These are the most vulnerable children and most in need of a sponsor. Can you be a helping hand to one of these children?
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Sarah’s blog 5/4/22
I wanted to highlight some of the orphans and vulnerable children that Levison has taken photos of previously. He’s done this as they are some of the most vulnerable and most in need of a sponsor. It’s only £25 per month to sponsor a child and you can do that as an individual, a group or two friends. 85p per day will mean the world to these children.
I’ve highlighted each child with a coloured background because I think they deserve to be seen. They deserve to have the same chances our children have. They deserve to have food, clothes, education. They deserve to reach their potential. They deserve to have a helping hand. They deserve to know that someone cares.
Please…can you be a helping hand to one of these children? It might be one of the most important things you ever do. It might be one of the most rewarding things you ever do. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com thank you for reading and I hope to hear from some of you and match you with a child. Sarah x
There are almost 90 vulnerable children and young people who have already been matched with kind sponsors who are changing their lives. It’s only £25 per month to sponsor a child and give them the security of food and education. There are no wages or admin fees with our charity as we are run by volunteers. You can sponsor a child as an individual, a family, two friends sharing the cost, or a business or club. Each of these children is malnourished and has experienced loss and trauma. We need you. The children need you. We always say it’s teamwork and we need to be the team around these children to give them the opportunities they deserve. The food they need. The education they should have. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com to sponsor a child. Thanks for reading and for your support, Sarah x
These children are waiting to be matched with a sponsor…. which child can you help today?
We should be kind every day but are we sometimes too busy to actually stop and think about others?
As a charity, working closely with The William Stewart Foundation in rural Northern Malawi, every day we think about the vulnerable people there and how we can help improve their lives and help them towards self-sufficiency. Money (or lack of it) is usually the biggest issue with all the wonderful plans and wishlists.
Given my background, I am usually thinking about feeding children, accessing education, clothing them and generally nurturing them. The Foundation is doing a wonderful job of feeding 500 children every week (a substantial and nutritious meal) and having over 80 children and young people with sponsors giving them access to education and a monthly food parcel.
One of our other trustees has brilliant ideas….well most of them are brilliant ideas…he is used to being told that some of his ideas aren’t so good.
I think what I am trying to say is that there is a huge amount of enthusiasm and passion to see the vulnerable children and adults in Ibuluma succeed. For their lives to change for the better. For them to have more chances. For them to become self-sufficient. For malnutrition to be firmly in the past. For literacy and numeracy to improve, for people to have jobs and be very, very proud of what they have achieved through hard work and huge struggles.
As I said, lack of money is always the issue. Everything costs money. Apart from kindness. Kindness costs nothing. On our website there is a new document (you will see the link in red on the top right of every page) about our feeding programme. If you can afford to help us with the feeding programme committing £5 or £10 per month to provide more food for the children then please get in touch as that could be your Act of Kindness today. Or could you sponsor a child for £25 per month?
Or if you cannot afford to donate money, your Act of Kindness for these orphans and vulnerable children could be to like and share our posts to reach more people and hopefully future sponsors. Liking and sharing posts costs nothing but would be extremely kind. It also gives us a boost when we see people liking and sharing posts so what will your Act of Kindness be today? Please help us continue helping the orphans and other vulnerable young people by showing your kindness and support today? contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com thanks for reading and for being kind, Sarah x
It’s very true….another quote that I like says ‘Helping one person might not change the world, but it could change the world for one person.’
There are approximately 500 children that are fed once a week. These children are some of the poorest on the planet and all suffer from malnutrition…some worse than others. We would love for these children to have more food. The end goal is that the villagers will be self-sufficient and there will no longer be a need for a feeding programme. Until that time we must help. We cannot do it alone.
We need to grow our team. If more and more people would please donate just £5 per month then we can help feed the children more than once a week. Ideally, I would love all the children to have a mug of porridge before school in the morning. It costs £100 to feed 500 each one nutritious meal. It’s not much per child but soon adds up when there are 500 children. Imagine if we could get 100 donating £5 per month….the children could be fed another 5 meals extra per month. What a difference that would make. But think about it….we are still only talking about 2 meals a week. Can you imagine only having one or two substantial, nutritious meals a week? Or if you couldn’t feed your children every day…. it’s heart breaking. They can’t help where they were born or the situation they were born into. But each of us can help one of them.
How can they concentrate with no food in their tummies? How can they concentrate when they are malnourished? These orphans and other vulnerable children are in survival mode…things like learning cannot happen properly until a child’s basic needs are met. It’s every child’s right to be safe, warm, have enough to eat and clean water to drink. I like the visual way the theorist Maslow shows children’s needs in his hierarchy of needs. Each layer cannot happen for a child if the previous one is not met.
So please join our team of people committing to help these children. £5 is all we ask as a monthly commitment (unless of course you would like to donate more). To most of us £5 is just a meal deal or a couple of drinks or some snacks. £5 to each of these children will help change their lives. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com It’s rainy season at the moment. People are struggling, the price of maize has gone up. Half of the Foundation’s crop of newly planted maize was washed away and they had to replant. Heart breaking. Levison told me today it’s a real struggle to feed everyone with prices rising. Thank you for reading and please consider joining our feeding team, Sarah x
As we approach Christmas, today is the first Sunday of Advent. I’m sure, whether you are a Christian, of a different faith or none, most children and adults enjoy the celebrations at this time of year. Advent calendars filled with chocolate, decorations, sparkling lights, parties, concerts and presents and also the lovely food are some of the special things we can enjoy as well as being with people we love. Whilst there have been some restrictions recently, they are nothing compared to what people living in extreme poverty are facing every day of the year, wherever they are in the world.
The first Sunday in Advent is traditionally of HOPE like a light shining in the darkness. That is what The Foundation is for the hundreds of orphans and other vulnerable children that it supports. Hope of better things to come. Hope of food, of full tummies. Hope of clean water. Hope of education. Hope of jobs. Hope of health. Hope of better housing. Hope of fun and friends. Hope of a childhood without trauma. Hope that they will no longer be forgotten. Hope of sponsorship. Hope of clothes & shoes. ALL children deserve these things.
We are making great progress but with so many children there is never enough money. It costs £100 to feed 500 children once a week. This is their most nutritious, substantial meal of the week….some children do not eat every day and most suffer from malnutrition. We need to reach more people to help us continue to improve the dire situation that these children face. Can you share our posts or tell your friends about our charity?
There are many ways you can help us support the children and continue to send money to feed them. Donations of money are extremely helpful as are purchasing our e-cards and e-gifts as meaningful Christmas gifts with all the money we receive going to Malawi. The link is here https://www.dontsendmeacard.com/ecards/charities/changing-lives-malawi
Please help us to bring hope to hundreds of the most vulnerable children. If we don’t support them…..they have nobody. Together we CAN make a difference. Together we can change lives in Malawi. contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com . I am working tomorrow then I am taking the rest of the week off as I have a hospital appointment. I won’t be away for too long though as the children really do need us to help them. Thanks for reading, Sarah x
The Foundation, now with electricity, is a shining light of hope in the darkness
I’ve been reviewing and editing some documents today for Levison in which he was mentioning some of the projects and it’s made me think. It’s also made me thankful. Because of my involvement in this little charity, I have met some wonderful people. I’ve also met many more brilliant people ‘virtually’. There are so many people doing their bit to help others and making the world a better place.
Whether it’s some of the ladies in Malawi that volunteer to help at The Foundation to cook the food for hundreds of children, someone taking an orphan into their home and helping them through the trauma of losing a loved one or volunteer sports coaches or Levison working every waking minute to help those in his village so they don’t go through what he did. So many people in Malawi care and want to improve the lives of the most vulnerable. All are part of a bigger team and show by their actions their care for others.
Here, we have more caring people, also part of that team. People contacting us to donate pre-loved clothes and shoes, knitting beautiful baby clothes or blankets. People bringing books that their children have finished reading to help the literacy project or sponsoring a young person to go to school. There are people giving time and talents and money. We have volunteers packing boxes and driving them to Dundee to the container. All are showing by their actions that they care.
Then there are the people I’ve been lucky enough to meet who are also volunteering their time with other charities and organisations; The Bananabox Trust who organise and pack the container is just one of the charities who are part of our team. There are people and organisations who collect sports kit and have made donations, people who have helped with fundraising, and many, many more lovely people who I would never have met if it hadn’t been for Changing Lives Malawi.
So thank you all for your support and care. Your actions speak louder than words and the orphans and other vulnerable children supported by The Foundation know that people care about them. If you would like to help us then please do get in touch contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com . Thanks for reading and thanks for supporting us. Sarah x
