of 2023, thanks to teamwork;
75 preschool children continue to meet five times a week at nursery and are fed at each session. They each receive a bag containing; a blanket, two red t-shirts, three pairs of pants, toothbrush & toothpaste and soap. They are now also receiving two picture books as part of our School Literacy Programme. This will ensure that all homes have at least two books and that children have daily opportunities for reading and becoming confident readers.
Bright Futures Secondary School opened in November 2022 with two classrooms. Classrooms 3 and 4 were constructed and ready for term starting in September 2023 thanks to fundraising and donations. Education is free to students and they receive a free school meal each day, the only meal for many of these teenagers as they don’t have food at home.
A grant was received for a teachers’ accommodation block for four teachers has been built. Once plastering and painting have been done, will be ready in mid January.
Two plots of land, adjacent to the current land, have been purchased. One for the teachers’ accommodation and one for future building.
Over 100 more fruit tree saplings have been purchased are will be planted by young people during the next couple of weeks. Other projects promoting self-sufficiency and sustainability are being put in place too.
Solar panels were bought with grant to provide electricity to the library and the classrooms and teachers’ accommodation.
Clothes, shoes and books continue to be sent to provide for the hundreds of vulnerable children we help to support. This helps to reuse preloved items to gift to those who cannot afford clothes because of the dire poverty they live in.
Thanks to our supporters, we sent lots of sports kit, paid for and facilitated a two week rugby festival for the local schools led by the Malawi Rugby Union sports development coach, Jack Mphande.
Chambo Primary School had no clean water for drinking or washing hands. They had no toilets. Only one of their eight classrooms had desks and chairs. Thanks to two grants we applied for, they now have a girls’ latrine block, clean water for drinking and washing hands and desks and chairs for another two classrooms. We also donated exercise books and pencils and stationery for the teachers. To date, we have donated twenty boxes of books as part of our School Literacy Project. Bit by bit, life is improving for the most vulnerable children.
We continue to send money for The Feeding Programme. No charities are feeding children in schools in the rural far north of Malawi. Children are being taught to grow crops which are then used to feed them at the feeding programme.
As you can see, there has been a great deal happening and much success. We are so grateful that we have been supported to achieve the above for the children and their community.
However, the Feeding Programme has got to be our biggest ongoing challenge as, despite having asked for help from several big charities with feeding, none are helping us. Most children are suffering from malnutrition as they do not have enough to eat, the situation is getting worse. We can only afford to send money to feed 500 children once a week. Even this is getting harder as food prices continue to rise and food is scarcer. Children are walking up to 20km for this one nutritious meal of the week which includes vegetables grown by the children. We need your help to feed these children as families are really struggling. If you could commit £5 or £10 per month, it would make a huge difference to us and to them contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com or https://gofund.me/d3cf8c3a
Lots of photos of hundreds of vulnerable children receiving clothes & food this Christmas.
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
